Ford Fiesta automatic transmission – everything you need to know

Ford Fiesta was the smallest Ford

In the 1970s, thanks in part to the oil crisis, the demand for small cars increased significantly. Ford capitalized on this with the introduction of the first Fiesta in 1976. It was the smallest car Ford had ever produced. The name Fiesta – Spanish for “party” – was still in use at the time by General Motors as a designation for equipment levels, but GM gifted it to Ford to use for the new city car.

Sixth-generation Ford Fiesta

With further generations of the Ford Fiesta, the car has proven to be a world-beater. Over time, the car was sold in more and more world markets, sometimes taking on other guises besides the hatchback version. From sedan to van to pickup. With the sixth generation from 2009, the Fiesta also returned to the North American market, after only the very first Fiesta was sold there for a few years only. However, the seventh-generation Fiesta was again not sold in the US.

Higher positioned

The seventh generation was positioned slightly higher and came only as a hatchback. The Fiesta does come again in three-door versions, which is no longer a given these days. The number of body styles may have decreased, but the number of versions increased. Thus, the seventh generation also comes as an extra luxurious Vignale, cool dressed Active and the sporty driver can once again choose an ST version.

Ford automatic transmission

The supply of compact cars with automatics has been growing rapidly for years. In the past, you could hardly find an automatic in the class of the Ford Fiesta, nowadays every model in the so-called B-segment has a version with an automatic. The Fiesta has a dual-clutch automatic transmission that shifts lightning fast and has 7 gears. The seventh-generation Ford Fiesta also came as an automatic in the sporty ST-line trim with a 92 kW (125 k) 1.0 Ecoboost three-cylinder engine. This is a very fine combination, offering plenty of punch yet economical.

Ford Fiesta hybrid

The eighth (facelifted) generation of the Fiesta now comes only with 1.0 Ecoboost Hybrid powertrain. Here, the three-cylinder gasoline engine receives electrical assistance from a starter generator. That’s actually the starter motor that also generates power when the Fiesta brakes. That power is stored in a 48-volt battery. When accelerating, the starter generator uses that energy to support the internal combustion engine. Acceleration is not so much snappier, fuel consumption is then mainly lower than a Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost without a hybrid. Ford quotes consumption averaging between 5.0 and 5.3 liters over 100 kilometers.

Hybrid with automatic transmission

Ford supplies the Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost Hybrid with manual transmission (6-speed) or automatic. If you choose that, then you get the ST-Line X trim. There is no other combination. It is an ST-Line with extras such as LED headlights and LED taillights, a rearview camera, keyless entry and dark tinted privacy glass on the side and rear. Other versions of the Ford Fiesta include the Titanium and Titanium X. Ford also offers numerous packages, such as Comfort Pack, Driver Assistance Pack, Parking Pack and Winter Pack. With this package you get heated front seats and steering wheel and the heated windshield, with which Ford was one of the first more than a decade ago already.