Ford Fiesta ECOnetic. Australia's Most Fuel Efficient Car

Who has just launched the most fuel efficient car in Australia? This time it's Ford, with the Fiesta ECOnetic.

It has exactly the same body as the petrol Fiesta launched earlier this year, so unlike the Prius, it doesn't look like it fell to earth from Planet 51!

Its combined fuel consumption rating of 3.7 litres per 100 kilometres#, means that the Fiesta ECOnetic surpasses all other vehicles currently on sale in Australia, including petrol/electric hybrid models.

It also produces fewer CO2 emissions with an official CO2 emission rating of 98 grams per kilometre – making it only the second vehicle in Australia to achieve CO2 emissions under 100g/km and the only non-hybrid vehicle to attain such an ultra-low CO2 standard.

Fiesta ECOnetic officially went on sale on December 1 with a recommended offer price of $24,990 driveaway. 

Technical Details

Fiesta ECOnetic looks and functions just like a conventional Fiesta, using conventional diesel powertrain technology. 

The detailed urban/extra urban results for Fiesta ECOnetic are also class- and industry-leading achievements, with urban cycle fuel consumption of 4.6 L/100km# and an extra urban (highway) cycle figure of just 3.2 L/100km# – the latter being 13.5 per cent more efficient than the leading hybrid model.

This efficiency is matched by impressive driving quality and performance, with the 1.6-litre Duratorq TDCi engine producing maximum power of 66 kW at 4000 rpm and peak torque of 200 Nm at a very accessible 1750 rpm.

This reduction in fuel usage and CO2 emissions has been achieved through the use of:

• A specially-calibrated Duratorq 1.6-litre TDCi common rail diesel engine with coated Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF)

• Low rolling resistance tyres

• Unique transmission and final drive ratios

• Improved aerodynamics – lowered ride height, air deflectors, unique wheel covers

• Weight reduction through the provision of a tyre mobility kit in lieu of a traditional spare wheel/tyre

• Addition of a green shift indicator light in the instrument cluster, which signals the optimal point to change gear to maximise fuel economy

5 Star Safety

Fiesta ECOnetic also offers a comprehensive list of active and passive safety features, culminating in a 5-star safety rating from ANCAP.

Driver and front passenger airbags, head and thorax front side airbags, and a driver's knee airbag are all fitted as standard equipment, along with an Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), and Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) with Traction Control and Emergency Brake Assist (EBA).

The Drive

We took the Fiesta for a spin through the streets of Canberra and then hit the open road to put it through its paces to critique the ride, handling, road noise and see just how well it performed at extraordinary speeds. Not really. Instead we took part in an eco challenge to experience first hand how frugal the ECOnetic is. And yes it is. And I can claim bragging rights to winning the challenge with my driving partner who thought I was joking when I said no air conditioning. Not that I normally drive without it, but my competitive spirit took over. We consumed an average of 3.2 litres per 100 kms over about 200kms. So rest assured, if you want to achieve the official figures you should be able to with the AC on.

A great feature to help you save on fuel is a green arrow in the instrument cluster that illuminates at the optimal time to change gears. Eagerly watching the arrow appear and changing gears was one of the tactics we employed to steer us to our win.

After we completed the challenge our driving style transformed from a meandering Sunday drive to a mission to make our flight home. This gave us a more real world feel of the car's ability, and I'm quite happy to report that it drives really well. Not that I thought that it wouldn't...The 1.6 litre diesel engine provides plenty of power through the gears with reasonably smooth acceleration and low engine noise. My only critiicism is that I found the gear box was a bit sticky.

Who Will Buy It?

At 25k driveaway it's not the cheapest small car on the road. But it is a lot cheaper than the other cars that virtually survive on fuel vapour, like the Mini Cooper D and Toyota Prius. It has a surprising large interior for a small car, with good head room throughout. We stacked wine boxes in the boot to see how the space stacks up. No complaints here either. And if the boot space alone is not enough for your Christmas cheer and pressies, the rear seat splits and folds.

The ECOnetic is suitable for anyone who doesn't need a large car, is happy to spend less time at a petrol station, wants to minimise their impact on the environment and wants to reduce their financial contribution to the oil companies.

The Fiesta ECOnetic looks great, drives well, drinks little and has a 5 star ANCAP safety rating. All in all a pretty good package!

# Figures obtained from controlled tests conducted to Australian Design Rule 81/02