2011 Ford Fiesta SES <pic heavy/like always>
 

So with the wife's Lincoln MKZ lease ending this summer, in April we pre-ordered her a 2011 Fiesta. We watched it on Top Gear in 2008 when they did a review on the Euro version in 2008. We loved it then and thought... "once again the euro's get all the cool stuff."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Zy78tFPQwQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYIyCmcuQno

Now granted there are some differences but still all very the same.

So we picked it up Monday. Wifey luvs it. I'm thinking... it's good. Thursday I drove it so that I could get the windows tinted. Grab a few pics before I shove off in the morning... sorry about the rain...

Now this is the hatch SES with 301 package (pre-tint) and the body kit & spoiler, which is great
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES002.jpg
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES015.jpg
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES009.jpg
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES008.jpg
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...staSES010a.jpg
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...staSES011a.jpg
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...staSES012a.jpg


Nice dry shot and even after some rain driving
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES016.jpg

I found a few very distinct first impressions...

The completely keyless system a breathe of fresh air. A lift of the restraints of keys that we have all become a custom to. The simple button push and pull works great. I push the start and the motor fires quietly to a purr. It is a very quiet motor that gives very little vibration.

It has things that you wouldn't see in this segment of cars. Ambient lighting... and lots of it. Plus it does like 10 colors!!
Cup holders <thumbnails enlarge if clicked>
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES019.jpghttp://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES020.jpghttp://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES021.jpg

dash
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES022.jpghttp://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES023.jpg

front floors are done with this little LED
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES025.jpg

rear floors
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES029.jpg http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES028.jpg


Interior shot, that didn't turn out so well.
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES070.jpg

She also has the metalic assc that gave her a different shift knob and these metal entry kick panels
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES026.jpg

The interior in general is great. The seats are comfortable, supportive and conforming. The radio/sync is somewhat straight forward regardless of the amount of buttons. The hardest part is getting use to the sync. I have yet to even tap into Ford's 3rd and best version out to date.
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES027.jpg

However, the shift is almost truck long in its throw. This is not a wrist action shifter by any means. I can only hope that the aftermarket companies will make a short throw shifter.

The sloped rear roofline does effect the long distance sight out the rear view mirror, but I think with a good final adjustment to the seat I can work around that. The side mirrors with built in convex mirrors and side blinkers are nice. Double safety in my honest opinion as a motorcycle rider. I have convex mirrors on every car/truck/suv I drive. That along with proper mirror adjustment will cut down on accidents.

The rear reflectors need to be blacked out bad, they stick out like a sore thumb on the dark color, like 2 big red blobs. The front door windows are huge and give you a fish tank feel, but easily fixed with some window tint. The less bright color shows off the body lines better. Now coupled with some tinted windows (limo windshield strip, 20% rear/35% fronts) you can concentrate on those agressive body lines.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES030.jpg
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES036.jpg
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...staSES037a.jpg

She's got a wide ass to boot
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...staSES038a.jpg

The lines are just so nice, edgy, and modern looking
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES034.jpg
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES041.jpg
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...staSES040a.jpg

After driving it for 2 days I'm impressed. It's no sports car or anything, but it had no problems whizzin down the eway the other night chasing my bud in his new 300, doing speeds over 100mph.

I couldn't help but to admire the car everytime I stopped during my work day.
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES044.jpg
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...staSES045a.jpg

Then when I got home I was again admiring the front LED accent lights. Something that you usually only see on high $30k ++ cars.
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES061.jpg
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES058.jpg

Gives it a great look at night. And I already have 2 HID kits on order as well.
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES064.jpg

Low beams
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES065.jpg

High beams
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES066.jpg

The suspension has achieved the impossible. It's tight, sensative, and gives great feedback from the road. With that recipe you would think it would be rough and that the bumps would push or knock you and the car around. Well, you would be wrong. I said they achieved something that most only dream of obtaining. It has a sport tightness that you wouldn't expect from a car of this class, yet it sucks up these crappy Michigan roads with ease. Ford has done it, hats off.

We're both really happy with it. The car's sticker was $19,245, add on the $1800 for the body kit & spoiler (parts, prep, paint, install), minus family discount and competitor cash ($1k), plus tax... $20k flat OTD.

I simply don't know of other cars that give you so much bang for your buck. Plus it has its competitors whipped in the looks department. It's edgy and gets lots of positive attention every where you take it. Even when I stopped by the Chevy dealer, the sales team nearby were on it in a flash checking it out. Ford raised the bar big time.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES049.jpg
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...estaSES051.jpg
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Real nice gas. It has a for cylinder correct??? I don't know if I could ever go back to a four after owning 2 six cylinders.

