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2012 Ford Fiesta (pictures)

Ford's subcompact comes in a practical hatchback style, and includes app integration through Sync, but its European driving feel may deter some.

Wayne Cunningham
Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET's Roadshow. Prior to the automotive beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine.
Wayne Cunningham
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The Ford Fiesta is a European-designed car that fits into the subcompact class. It gives Ford buyers a sub-$20k option that gets good fuel economy. It's available as a sedan or, as seen here, a hatchback.
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The styling is unique, influenced heavily by its European roots. The front is very rounded, with well-integrated headlights bookending an almost nonexistent grille opening.
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Ford's 1.6-liter engine uses variable valve timing to achieve 120 horsepower and 112 foot-pounds of torque. It's EPA mileage is 29 mpg city and 39 mpg highway.
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Although it's Ford's smallest car, five can squeeze into the cabin and leave ample cargo space.
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The Fiesta's suspension is pretty standard for the economy segment, using a torsion bar for the rear wheels.
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Ford also uses drum brakes at the rear wheels, as opposed to the discs on the fronts.
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The cargo area has a deep well, and enough area to hold about six grocery bags.
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There are no luxury trim elements in the cabin design. Cloth lines the seats, and hard plastics cover the dashboard.
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The front seats have an inset at the rear to amplify the legroom for rear-seat passengers.
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At this car's SES trim level, there are virtually no tech options. Sync, the primary cabin tech feature, comes standard.
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Ford keeps the controls on the steering wheel minimal, relegating volume control to the center console and voice command to the turn-signal stalk.
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This attractive gauge cluster includes a trip computer, with average fuel economy and range to empty, in the center display.
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Sync's ability to download a paired phone's contact list and make it available through voice command, is one excellent feature of the Fiesta, although most other automakers have copied it.
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Sync also indexes music from MP3 players and USB drives plugged into the USB port, and makes it possible to browse categories in this monochrome display.
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Voice command lets you say the name of a song, artist, or album, and begin playback.
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In SES trim, the Fiesta also includes Sirius Satellite Radio, although it will require a monthly fee.
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Bluetooth audio streaming is also available as a source, but the car does not show track information.
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A number of apps can be controlled through the dashboard interface, such as Pandora, Slacker, MOG, and NPR News. The apps have to be loaded onto a smartphone in the car.
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With an iPhone plugged into the car, the screen changes to this display when app integration is live.
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The audio system in the Fiesta is better than average. The tweeter produce crisp and detailed highs, although the system lacks the power for punchy bass.

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