bagwell

nah, here in crappy Houston, TX -- diesel is as low as 4.18 a gallon!!

a guy here just traded his BMW 530i for a 2006 VW Jetta TDI and is getting 48mpg.

JessePS

one thing i hope to see more toyota running on diesel soon... plus hope they ship the IS250d state side.

TRDFantasy

This Fiesta has ONLY a diesel engine, the Prius has a gas engine plus a hybrid system. The Prius overall still has a lot more power.

Yes this Fiesta offers great economy, but my point remains; it's a smaller, slower vehicle than the Prius. I can guarantee you people in North America will NOT buy this over the Prius. People are not looking for speed with these cars, but there is a point which even economy-minded drivers will find a vehicle too slow.

Right now what we've seen in the market over the past few months is a "knee-jerk" reaction. Due to the sudden increase in gas prices, people went on a frenzy buying ANY small cars they could find. That explains why sales of mediocre cars like the USDM Focus and Aveo went up. Now it looks like their sales are going down again.

For June, Aveo and Focus sales were DOWN, despite the economic conditions. It looks like the dust is now settling, and the panic buying of any small cars is subsiding. Of course the market is still moving towards small cars, but people are buying GOOD small cars. Cars like the Aveo and USDM Focus will likely continue to see dropping sales, and for good reason; they're mediocre cars.

Also lets not forget that diesel in most parts of North America is now MORE expensive than gasoline.

A diesel Fiesta might make sense in Europe, but not in North America.

ES350Bob

I was aware that the Ford does not have an electric motor.

Unless people are flooring the car, they would likely find the Prius slower than the Ford since the Prius starts off with the electric motor unless the charge is low, then the petrol motor, No?.

TRDFantasy

The Prius starts off with the electric motor, and the gas engine turns on when needed. If people found the Prius too slow, then yes they could floor it and it would travel at a decent speed. With the diesel Fiesta, it would be slow even when flooring.

J.P.

I am not sure but I would have to guess the Fiesta would be a bit cheaper then the Prius

Also if you plan on keeping the car a long time as a commuter \ high miles car, I will take that diesel engine because even if the battery lasted until 150k you would still have to replace it for $2500.

Adding up the premium cost for the prius plus potential costs for battery replacement the Fiesta Diesel certainly looks like a great deal.

The Prius is an outstanding car but just because it’s a “Toyota” doesn’t make it the best thing ever.

bruce van

If Ford brings the diesel Fiesta over to the US, they should change the name. The Fiesta name plate just stinks to high hell. Ford needs a new start in the small car category.

Big Andy

In real world driving the high torque of the diesel engine will be more than a match for the Prius. It's a mistake to go by hp or 0-60 figures on diesels because the real beauty is their ability to pull away quickly in almost any gear. i.e you'll be doing 60 mph on the highway in 6th gear and press the accelerator - in a petrol engine the auto box will have to drop a gear or 2 to give you any meaningful acceleration, whereas the diesel will just smoothly pull away.
Anyway, by the time you factor in the production and disposal of the Prius's batteries the Fiesta is a far greener car.

19psi

x2. area under the curve is what makes a car usable in traffic, not peak numbers. turbo diesels beat anything in that area.

ES350Bob

In a way what Ford did reminds me of the scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Flashy, if not intimidating sword work vs. a gunshot.

Ford says, oh really, well, we will save the weight of the batteries, the weight of the electric motor...

...and go with an 89 hp engine which we can do because we saved the battery weight, the electric motor weight.

mmarshall

There are minidiesels in Europe, such as the 1.2L VW Lupo, that can get up to 80 mpg. The automakers, for a number of reasons, just won't Federalize them and import them here. In some cases, it is because they are deemed unsuitable for American roads, but the success (so far) of the gas-engine Smart-for-Two (see my review) shows that some Americans WILL buy these products. Even so, only the gas-engine Smart is sold here....not the diesel.

TRDFantasy

I highly doubt that. The torque from the 1.6L diesel IMHO simply won't be enough to match the instantaneous torque provided by the electric motors on the Prius. Yes diesel vehicles are known for their ability to pull in any gear, but you're forgetting two things here.

First, the Prius does not have any "gears" to speak of. It's a CVT transmission. Secondly, Toyota's hybrids (including the Prius) are known for having good pull, particularly at passing speeds. The torque from the electric motors arrives at 0 rpm, and there is NO diesel in the world that can compete with that.

If the Fiesta had a bigger diesel engine with more HP and more torque, you would likely be right.

One last thing: we are comparing a brand NEW Fiesta diesel model with the current old, dated Prius. The next-gen Prius comes out next year, and I'm sure it will be faster, more fuel efficient, and an improvement in many ways over the current Prius.

Even *if* hypothetically this Fiesta can match a current Prius in acceleration or passing performance, all bets are off with the next-gen Prius.

ES350Bob

You had said there was nothing noteworthy there and mentioned the Prius.

There is, over 62 MPG.

Now it must be compared to the next gen Prius?

What about then next gen Fiesta?

Or how about just giving Ford some credit, under current fuel conditions, for releasing such a high MPG vehicle.

TRDFantasy

Yes, over 62mpg ... in a 2-door vehicle that's smaller, less practical AND I guarantee slower than a Prius. Also in a vehicle that will cost MORE per gallon to fuel up here in North America than a Prius will. As I said, nothing noteworthy.

This is a BRAND NEW Fiesta model, so it only makes sense to compare it to the new Prius that's coming in less than a year. The new Fiesta is not even on sale YET.

What about the next-gen Fiesta? By the time that arrives, another new-gen Prius will arrive.

I don't give credit to Ford here simply because MANY other automakers have offered vehicles like these for *years*. Small, slow 2-door vehicles using tiny diesel engines which achieve great fuel economy is nothing new. It's a good model for Europe, but it makes less sense here in North America.

Vh_Supra26

iTrader: (1)

How about just one big Fiesta thread? lol

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...ew-fiesta.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...rd-fiesta.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...ext-month.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...rst-drive.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...g-highway.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...omplaints.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...hatchback.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...g-brother.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...ampionshi.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...eliveries.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...oor-sedan.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...orsepower.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...-the-ring.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...elebrates.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...eet-tough.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...ion-hopes.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...like-face.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...or-2013-a.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...amsterdam.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...fiesta-st.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...in-brazil.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...in-brazil.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...st-for-us.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...14-fiesta.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...bo-engine.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...-ecoboost.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...fiesta-st.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...ng-school.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...cross-car.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...fiesta-st.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...by-2014-a.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...-titanium.html