ODD as it may sound, the closest thing I can compare to Ford’s latest baby is my favorite mobile phone.  It’s jam-packed with a whole lot of exceptional features, sleek and compact, pretty darn cutting-edge and it took quite a long while for it to finally arrive.  And just like my phone, its introduction was drummed up so well that the market’s anticipation for it is growing so thick you can almost slice it with a butter knife.

It was pretty smart of Ford to hand out 1:24 scale models of it on its teaser launch event a long while back, giving us motoring journalists something to hold on to, literally, until we could get our hands on the real thing and actually drive it.

Well, that day came and drive it we did!

Ford flew a huge batch of us eager beavers into Thailand to finally experience their much talked-about nameplate via an epic road trip.  Right foot tapping and hands itching to grab onto a steering wheel, I was stopped in my tracks by the sight of a little hatchback painted candy red gleaming under the intense Phuket sun.  Finally, the Ford Fiesta in the flesh—er—metal!  It looked infinitely better at 1:1 scale… those sweptback arrowhead headlight clusters, chromed trapezoidal intakes on the grille, prominent creases on its wedge-shaped profile, two-toned side view mirror housings with turn markers, and a very sporty rear windshield visor/spoiler—suddenly it’s so very unlike my cellphone. We were given a thorough walk-through of the Fiesta’s design attributes and the word “kinetic” pretty much summed up the inspiration behind them—the “energy in motion” that was reflected even in the smallest of details.  Thorough, too, was the discussion by the Ford experts about how it was so extensively engineered to deliver top-of-class performance, comfort, safety and driving dynamics that I was tempted to sneak out ahead of the group and get acquainted with the Fiesta, Grand Theft Auto style.

My driving partner and I were drawn away from the candy red hatch, toward the “ref-white” four-door sedan with a manual transmission.  I raised an eyebrow at the visual tradeoff but the thought of driving stick in a right-hand drive car in picturesque Phuket was an exciting proposition, so I hopped in and buckled up without a squeak.  As soon as we were at cruising speed on their notably smooth highways, the Ford engineers’ tech-speak rang true.  Excellent was how the Fiesta’s handling felt as the twisties unraveled, providing remarkable positive feedback from every steering input. It was as if the car “dug” into the tight curves.  The steering itself felt sharp and precise and, depending on the vehicle’s speed, almost imperceptibly adjusted accordingly in steering weight, which boosted my sense of control, especially during challenging driving situations. The leather-clad steering wheel was also two-way adjustable, so it was virtually impossible not to find a steering angle that was to my liking.  The sport-style seats were so well-bolstered they were actually form-fitting, which made me wonder how my plus-sized colleagues would slide in.  All these factors combined with a very suitable driving position that made driving a lot more enjoyable.  It was also mentioned that so much attention was given to reducing the levels of noise vibration and harshness (NVH), and indeed we felt it… or didn’t, rather.

Impressed with how ample a 1.4-liter Duratec engine could be in a Fiesta, I almost forgot it was time to switch to the top-of-the-line 1.6-liter Sport variant with the six-speed PowerShift.  Six speeds on a car this size?—totally unheard of, and totally sensible.  This feature affords the Fiesta a 9-percent reduction on fuel consumption by keeping the engine’s RPM at the optimal low end, no matter what the speed—all the while providing more torque for acceleration, and less effort for the engine while cruising at high speeds, which by the way is where I felt the vehicle handled best.

As pertinent as the details were from the pre-drive briefing we had, there was just too much information for us to process despite our enthusiasm, which adds to our fascination all the more, that all the safety features, performance enhancements, and premiums for comfort were funneled—no, neatly crammed—into a subcompact, the Fiesta simply astounds.  But most importantly, as I chucked the brochures, info modules and spec sheets over my shoulder (for later use), all those technical terms, numerical figures, proprietary technologies and such, actually translated into an overall discernibly pleasurable driving experience that was simply… felt.  Ford’s brand-spanking-new small package delivers big.  With the Fiesta, you’re bound to have a feast behind the wheel.