YOU will be starting to see more and more examples of the new Ford Fiesta on the roads this month as the latest version of Northern Ireland's favourite car reaches customers.
The new car has big shoes to fill - the Fiesta has been the undisputed sales champion in the UK market as well as in Northern Ireland for years.
Ford claims the Fiesta is now the "most technologically advanced small car on sale", with features such as pre-collision assist with pedestrian detection, automatic perpendicular parking, blind spot alert and automatic high beam.
Trim levels at launch include Zetec, Titanium, sporty ST-Line and luxury Vignale.
An 'Active' crossover and new ST hot hatch arrive next year.
Five of the detail improvements Ford has made to the new Fiesta:
- Ford is making an effort to shift the Fiesta upmarket, so the car is now available with appointment such as a heated leather steering wheel as well as leather-trimmed seats.The steering wheel was tested to ensure it is resistant to damage or staining from sunscreen on the driver's hands. Leather seats are also designed to resist coffee spills, soil from dirty sports kit and even the dye from denim jeans.
- To get the right blend of durability and comfort, Ford used robot 'buttocks' to sit in the Fiesta's new seats 25,000 times.The bolsters at the sides of the seats underwent 60,000 test cycles to ensure wear-resistance, and the seat material is checked for flexibility and comfort even after 24 hours at -30C.
- As part of the commitment to improve the Fiesta's quality, some of the body panels are made using a new manufacturing technology that analyses the noise frequencies produced during the stamping process, and thus identify a component that will not meet the right standard. The Fiesta factory in Cologne, Germany, produces a new Fiesta every 68 seconds, and can build about 20,000 different variations of Fiesta in total.
- The Fiesta's doors now need 20 per cent less effort to close, says Ford. This is because of improvements to the air extractors inside the car. Door edge protectors spring out when the doors are opened to protect both the Fiesta’s doors, and the sides of cars parked alongside from dings and scrapes. Inside the doors are pressure sensors that enable restraint systems to be activated several milliseconds sooner in the event of a side impact.
- A premium sound system and infotainment is increasingly important in new cars, and engineers spent a year listening to more than 5,000 tracks to ensure the Fiesta's B&O PLAY delivered crisp audio. The 10-speaker B&O PLAY system features a nine-channel amplifier for precise sound control, a dashboard centre speaker and a 200mm subwoofer in the boot, with optional surround sound giving a 360-degree 'sound stage' experience.
