The new Ford Fiesta is ready-and-waiting to pounce in September this year as we know, and will come in one shape and a couple of sizes. But the particular one that’s grabbed our attention this week at the British Motor Show is the new, ultra-frugal £11,845 Fiesta Econetic model, already cited as the UKs greenest family car in waiting prior to its launch before the year’s end.
Whilst rival supermini’s may not leave heavy carbon footprints, the Fiesta Econetic doesn’t even leave carbon tip-toe prints and has no need to sneak around whatsoever in either three or £12,445 five-door guise.
With all major car manufacturers’ adding a dedicated green sub brand to current portfolios, Ford’s Econetic iteration is surely up there with the best of them by offering such segment unique features as the green shift indicator.
Nothing to do with pregnancy testing, everything to do with illustrating the optimum time to change gear to maximise your fuel economy, it’s a dab hand at saving the driver money, and the polar bears another ice cap or two.
As the flag bearer of the new Ford Fiesta’s green policy, the latest Econetic incumbent lives up to its pre-Show hype and will provide the ultimate foil to the less environmental stance its bigger, uglier sibling the raucous new Focus RS insists on taking, despite flaunting such exterior greenness.
The low-emission 1.6-litre TDCi diesel engine emits just 98g/km of carbon dioxide, which immediately places the new Fiesta oil burner in the Band A column when it comes to VED road taxation on launch, which of course avoids any charge. Yes free.
And how does it achieve this we hear you ask?
Low-rolling resistance rubber wear on the wheels, low friction transmission fluid, more spacing between the gear ratios, modified engine calibrations and some aerodynamic tweaks to the Fiesta’s exterior here and there are the main culprits.
And again, any car that’s going to help keep East Anglia above water level for a while longer will automatically be good for driver’s wallets too, with the Fiesta Econetic being no exception, averaging 76.3mpg on the combined cycle.