That is one sweet ride. Where is the final assembly/

I don't get it, you have to pay the dealer to paint and install a Ford OEM body kit? Why doesn't it come like that from the factory?

Yes, a 1.6L I-4 making a whoppin 120hp. Not much compared to my HHR SS (275hp/375tq) or the TB SS that she was driving till this came in at 400/400. But it makes up for it in other areas.

Unfortunately south of the border. I know I know. It sucks beyond sucking. I can only hope componants were made here. I should ask some of my Ford folks, cause the wife knows a few of the engineers that helped design the car. Wierd that when Top Gear episode was done they were made in Germany. IDK why the switch.

Cause it's not a ford item. It's 3D Carbon somin... sold as an aftermarket ford assc that is dealer installed. This is a common practice with all kinds of things.

Nice write up, you make me want to do a better picture session and write up on my cars...

Yeh I was looking at the fiesta when I bought my wife a new car a few months back, I loved the car, the way it looked, and all the features it had too, but after my experience with my last two fords (both focus's that had major problems before they hit 100k) I just couldnt go back to ford. She wound up buying the honda fit, very similar to the fiesta, weaker engine, steelies instead of alloys, but some extra standard features inside.

http://images.dealerrevs.com/pictures/22742744.jpg

Honestly I will say this... it doesn't matter which you get. Off the top of my head...

91 Pontiac 6000... had it till 295k so I replaced much but never opened the motor or trans.
00 F150... bought used from company, no real things ever done to it and had 230k on the clock when I got rid of it.
02 Saturn SC2... NO problems
04 F150... only a few little things like check engine light needing software update, rear end clutch packs replaced
04 Chevy Equinox... no problems
07 Lincoln MKZ... battery died 3 months after new, replaced. NO other problems.
07 Chevy TB SS... new rear end, xm antenna replaced, couple door seals replaced, window motors lubed... nothing major.
10 HHR SS.... saga continues
11 Fiesta... 275miles in...

Not bad...

But nice honda Derf... can't say anything bad about Hondas.... where are those built?

I haven't been impressed with the Civic as of late. They look like they are using cheaper shit every year. Not sure of the fit. Accord seemed well built.

I recently leased a 2010 VW golf after the Malibu lease ended. I wanted the new Chevy Cruze, but I needed a car and couldn't wait 6 more months. The VW (the agreed price was 16k, similar to a fit) is built like a vault and drives like a nimble 560 SEL Mercedes. One of the best small cars I've ever driven.

What is an assc?

Major component assembly is done in japan, drivetrain, body, etc then shipped to california for final assembly. Yeh honda has treated me well, I had an old integra that lasted to 180k when it was finally stolen. I also had a toyota celica that finally started having trans problems after I started to offroad it, other than that it was great. Then I had a plymouth acclaim that had lots of small problems until I sold it at 85k, granted most of those problems were because it sat from 94-99 without being started, then in a little over a year I put 45k on it.

After that I bought 2 focus's (one was my wifes) which were great until they hit 100k and I went through the gambit of car repair. between the 2 cars:

3 Crappily designed thermostat housings
3 head gaskets
3 fuel pumps
3 axles
3 (see a trend here) water pumps
3 altenators
3 steering columns
3 brake master cylinders
3 (another 3!) manual shift linkage cables
1 (no more 3's) gas tank
6 gas caps
2 windshield wiper motors
1 tourque converter
1 manual shift inkage
1 engine mount
1 non working door (it was a back door but thats why we sold the car)
neither glove box would stay up
2 broken hand brake cables
neither one had a cig outlet that would work longer than a few hours without blowing a fuse
electric seat motor blew
front brakes would only last between 15 and 20k miles

Thats all I can think of off the top of my head. Luckily we had 2 of them and after my car was deemed not worth it to fix anymore (128k), I put it in the driveway and used it for salvage parts. My wifes car had 124k miles and the back door sropped opening, then failed inspection so we traded it in for the fit, and got $1600 (lucky we got that much) for it.

Nothing against the fiesta, I just hope you didnt have the same experience I've had with it. I've heard of some bad stuff with them already, sync system freezes, keyless entry stops working, cruise conrol issues, dual clutch auto tranny problems, CEL throwing a code for brake service, fuel pump control thingie thinking the airbags deployed, decel fuel shutoff sometimes takes too long to kick in resulting in a stalled car. Thats it, not sure how prevalent each of those problem is but thats the stuff I have heard of so far.

Go here for fiesta related questions, they can answer you most stuff

http://www.fiestafaction.com/forums/

Wow, that's pretty hilarious. To think I almost bought a Focus SVT a few years ago.

short for accessories

That is a heck of a list. I haven't heard anybody have those kinds of problems with a focus. You must have my strand of luck. You buy Friday afternoon assembled cars too?

