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Global Viewpoints
Fiesta facelift
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Ford has given its little Fiesta a facelift for 2000 and added a new 1.6-L Zetec-S engine. The car's front end has been radically changed, with Ford's "New Edge" family styling from the Focus echoed in the Fiesta's headlamp treatment. The hood has distinct feature lines, a design cue that is becoming increasingly popular on European cars. The Zetec-S engine is linked to a short-throw Ford Puma-style gearchange, and follows the Zetec 1.25-L and 1.4-L units. A continuously variable transmission (CVT) is available.
Interestingly, the performance characteristics of the Fiesta's Zetec-S engine are emphasized by its sound, an increasingly important design and marketing element. It has been tuned by Ford's acoustic engineering team to provide a distinctly sporting note during hard acceleration, which Ford described as "functional harmony." To achieve this, the air intake system has been tuned, the sound achieved being based on research and acoustic engineering experience gained when the Puma coupe was under development. The Fiesta uses a quarter-wave tube and Helmholtz resonator within the air cleaner assembly, and a porous air intake duct located to ensure the desired sound is mainly audible internally rather than to the outside environment.
Stuart Birch
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