Reports: 2014 Fiesta 1.0T EPA rated 45 mpg hwy, 32 mpg city - starts @ $17240 (sedan)

[MetroMPG]

The auto blogs are atwitter over the latest salvo in the MPG wars -- it's great to be able to write "MPG wars", by the way -- this one coming from Ford regarding the coming Fiesta Ecoboosted 1.0L turbo (manual transmission only).

Apparently the EPA ratings have been published, and they look like:

32 mpg (US) city
45 mpg (US) highway
37 mpg (US) combined

Ford marketers now believe fuel economy is a "feature", so you'll have to pony up extra for those MPG, unlike in the good old days of the 80's & 90's when most companies' entry level cars also typically got the best mileage in their line-ups (owing to light weight & modest engine output more than anything).

Here's what a 45 mpg highway rating costs:

It's priced as a $995 "SE Manual EcoBoost" package, and added to the regular Fiesta SE you'll pay $17,240 in sedan form and $17,840 for the sportier hatchback. Both prices include Ford's mandatory $795 destination fee

Read more from GCR: 2014 Ford Fiesta EcoBoost Priced, 45 MPG Highway Too

That puts the Fiesta's highway rating 1 MPG higher than the Mirage CVT (44), 5 less in the city, and 3 less combined.

Ford must have really set the top gear WAAaaaay up there (numerically way "down there") to aim for 45 on the highway.

The Mirage manual beats the Fiesta in the city as well (at 34 mpg) but loses out on the highway at 42, due to too-low gearing. (Although in a recent comparison of the manual vs. CVT M irage in city driving, I saw 48 MPG from the 5-speed with very basic ecodriving techniques on a cold, blustery day.)

But then seriously, who's going to cross-shop a $17,000-$18,000 turbo compact against a 74 hp, $14,000 entry level subcompact?

The million dollar question, though, is: how believable are Ford's EPA ratings? You would think they would play it more cautiously after getting burned over their C-Max ratings blunder. A 45 MPG EcoBoost rating doesn't sound very cautious!

(See also, from MirageForum: 2014 M irage 1.2 vs. Ford Fiesta 1.0 ecoboost - which has better mileage/fuel economy? )

[MetroMPG]

Oh, and for you turbo fans ( <-- see that joke I made?), is it correct that you wouldn't want to be doing engine-off coasting? A turbo longevity issue?

[Thenorm]

turbo's make everything better.

However i would buy the Fiesta with the 1.6T, 200hp

[nemo]

Not that much of a strech.




1.6 na 5 speed

Add active grill shutters and knock it down 500 revs at highway speed and I think the 1.6 na could do 45 MPG highway consistantly.

[Thenorm]

the Fiesta didnt have grill shutters? I know most of the Foci did.

It boggles my mind when there is such a simple solution to net a few MPG. Why are all automakers doing this RIGHT NOW! it doesnt even interfere with vehicle styling or performance, which were two reasons that may have stopped the eco movement

[gone-ot]

Originally Posted by Thenorm

the Fiesta didnt have grill shutters? I know most of the Foci did.

It boggles my mind when there is such a simple solution to net a few MPG. Why are all automakers doing this RIGHT NOW! it doesnt even interfere with vehicle styling or performance, which were two reasons that may have stopped the eco movement

...for the same reason that LRR tires are NOT standard OEM on all cars...co$t.

[Thenorm]

they put so much effort into telling about their fleet CAFE fuel economy ratings, and here is something that would cost like $20 extra per vehicle....

[Allch Chcar]

It is only available with the 5spd in the SE package without any other packages. I'm glad to see it available stateside but I have to question the packaging. For example, why isn't it available on the Titanium? Even matching it with the 5spd I can forgive but not the limited options.

Originally Posted by Thenorm

the Fiesta didnt have grill shutters? I know most of the Foci did.

It boggles my mind when there is such a simple solution to net a few MPG. Why are all automakers doing this RIGHT NOW! it doesnt even interfere with vehicle styling or performance, which were two reasons that may have stopped the eco movement

The active grill shutters are only available in the SFE package with the wheel covers and other cheap stuff for hundreds in markups. It looks like they avoided using them in the 1.0L Ecoboost for now.

[ever_green]

too expensive, I rather buy a lean burnin used honda and save the $$

[Daox]

All new cars are too expensive for me. 5 years down the road this might be a great car to own though!