To date, we don't have any of the issues listed above. Not even the ones that the online relm told us we would have without a doubt. Nope... not there. The problem with the Fiesta is that it's been a long running car in europe. So some of the info on the web is miss leading. Further, as I said, those built in germany these built in mexico... who knows what the differences are.

I have looked at that site, but it's so big. I just don't think I have that kind of time for ANOTHER big site.

I'm member #33 on thier sister site focaljet. The focus was great until about 40k miles, then little stuff started going wrong, I got lucky that I bought the extended warranty that was good til 60k but after that I got screwed. There were also a ton of recalls, and even after the recalls were done, the fixes weren't great fixes. That is the problem with buying a first model year production car, the bugs arn't quite worked out yet. And what is scary is that both cars had the same problems at around the same mileage, if you look at the issues section from focaljet, 2000 model year there are quite a few people who's cars were built between jul 99 and may 00 that had many of the same problems

Your lucky you didn't man. Those things are terrible for reliability. I knew three people that bought them and they traded them off within 2 years because they were junk.

You could if it is turbo charged :)

Nice ride Gas Man. We just shipped one of these to Germany for testing. Did you get the one with PowerShift?

Nice car man. We may end up with one eventually. I always hated Ford but they've caught my eye lately. Enough so that I picked up a 2010 Fusion SEL on the first of May. Now my GF has her eye on the Fiesta to replace her 08 Accent.

It looks like a great car but I dont want to test drive one just yet. I want to keep the Accent for a while longer and test Drives just put bad ideas in my head. :lol:

Absolutely love my Fusion though.

Accessories = Accs..not assc. Assc = Association.

You paid 14k OTD for a base Yaris? :lol:

You gotta good deal on the Camry tho..

Accessories = Accessories. Never heard of anyone using an abbreviation for it, before now.

Wasn't a base Yaris..it had an automatic.
Wasn't it?

14K OTD is bout right for a Yaris automatic. So a few going for 15K list awhile back.

The accessory position on the ignition switch in your car says ACC for accessory. :zowned:

Yeah true...you are pretty frugle.

Well if it makes you feel better... pull the body kit off the $20k and it would be $18,200.

Tomato Tomoto

I'm diggin it. The color looks better in the wet pics.

Seems a little high on price though.

Just had a new Fusion as a rental and the interior had a similar setup with the LED's and such - it was pretty cool.

It is cool but reflected bad on the inside of the tinted windows at night.

Good to know. Glad it has an "off" function.

Dropped it off today at my chevy dealer for the same rust/noise proofing my hhr had done. Boy did I get some looks pulling in the garage in the new ford.

then I can maybe get to moddin the fiesta. Have hid's in the garage for it. Just need some time to do it. Especially before our trip to tenn in it.

My Fusion has been begging for HIDs too but the damn DTR lights are on Low Beam. They can be shut off in the computer settings (For when they're sold in the US.). I need to look into that.

Well my HHR had DRL and when I had them active my HID's were still on. No difference between DRL & not. But it's a 50 50 shot if that would work for you. On my HHR just to be safe I pulled the fuse on the DRL. Check your owners manual... it was just that simple for me.

Honestly, I have not put that much effort into checking it out yet but I'm almost positive there is no fuse or relay for them in mine. Everything I've heard says they are turned on and off with a setting in the computer. I'm pretty sure they still send 12v to the lights for DRL but it's switched on and off rapidly by the computer and can cause HIDs to flicker and ruin the ballasts.

Get a set of ddm HIDs and try it. Is it illegal for the dealership to disable that in canada?

Ya I doubt they would put their ass on the line like that. I'm just hoping we get an update for our Snap-On Solus at work soon. It only goes to 2009 right now. Hopefully it can do it. I may just get a set of DDMs anyway and try them. If they dont work, I'll put them in my fog lights or something.

Or even just call them and ask them how to proceed.

I just read into it some more and I think a relay harness might do the trick. I could make my own but would rather pay the $12 and have one thrown in with my order. Anyone have any experience with these?

The harness gets it's signal power from the stock Headlight harness but I think it says the Relay harness has connectors to fit 9005/6 connectors. My low beams are H11s so I take it this is not going to work. Anyone know if they have harnesses with different connectors or do I have to use some sort of Adapter?

I have that harness on my fog lights. When you order your HID, + harness they will give you the proper harness connectors. But they really aren't much... Some of them are nice clips and others are just pins that you slide into your connection.

Good to know man, thanks.

What Wattage/Bulb temp are you using in the Fiesta? What about the Fog lights you mentioned? I would like to get a 55w set for my low beams and move them to my fog lights temporarily if they dont work. Just worried they might get too hot in the smaller fog light housings.

