Just like the Ford Focus before it, everyone’s in love with the hatchback version of the Fiesta. And you can’t blame them; it’s absolutely stunning from just about any angle and with the right paintjob (the molten orange hue comes to mind), you’ve got one of the best head-turners money can buy. But while everyone’s all oohs and ahhs over the Fiesta hatchback, tucked neatly alongside it is the equally capable Ford Fiesta sedan.


There’s no denying that the Fiesta sedan’s not the prettier of the siblings, but don’t let the awkward proportions fool you. Granted the trunk looks like a design afterthought, the Fiesta sedan still carries with it some ‘street cred’—some umph if you will, especially compared to other cars out there. The big, sculpted eyes and wide trapezoidal mouth are truly eye-catching while the interplay of sharp lines and pronounced bulges connote a young, sporty demeanor. Besides the awkwardly grafted-on trunk, the blacked out front fog lamp housing (the Fiesta sedan doesn’t come with front fog lamps) is something to be desired as it lends an econo-box vibe to an otherwise stylish, upscale looking car.

The Fiesta sedan’s cockpit also suffers from the very same problem: there are too much blank buttons scattered throughout. Of course, this is the only genuine complaint you can level at the Fiesta as it is downright modern, funky and practical all at the same time. The seat is mounted on the high side, perfect in providing excellent visibility all around the car. The steering wheel, though adjustable only in tilt, offers good reach; and the thick-rimmed wheel itself is nice and comfortable to hold despite being finished in urethane. The instrumentation, including the center-mounted multi-information screen may look small, but thanks to the simple typeface, is perfectly legible and easy to understand. The rest of the buttons and controls are a bit confusing for those who’re more adept with Japanese cars, but after a while you’ll get used to all but one of them: the central door lock. The location of the central door lock button isn’t a big issue: it’s very European, sitting atop the hazard switch on the center stalk; what is an issue is that it doesn’t give any visual indication as to whether the doors are closed or not, except for a miniscule LED light on the switch itself. With all the bukas-kotse and carnapping incidents out there, redundant visual cues to the door locks are appreciated.