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"Ford is debuting its new Fiesta, which is Dearborn&amp;#039;s anti-Chevy Sonic, Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, and all the rest. It&amp;#039;s a cute little guy, leading with Ford&amp;#039;s latest grille with familiar Aston-Martin overtones. No problem with that.   It&amp;#039;s arguable that Ford&amp;#039;s design shapes are more active than the competition and the new 2014 Fiesta continues that from its low grille to the high-mounted taillights. There are sleek headlamps as well. The interior&amp;#039;s layout and seats are right up to spec for this class, though we&amp;#039;d argue the dash controls and center stack are a bit fussy. There are some 45 buttons and switches in the center...and I couldn&amp;#039;t get the Bluetooth system to easily recognize my iPhone.        2014 Ford Fiesta    But We&amp;#039;re Here For The Horsepower, Right?   Normally we&amp;#039;d be sidling up to the Fiesta ST with its 1.6-liter EcoBoost four and 197 bhp and 214 lbs.-ft. of torque. This engine only comes with a 6-speed manual. The ST rides 0.6 in. lower than the standard Fiesta and wears 17-in. wheels and tires. Sadly there weren&amp;#039;t any available to drive as yet, but that was okay because we were curious to drive the 1.0-liter turbocharged 3-cylinder EcoBoost engine.   For decades, automakers have damped small engine vibrations with a counter-rotating balance shaft. Ford didn&amp;#039;t want to go that route with the small three because that design takes up space, adds weight, increases cost, and can cut into fuel efficiency.        2014 Ford Fiesta    Those problem vibrations are in a vertical direction, and Ford manages to alter that with a flywheel and pulley at opposite ends of the engine that are very specifically unbalanced - plus some crankshaft work - to redirect the vibrations fore-aft. Engineers then use sophisticated engine mountings to quell that motion.   There&amp;#039;s more to the three than damping vibrations. Like a tiny turbo - hence the EcoBoost name - just off the cylinder head that can quickly spool up to a max of 248,000 rpm. An offset crankshaft to reduce friction. Direct fuel injection. A unique engine warming system. How about a timing belt immersed in engine oil to reduce friction and noise and that never needs servicing?        2014 Ford Fiesta    The result is 123 bhp and 148 lbs.-ft. of torque and what Ford expects to be 40-plus mpg. Full EPA testing hasn&amp;#039;t been completed, but the automaker plans for this to be the most fuel-efficient non-hybrid car sold in the U.S. As yet, the three only comes with a 5-speed manual and Ford isn&amp;#039;t discussing an automatic. Those wanting an auto in the new Fiesta will have to opt for the third engine in the line-up, a non-turbo 1.6 four.   This little turbo 3-cylinder is an intriguing bit of tech and when you raise the hood there&amp;#039;s a mass of wires, tubes, ducting and heat shielding that fills the engine compartment.        2014 Ford Fiesta    But Does It Work?   In a word: yes. At idle you run your hands all over the dash and barely feel any vibrations. Off in 1st, accelerating hard, and the power is impressive for the engine&amp;#039;s size and purpose. Somewhat surprisingly, you can hear the thrum of the three and it almost has a sporting sound. It is a somewhat odd beat - you can tell it isn&amp;#039;t a four - but the sound is just different and not objectionable. Back off and for all intents it&amp;#039;s just another engine up front, getting on with things.   Run it down to 1000 rpm in 2nd gear and the engine pulls away smoothly. Trundling along in 2nd or 3rd gear in city traffic, step on it and the response is almost instantaneous. If you didn&amp;#039;t know this was a 3-cylinder engine with a turbo and weren&amp;#039;t looking for it, you wouldn&amp;#039;t notice. As journalists that&amp;#039;s our job, but we suspect that most drivers, cruising along listening to the radio, even merging on the freeway, won&amp;#039;t notice the difference between this and a four. Quite simply, the 1.0-liter 3-cylinder turbo engine gets the job done. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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