2011 Ford Fiesta at LA Auto Show: First Impressions

We have known for some time that the U.S. spec 2011 Ford Fiesta has been coming, but it feels like the small car has been stateside for years. The official unveiling of the Fiesta was held at the LA Auto Show yesterday and Autoblog have a ton of photos along with their first impressions.

About 60 percent of the parts are the same as the European spec Fiesta, most of the charm of the new Fiesta is still intact but changes had to be made if it wants to succeed in this tough new market. The grille is the most noticeable difference, with a three-bar design, which we discussed in a recent post.

We also know that the front fog lights have been changed to the LED kind, these are surrounded with chrome. Moving to the interior, things are much the same as its European counterpart, although there have been some minor tweaks to conform to U.S. crash standards.

Those differences to the interior include a four-inch LCD display, soft touch materials, leather seats, moon roof and much more. Ford also offers SYNC as an optional extra.

The 2011 Ford Fiesta is powered by a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine, which pumps out 119hp. There is a choice of a 5-speed manual or a 6-speed PowerShift automatic transmission. Visit Autoblog for their impressions of the U.S. 2011 Ford Fiesta.