This Fiesta posted by Roshake reminds me ephemeral these were in the US, sold for just four years (1977-1980), as a stopgap before the US-version of the Escort arrived in 1981. And of course the US version only came with the 1.6 L four, whereas this one has the 1.1. And that wasn’t the smallest engine available; there was also a 957 cc version of the Valencia four, and evolution of the “Kent” four.
The Fiesta marked Ford’s first entry into the hotly-contested European B-Class (“supermini”) of very compact FWD hatches. That class included the Fiat 127, VW Polo, Renault 5, Peugeot 104 and the Austin Metro in the UK, among others. The Fiesta did well in Europe, and established it as a staple in the class for decades to come.
The American version with the 1.6 L four was a hoot to drive; the most fun available at the time in its class. This was a very light car for US standards, and the 1.6 was fairly gutsy. I had a lot of fun in my SIL’s Fiesta the couple of times I drove it. A genuine hot hatch, before that became a thing in the US anyway; a GTI before its time.
This 1983 is from the last year of production, before it was replaced by the Mk2, which was really just a facelifted and otherwise freshened version of the original.
Related reading:
Curbside Classic: 1978 Ford Fiesta – Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
Vintage R&T Review: 1978 Ford Fiesta Ghia – Ford’s First Go At Selling The Fiesta In The US
I owned a 1980 Fiesta that looked somewhat like the car pictured but mine was red over red. With the body colored metal inside the car and a very nice red cloth on the seats it actually looked pretty classy…at least to me.
According to published statistics, the Fiesta was actually slightly quicker to 60 mph than a concurrent Nissan Maxima. Yes, it was incredibly fun to drive on the twisting back roads of Northern California. The downside was it was no fun in Texas. (NO A/C.)
I was overjoyed when Ford brought the Fiesta back to North America, until a test drive revealed that it was just a bit too small for me to get comfortable behind the wheel. I eventually bought a Fusion.
Bad news…..Ford will close out all Fiesta production as the company moves to EVs.
Lots of background on the entire Fiesta project. The Duce approved the program (code name Bobcat). IIRC, a Renault 5 was used as a mule for testing.
I love Big Car videos. A lot of development history discussed in all his videos.
I always learn something at CC. I never knew the U.S. version was a relatively fast car for the time. A girl I knew in HS had one in the 80’s, but I never rode in it. Are there any still on the road in the U.S.? It could be 20 years since I’ve seen one.
“Are there any still on the road in the U.S.? It could be 20 years since I’ve seen one.”
They still show up on Bring a Trailer and Barn Finds from time to time, but I can’t imagine anyone daily driving one. Most mechanical failures (outside of oil changes and spark plugs) would require a special order part and a week or more of downtime waiting for delivery.
For example, a quick check on Rock Auto shows there’s no steering rack, struts, wiper motor or half shafts available there. I’m sure all these parts can be sourced, but I’d consider any Fiesta a weekend fun car and plan to do all the work myself.
For some reason Hertz had a few and I got one to use for a long weekend from the St. Louis airport location. And it was a manual – I think a four speed but maybe five. What an unlikely rental car! Yellow too.
I drove it to the Chicago area and back and was very impressed. Not only fun to drive but it seemed well built (unlike other Ford rental cars back in the late ’70s). It looked and felt German. Maybe it was German built; I don’t know. Tiny wheels/tires but, fun. I think it had a black cloth interior, a nice improvement on thick vinyl found on Granadas and Fairmonts and the like.
Never had another as a rental car but did have a few of those horrible Festivas that came later – not even close.
North America models were built in Germany.,jacked up to meet Federal bumper hight regs so they looked weird along side UK models .
Europe didn’t get the 1.6 Kent engine until the 1982 XR 2 ” hot hatch ” model so Ford entered cars with US bumpers so they looked like production cars in the 1980 Saloon Car racing series. Weird again….
Right! The 84 hp XR2, the ultimate Fiesta Mk1.
I had one in the early 2000s. It was the model with the ancient Ford Anglia engine. No AC and no goodies at all, just a plain Ford tin can. But it had one unbelievable advantage: It could run on ethanol without any changes. This was great when prize for gasoline here in EU (Belgium) were sky high. I could bum around for a few euros in my old Ford.
Great color and I love the wheels.
I’d love a chance to squeeze my fat a** into one and try it out! 😀
My dad, he of the 1961 Mercedes 190Db slug that I learned to drive in, surprised the heck out of me when he bought a Fiesta in the early ’80s. For one thing, Dad was NOT a Ford guy by any means. And there were things over time that he didn’t like, such as when the heater developed a leak, and replacing the core was the fix. He didn’t like that there was so much plastic surrounding the core itself. But the car gave him some good service. Eventually he swapped with my brother, giving him the Fiesta, and my brother gave my dad his big ’73 or ’74 Chevy crew-cab camper special pickup with the 454 engine. (Dad used that pickup in his volunteer work with a group restoring an old streetcar and putting track in to run the car as a sort of working museum.)
In 1984, Dad and I drove from Tucson to Virginia to visit my other brother there. That car was great to drive. It handled well, kept up nicely on I-40, and did everything we asked of it. In return, the only trouble we had was a flat tire. The A/C did its job, too.
