The New Ford Fiesta: The Myth, The Legend...The...Laboured Metaphor!
In my current line of work I have to spend a lot of time thinking about cars; more of a pleasure than a chore when put in such basic terms. Often my imagination, susceptible to flights of fancy, will wander off on its own accord and concoct a stream of consciousness that will inevitably lead me to a missed deadline and a verbal warning from my superiors. Whilst looking at some footage of the brand new Ford Fiesta, my thoughts began to digress off on a slightly odd tangent. I was thinking about Ford's superior standard of vehicles and how it must feel to be in direct competition with such a market-slaying behemoth as the Ford Fiesta.
"A market-slaying behemoth?" I thought to myself. What an odd image.
I began to imagine a scene from Greek mythology, with the Fiesta taking the role of Zeus and the competition being reduced to the lowlier figure of Prometheus. The story of Prometheus, in its most unadorned and diluted fashion, is one of an upstart who gets punished for challenging the superiority of a higher God. Prometheus stole fire from Zeus to give to the humans and when caught was punished for his crime. The nature of this punishment was Prometheus being bound to a rock while an eagle ate his live every day only for the liver to regenerate to be eaten again the next day.
Stick with me, I'm going somewhere with this.
The Fiesta is Zeus, as it has the superiority, the power and all the desirable attributes that the lesser models want. The lesser models (Prometheus) try to steal all the things that make the Fiesta almighty in the hatchback market; the sporty looks, zippy motor and undeniable style. The Fiesta is angered by this and sites divine retribution on its lesser competitors. In this situation that punishment comes in the form of a pathetic market share in comparison and the knowledge that they'll never be quite as good as the Ford that they aspire to be. No liver-eating eagles this time.
See, we got there in the end.
The point is that if I were an engineer competing with the Fiesta, I would be very worried indeed. How are these competitors going to create anything as enviable as the Fiesta? Ford have pulled another masterstroke in making the optimum car for its price range; combining all the practicality that you would expect from a hatchback, with all the looks and performance you would expect from a car twice its price.
Ford's reputation for build quality and reliability have not been besmirched in the New Fiesta either. In so many basic model hatchbacks, it can often feel like you are driving a child's toy; it's all brittle plastics and inferior feeling material. Those wonderful people at Ford have not cut a single corner when manufacturing their new baby. It's tough, it's comfortable, it's a fantastic performer and best of all...it's cheap!
To be able to drive away a car of this standard for less than £9000 is quite simply astonishing. The fact that you would consider buying any other car in this price range is even harder to believe. From the light, but responsive handling, the incredibly low CO2 emissions and the heart-stopping great looks, not one inch of the new Fiesta disappoints.
Much like the Greek mythologies that seem to permeate my brain whilst at work, the Ford Fiesta has become the stuff of legend and with the latest model being virtual perfection; it looks like it has secured its place in history.
About the Author:
Pete J Ridgard is a writer and a car enthusiast. here he discusses the brand new Ford Fiesta. See It Here.