2018 Ford Fiesta: What You Don't Get
CARS.COM — The only significant change for 2018 with Ford’s feisty Fiesta subcompact sedan and hatchback is what you no longer can have: the 1.0-liter three-cylinder EcoBoost engine.
The $995 Fiesta option, offered since the 2014 model year, not only was engaging compared with the base four-cylinder, it was the 2017 Fiesta’s top fuel-economy offering at 31/41/35 mpg city/highway/combined, impressive numbers for a non-hybrid. And real-world testing by Cars.com editors found it not only could hit its ratings, but it could sometimes beat them.
But apparently not enough buyers checked that box. Ford spokesman Dan Jones said that “based on customer demand,” only the 1.6-liter base four and the 1.6-liter EcoBoost performance option would remain. Low demand may have been at least partly due to the engine being offered here in the Fiesta only with the five-speed manual transmission – not a recipe for success in the U.S.
The engine will continue to be offered, with stick or optional automatic, in the SE trim of Ford’s Focus compact sedan.
Other than the engine loss, the Fiesta will carry over as is from 2017, save for a backup camera now being standard on all trim levels. Meanwhile, a new generation of Fiesta already has been shown in Europe, and customers there now can order one for delivery in the new year.
Whether that redone Fiesta ever will make it to the U.S. is an open question. Cars.com has reported on comments by European Ford officials indicating the Fiesta’s days may be numbered in the U.S. due to flagging demand for subcompacts.
Jones did not confirm that, saying only that Ford has introduced the next-generation Fiesta for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
He added: “We’ll have more to say about other markets at a later date.”