I owned a 1978 US market Fiesta from 1979 to 1982. I bought it with the specific intent of SCCA Showroom Stock Racing which i subjected it to for two seasons. On the street, the performance – specifically acceleration in the first three gears (it was only sold here as a 4 speed) – was excellent. On the track it was very competitive with other cars in its class like 1500 Rabbits, 1600 front wheel drive Colts and even 258 Gremlins, though when the Fiat X1/9 became eligible the Fiat could generally beat a Fiesta due to better cornering and braking. The Fiesta’s weaknesses were putting power down to the ground (not a good snow or even rain car), massive torque steer, and a big gap between 3rd and 4th gears which negated any gain we’d get on the track coming out of slower turns. As a race car, front tire and brake pad and fluid life were measured in weekends or even days, with about 60 – 70 minutes of track time per weekend. The fit, finish and “European” feel were really nice, but it was definitely built to a weight and cost target; sheet metal was thin and accoutrements were sparse.
This brought back some fun memories. One of my best friends dad worked at a Ford store, so my buddy always had a Ford since he got his license. Back in that day when gas prices were out of this universe and hit around $1.00 per gallon, his whip became a Fiesta. We had a blast in that car. But one of the most fond memories was when he was at work and parked in a store lot. During gardening season when the store had pallets of fertilizer and such, Rick backed his Fiesta in between several pallets. Being the good friends that we are, we saw his car and decided to have some fun. Myself and 3 other guys snuck to his car, one on each corner, and lifted that light little Ford off the ground. We turned it sideways so that when Rick came out he found his car wedged between the pallets!!
Again, being the friends we were, it was time to go back to work and the 4 of us once again lifted his little car and turned it so he could drive out. Ah, those were the days!
Love this.
I’d forgotten all about these, but I recall that one was on my desirable list back in the early-mid 80s. I’ve always been a fan of this body style and recall reading back in the day that these Fiestas were fast and fun.
I had two of these US Fiestas in the 1980’s, such fun cars! They all came with just 66hp, 4 speed manual, but only weighed 1800 lbs so they were spry! My first was a 1978 S I got in 1984, and the next was an 1980 base in blue I bought in end of 1986. The 1978 model had power brakes and AC, which was an add on separate from the heater, worked well. My 1980 had manual brakes, and also had rust so me and a friend painted it…zebra! I drove it like that for 3 years until I was hit from behind and then into a car ahead. I still wonder what it would be like driving such a tiny car now in this SUV world (it was only 144” long)
66 hp…exactly the same (DIN-)hp rating as our 1979 Ford Fiesta 1300S, which superseded the 1978 1100S (total-loss after a crash). Both running on leaded premium gasoline, basically the norm for most cars on the road here in those days (two types of gasoline back then: “normaal” and “super”).
Always liked the Mk I Fiesta. Grandparents had one, and I always liked that car. Went overseas later, in the mid-’80s, including stops in Europe and was thrilled to see these in their natural habitat, along with Capris. With their updates, amber turn signals, and Europe-spec bumpers, I was happy to see them still in production.
I considered these then (and even now, though my appreciation of the stolid virtues of Toyota Corolla 5-speeds has grown) at the top tier of small car.
Then, I thought
1. VW Rabbit (despite the price)
2. Ford Fiesta
3. Honda Civic
Now, I’d put the Fiesta in “tied for 3rd” after some of the comments (3rd to 4th gap), tied with a Toyota Corolla sedan. Fun? Not as much. But with the 5-speed, and RWD, it was a LITTLE entertaining–and the durability and reliability was way ahead of VW and Ford, and better even than the Honda.
And that Corolla brings me to this:
But my real comment is for our host Paul, unrelated to the Fiesta (though it does relate to econoboxes, sort of)
If I recall, from my past readings, Paul is a big Scion XB fan, yes? The box.
Has there ever been a CC on the Pontiac Vibe/Toyota Matrix? I took a look and found none.
I recently got one for the winter, and I am pleasantly surprised how much I like it and it’s growing on me, despite its age, mileage, and condition.
I’ve looked up some things on youtube that it needed that were within my abilities skill and tool-wise, and in the process, I am very surprised at the cult following these cars have online. Maybe not like a Miata, but still. I’m starting to see why.
The Fiesta is much cooler, but today, between parts availability and the ability to withstand the horrible cold and SALTY Michigan winter (and even summer with our lousy roads–I’d lose a 12″ Fiesta wheel in a pothole and the front end with it) environment, I’d rather have a decent Vibe, even with an automatic.
I think we need a Vibe/Matrix CC. I bet these cars have a lot of fans in this space too.
I learnt to drive in a 1978/9 1.1L (I think it was a 1.1, not a 957cc) in fridge white with dual controls. This was in the UK, so four on floor with no choice and a very sharp clutch seemingly made by Gillette.
Useful tweaks by the instructor included window stickers and a needle stuck into the window rubber to aid the reversing elements of the test.
I passed first time, so thanks!
Never seen such a plagiated design since the primarily idea of the niche is a copy paste of Fiat 147 . Even wheelbase, fastback`s angle , interior ergonomics and luggage space everything is a German / Spaniard sibling from the 1971`s Italian shape . Even first generation VW Polo came to make such a try for a tasteless car