Ford Fiesta Econetic - www.mister-cars.com

Unless you've been asleep for the last month you will have seen plenty of prominent advertising by Ford Australia for its new Fiesta Econetic. Proudly, and correctly, being promoted as being Australia's most economical car, the Fiesta Econetic is the first in a strong lineup of clean and green models that will be introduced by Ford Australia in coming years.

New models will include a fascinating Falcon with a turbocharged four-cylinder EcoBoost engine and a turbo-diesel option for the Ford Territory.

The new Fiesta Econetic is very much a product of Ford's European engineering arm. It has measured fuel consumption of just 3.7 litres per hundred kilometres on the combined Australian test cycle (city 4.6 litres/country 3.2 litres). Its C02 output is just 98 grams per kilometre.

Econetic stands right out from the crowd in the clean and green stakes, but in another way doesn't stand, because Ford has deliberately styled the Fiesta to look much the same as the standard models in the Fiesta range. Meaning the Ford Econetic is a good looking machine in the modern European manner.

Power for the Fiesta Econetic comes from a 1.6-litre turbo-diesel engine. It has been tuned specifically for economy so produces only 66 kilowatts. Peak torque is a respectable 200 Newton metres so this is no slug on the road. Maximum torque arrives at 1750 rpm, meaning most drivers will have the engine at or close to its peak efficiency virtually all of the time.

Higher than normal gearing is used in the top end of the five-speed manual gearbox in the interests of improved economy. However, first and second gear ratios are the same as those in the standard Fiesta manual. Thus letting you get the car off the line briskly when you need to do so. There is no automatic transmission option as European drivers generally prefer to do their own gear shifting.

Ford's partner Mazda is known to be working on a new range of economy automatics that could conceivable be used in the Fiesta. Ford Australia never makes comments on future products, so this is pure speculation on our part, but it seems feasible that the already outstanding Fiesta could become even more economical...

Other fuel-minimising factors in the Fiesta Econetic include improved aerodynamics. This is partly achieved by lowering the car, so it may not be well suited to rough country roads. There are low-rolling resistance high-pressure tyres to further cut fuel use.

Some weight reduction is achieved by fitting a tyre mobility kit rather than a spare wheel/tyre. This is probably not an important factor in a car that's almost invariably bought for suburban and city use.

Interestingly, the biggest factor in clean cars isn't the new technology behind them – it's the person behind the steering wheel. To this effect, the Ford has advisory information on the instrument panel telling drivers which is the best gear to be used from moment to moment.

What’s the Econetic like to drive? We have completed several hundred kilometres on a drive route out of Canberra during the press launch of the car. The drive covered some city running – such as it is in the nation’s capital – as well as motorway and open road driving in flat country and in hilly areas. We didn’t drive on any really rough road so our aforementioned comments on lower ground clearance will have to wait for another day.

To further enhance the economic credentials of its new super-economy Fiesta Ford Australia cunningly turned the drive program into a fuel economy run – these guys understand the competitive instincts of Australian male motoring journalists!

Typical fuel consumption on the Fiesta we drove was in the 3.0 to 3.2 litres per hundred kilometres bracket. This is in line with the officially measured fuel country fuel figure of Australian Design Rule 81/02.

However, we don’t feel this economy is easily achievable for the average driver in normal country running. Numbers in the 3.5 to 4.0 litre range seem more likely. This may sound like criticism, but it's extraordinarily low consumption in absolute terms and was unheard of in the days prior to modern, electronically-controlled turbo-diesel engines. (By the way, these fuel figures translate to 81 and 71 miles per gallon.)

These are country running fuel consumption figures. We will wait until we have done our usual full road test in our home area before talking about city and suburban economy, but we don’t anticipate any real blowout in fuel use when we do so.

On the road the economy Ford felt stable and handled well, with no noticeably ill effects in either ride or handling from the low-rolling resistance tyres. Noise, vibration and harshness levels were low and the Fiesta is easy to ride in and to drive.

The Ford Fiesta Econetic has a recommended retail price of $24,990 driveaway. While it's more expensive than the entry-level models in the Fiesta range, the price is pretty reasonable for a turbo-diesel car with significantly more equipment than the low-cost variant. And you have to factor in the fuel savings. The price is also a lot less than that of petrol-electric hybrid cars that use more fuel than does this super-economy Ford.

Ford Fiesta Econetic - www.mister-cars.com

Ford Fiesta Econetic: First Drive