The little Euro-hatch that could—America's first taste of a frugal, fun-to-drive subcompact. The first one was a tin can with a carb; the second one was a legit hot hatch in ST form. It's small, it's cheap, and it's surprisingly reliable—if you avoid the cursed automatic transmission.
The early '78-'80 model was a tinny little econobox running a 1.6L “Crossflow” four-banger, carbureted, making maybe 65 hp on a good day. Front-wheel-drive, 4-speed manual, solid rear axle—it was built to get 30 mpg and nothing else. The 2011-2019 reboot is a whole different animal. It's got a 1.6L Ti-VCT (Twin Independent Variable Cam Timing) four-cylinder pushing 120 hp in base trim, or a 1.0L EcoBoost 3-cylinder with 123 hp that sounds like a tractor but scoots. The ST model (2014-2019) gets a 1.6L EcoBoost with 197 hp and a six-speed manual—torque-vectoring, front strut tower brace, the works. It uses an electric power-assisted steering (EPAS) rack that's tuned tight for autocross.
The 1.6L in the later cars is stout. The manual transmission is bulletproof; the automatic (PowerShift DCT) is garbage—class-action lawsuit territory. Stay away from the DCT. The 1.0L EcoBoost has a wet timing belt that runs in oil—if you skip oil changes, that belt degrades, clogs the oil pickup, and the engine lunches itself. Solid if maintained, but it's not a forgiving motor.
Every listing below is VIN-matched to your exact Fiesta before it ships, backed by a 60-day replacement warranty:
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