Joy Hampton
Staff Reporter
TULSA —
One of the top cars in its class has been a hit in Europe for years. Now it’s back in the U.S. and one of the first is available at a local Claremore dealership.
The vehicle is the Ford Fiesta, featuring special safety enhancements and amenities sure to make it a hit in the Sooner State as well.
“There are very few in the area. They just started dropping them off about a week ago,” said Randy Sloan, New Car Sales Manager for Jack Kissee Ford. “It’s been in Europe for years, and they’re bringing it back to the United States. The biggest reason is probably fuel economy.”
Great cars have long been available in Oklahoma – for a price. What’s appealing about the Fiesta is almost anyone can afford one. The base price on a Fiesta is around $15,000, making it affordable for a wide range of consumers.
“This car is rated at 40 miles per gallon on the highway, and it is the first one that has a driver’s side knee airbag,” said Sloan. “There is no other car in this segment of cars that has these features. These are usually only available on a much bigger car and a much more expensive car.”
The Fiesta is an aerodynamic design that should fare well in Oklahoma winds by minimizing air resistance and thereby increasing fuel efficiency.
Fiesta was designed to be “quick and nimble” but advanced safety features should make it one of the safest cars in its class. Motortrend Magazine cites the Fiesta as the best selling car in Europe.
“A lot of people really liked the design,” said Sloan.
Motortrend commends the Fiesta for styling and build quality.Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris are key competitors. Also in the class, Nissan’s Versa. While Motortrend rates the Honda Fit slightly above the Fiesta in some areas, out of nearly 4,000 drivers responding to the question, “Which compact hatch would you put in your driveway?” a whopping 71 percent or 2,803 online voters selected the Ford Fiesta as compared to the next closest, the Honda Fit, with 23 percent of the vote.
Some of the available amenities on the Fiesta include SYNC which is designed to allow drivers more easily operate MP3 players and Bluetooth phones with simple voice commands. SYNC includes 911 Assist, Vehicle Health Report, and real-time traffic updates, turn-by-turn navigation and business searches.
The Easy Fuel capless fuel filler system has a spring-loaded door that allows consumers to insert the fuel nozzle into the tank to fill up with no screwing or unscrewing required.
Then it automatically seals when the fuel nozzle is removed, allowing fewer evaporative emissions.
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