Can't use the 55W in the smaller housings like fog lights. My HHR is 55W 8K headlight, 35W 6K in fogs. The 55W washes out some of the bluer color of the 8k so they then look similar to the 35W 6K's below. Same theory I used on my Ultra and it works, they look nearly perfect. They even suggest the same on their site.

On the fiesta, she has no fogs and her ford doesn't have any DRL or anything crazy. The headlights are plenty big... so its 55W 6K for the low & same for the highs. I knew she wouldn't want any blue coloring so the 55W 6k should look like a 35W 4k which is a good color for usefullness. The 6k is the start of blue and the higher you go the less "usable" light you have and get into more "show" color.

On the bike I wanted some blue to make it stand out and seen. On the HHR I just liked the combo and just for cosmetics I wanted the slight blue again.

Back on the subject of the Fiesta. Got some work done on it today...

1st up... VHT nite shades tint on the rear reflectors. I called this before we even had the car.

STOCK
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...staSES038a.jpg

Smoked out
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...ds/HID039a.jpg

I also hard wired in her GPS and radar detector.

Then went to work and installed the discussed HIDs.

You have to pull the entire lamp housing to do anything with the headlight or tail lights. They even tell you to in the owners manual.
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...HID/HID016.jpg
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...HID/HID018.jpg

HID bulbs installed
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...HID/HID032.jpg
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...HID/HID030.jpg

Ballasts
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...HID/HID033.jpg

I have never been able to get good pics of HIDs
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...HID/HID046.jpg
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...HID/HID047.jpg
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...HID/HID048.jpg
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...HID/HID049.jpg

But I still try....

Ordered LED bulbs for all the white lights on the car. Interior lights, plate and reverse lights. Cause between the front accent lights and the HIDs, the other white stuff looks so yellow. Get those installed this week hopefully.

Drove to work... WOW It always amazes me how awesome the HIDs really are. No matter what application I install them on.

I like that the alternator looks like its in an easy to change position.

True... don't look too ruff!

I've done a bunch of LEDs to it, HIDs to it, and now have a steeda short throw shifter, momo shift knob and boot in the garage ready for install.

But this weekend...drove it down... From Detroit to Knoxville, TN and back.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...TgwMi5qcGc.jpg

Averaged 35.8 MPG A/C on sometimes and sometimes not. It's said to do better MPG after you break 3k-5k on the motor. We'll see...

Even had the 150# Brinks in the back seat.
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...jIyMS5qcGc.jpg
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...Tg0Ny5qcGc.jpg

Car did GREAT! It's a pleasure and easy to drive. We are really satisfied.

That is big woof woof u have there.

Yeah he's my boy!

Gas, I looked, but could'nt find...where do you get your HIDs?

ddmtuning.com

Just thought I would mention that I ended up getting a set of HID (55w 6K) for my Fusion and got them to work. Just as I thought, they would not work along with the DRLs and with the relay harness, the relay would just click rapidly. Both attempts just caused the ballasts/lights to flicker. So I got a Capacitor and wired it into the signal circuit for the relay harness. Works like a charm now.

GAs you are really starting to concern me with this whole same ride as you thing. LOL Girly mushed the HHR this week, (see ice thread) and she is already shopping in case they total it. First car she sent me info on was Ford Fiesta, she's off to look at one right now. I was going to just let her drive my truck but apparently she didn't realize large V8 engines like large amounts of fuel. LOL back to a little car she goes.

They lit on my HHR DRLs. But whichever. If you ask or look up info from DDM, as a policy they will tell you to disable the DRLs.

That sucks. But honestly the fiesta is a nice car. We really like it. And with the body kit, and tinted windows it's a damn good looking car!

Plastic intakes piss me off.

Yeah well... it's a economy sub compact not a ferrari

Gas,

I saw that your got your HID's from DDM, I think I'm going to go that route for my truck. I was just curious as to where you got the LED tail lights. I'd like to find some quality lights for the rear, mostly backup lights. It's a pain in the ass sometimes with tinted front windows to see what your backing into.

I didn't led the tail lights on the fiesta. I did the dome lights, plate and reverse lights. I get all my leds from superbrightleds.com they are great and have a great application selection.

First analyze ur cars application. Pay attn to light pattern needed to do the job. They have a link to sylvania to list all ur bulbs. Many of which cross reference back to just a handful. You can email thru the forum if u have more questions and want a faster response.

Disabling the DRLs is a setting in the ECM that the dealer is not going to risk messing with. A lot easier, in my situation, to just trick the Relay/Ballasts.

My Girlfriend had a Fiesta out today for a test drive. They're nice little cars but the dealer here is having a very hard time moving them due to the price. This is the biggest Ford dealer in the Maritimes but they might have sold 2 per month so far. They're hoping for some bigger rebates and incentives in the new year.

I understand tt. But in my chevy I just pulled the fuses and relays.