Ford slashes Fiesta prices

FORD Australia has lopped up to $1500 from the starting price of its Fiesta light-sized hatch, with prices now kicking off at $15,490 plus on-road costs.

The Blue Oval has also made side curtain/thorax and driver’s knee airbags a standard feature on base CL variants, representing a further saving of $600 and giving the entire Fiesta range a five-star ANCAP safety rating.

The new pricing means it is now cheaper to hop into a Fiesta than an equivalent five-door Holden Barina (from $15,990), Hyundai i20 ($15,590), Kia Rio ($16,290), Mazda2 ($15,790), Opel Corsa ($16,490), Suzuki Swift ($15,990) Toyota Yaris ($15,690) and Volkswagen Polo ($16,990).

The price cuts now see the CL petrol hatch priced at $15,490 (down $1500), with the optional six-speed automatic adding an extra $2000.

The mid-range LX petrol now kicks off at $17,790 (down $1200) with an extra $2000 for the automatic, while the manual-only LX diesel is now $20,290 (also down $1200).

Flagship Zetec variants all get $500 price cuts, with the petrol starting at $20,490 (automatic again an extra $2000) and the diesel priced at $22,990.

The cars themselves are unchanged, and are still powered by either 88kW/151Nm 1.6-litre petrol or 1.6-litre 66kW/200Nm turbo diesel engines.

All Fiestas come standard with Bluetooth connectivity and voice control and Ford Australia’s six year/105,000km capped price servicing plan.

The price cuts arrive the same week as the revised Fiesta range was revealed in Europe, now available with Ford’s ward-winning 1.0litre three-cylinder EcoBoost engine.

However, the facelifted Fiesta is still a long way from arriving in Australian showrooms, with deliveries not starting until 2013.

Fiesta sales are down 14.2 per cent this year to the end of August (7109 units), with the baby Ford trailing light-segment rivals like the Yaris, Mazda2, Barina and Swift.

Ford Fiesta pricing*
CL petrol	$15,490 (-$1500)
CL petrol (a)	$17,490 (-$1500)
LX petrol	$17,790 (-$1200)
LX petrol (a)	$19,790 (-$1200)
LX diesel	$20,290 (-$1200)
Zetec petrol	$20,490 (-$500)
Zetec petrol (a)	$22,490 (-$500)
Zetec diesel	$22,990 (-$500)
* Plus on-road costs