L.A. Auto show reveal of 2014 Ford Fiesta ST and Fiesta Titanium

Probably the most dramatic Press Reveal was by Ford for its new for 2014 Fiesta Titanium and Fiesta ST, the latter being the one I am most excited about. As a spoiler if you want to skip all the marketing talk in the video Ken Block appears in his gymkhana Fiesta drifting away at about the half way mark in the video.

The Fiesta ST is promised to be as thoroughly reworked as the Focus ST that we at SoCalAutoBlog drove about a month ago and were totally enamored with. The Focus ST will be the only high performance B class auto here in America (Yes, I know the 500 Abarth exists but it is one class smaller than the Fiesta ST). It will have a 197hp 1.6L ecoboost engine under the hood. Yet with all that power the Fiesta ST is still expected to wring out 35mpg on the highway… presumably achieved while driving at the legal limits, not insane speeds it is capable of. The ST is expected to be on sale spring of 2013.

The entire line adopts the current trapezoidal grill and is a much needed improvement over the current Fiesta’s slit grill.

Also introduced was the new Fiesta Titanium, a range topper that will be on sale with the rest of the 2014′s in fall of 2014. My take…why wait that long when the current Fiesta sales aren’t hopping and make it a summer launch and really move the units as this is a much sharper looking package than the current Fiesta.

Gone from the current line is the redheaded step child version of Sync with its tiny, black and white only screen and replaced in 2013 with a smart 6 1/2 inch full color MyFord Touch system. This is being done according to Ford at customer request. Makes sense as its a beautiful system, upgraded again this year to be faster and even easier to use than the original versions. Sync itself is also easier to use due to simpler and wider range of recognized voice commands. I haven’t seen the final version, but I hope they have redundant radio volume and heating/air-conditioning buttons to make it easier to adjust that in heavy traffic or in spirited driving. The introduction of this tech makes Ford a class leader in this segment.

New to the U.S for the 2014 Fiesta is their new 1.o 3cyl ecoboost, yes a 3 as in THREE cylinders that has already won awards in the EU for performance and fuel economy…on the European cycle this engine has reportedly delivered as much as 50MPG, though here it is expected to be 40mpg highway due to testing differences, regardless it is expected it will be the highest mpg auto in the U.S that is not a hybrid. This engine will crank out 123 horsepower and 148 ft lbs or torque which compares favorably to the current 1.6L normally aspirated engines 120 hp and 112 ft lbs of torque.