Cork, September 4, 2008 – The all-new incarnation of Ireland’s best selling small car, the Ford Fiesta, has just been launched. Having sold more than 160,000 units in Ireland since it was first introduced in 1976, the Fiesta is one of the best known and best loved cars in the country. It now adds stunning good looks to the qualities that have made it a legend on Irish roads.

 

Designed and developed in Europe for sale in Europe, Asia, South Africa, Australia and the Americas between now and 2010, the new Fiesta is truly a global car. Its stylish and dynamic flair combines with all the traditional Ford small car strengths to create a confident, contemporary introduction to the next chapter of the Fiesta success story. 

“The application of “kinetic design” – Ford’s design language that was introduced with our S-MAX – really changed the way our cars and our brand are viewed,” said Eddie Murphy, Chairman and Managing Director of Ford Ireland. “With Fiesta, kinetic design brings an ultra-stylish look to a car that always had great driving ability. We think it is a good time to launch a car of Fiesta’s quality and appeal, as we envisage the current slow down will favourably impact on sales of the B-car segment, as consumers will start to see value for money as one of their top priorities”.

 

The new Fiesta retains many of the original characteristics of the original model: practical, reliable and fun to drive. Those qualities made Fiesta an instant favourite, with global sales of more than 12 million.

 

"I am confident that the combination of the dynamic new-look exterior, great interior design and craftsmanship, and a host of new technologies and features will provide compelling reasons for a new generation of Irish customers to take a fresh look at the Ford Fiesta,” said Murphy. “I know they will be both surprised and delighted with what they see and feel".

 

Under the stylish exterior of the new Ford Fiesta is a robust body structure, crafted from high-strength and ultra-high strength steels to protect occupants in the event of a collision. 

 

Yet, despite its advances in strength, new Fiesta’s body structure overall is lighter than before. This means advancements in safety have not been achieved at the expense of key attributes, like fuel economy and CO₂ emissions.

 

Across the model range, new Fiesta combines an enhanced and efficient powertrain line-up with weight reductions to deliver better fuel economy and reduced CO₂ emissions.  

 

The New Fiesta range – with three 16-valve Duratec petrol and one Duratorq TDCi diesel engine choices – offers a projected range-wide CO₂ average of 132 g/km, a 1.3 per cent improvement over the already efficient previous Fiesta. This incremental advance represents a potential saving of over 11,000 tonnes of CO₂ across Europe, assuming annual European sales comparable with the previous Fiesta and an average distance of 15,000 kilometres per year.

 

The new Fiesta range comprises nine models across a choice of four engines including 1.25l, 1.4l; and 1.6l petrol engines and a 1.4l diesel engine in three distinct 3- and 5-door series including Style, Zetec and Titanium.