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Better than the Polo? - The Ford Fiesta in the (historic) test

Name: Ford Fiesta 1976
Brand: Ford

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Created on November 1, 2022

Text:

Dirk Maxeiner

Photos:

Ford Motor Company

Archiv

Ford Motor Company

Archiv

This press photo adorned the front page of "hobby" no. 14/1976

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Ford Fiesta (1981) - minimal adjustments to the facelift

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Ford Fiesta (1981) - slight retouches to the bodywork

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Ford Fiesta (1976) - one of the first pictures of the new small car

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Ford Fiesta (1976) - Transparency drawing

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Ford Fiesta (1976) - with Ghia equipment

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Ford Fiesta (1981) - the large tailgate makes loading easier

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Ford Fiesta (1981) - right-hand drive version

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Ford Fiesta (1976) - combined with the Model T

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Ford Fiesta (1976) - for the whole family

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Ford Fiesta (1976) - with the small car Ford offers fuel economy and comfort

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Ford Fiesta (1976) - Henry Ford II poses with a Fiesta S

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Ford Fiesta (1977) - lifestyle of the seventies

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Ford Fiesta (1976) - S model with discreet side stripes

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Ford Fiesta (1976) - S model on the move

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Ford Fiesta (1977) - and then there was also the Turbo

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Ford Fiesta (1981) - XR 2 variant for sporty natures

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Ford Fiesta (1981) - Ghia variant in winter

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Ford Fiesta (1981) - the renewed interior of the facelifted version

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Ford Fiesta (1979) - Interior of the right-hand drive version

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Ford Fiesta (1976) - L-version in the first year

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Ford Fiesta (1981) - the American version had round headlights

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Ford Fiesta (1982) - the XR 2 as a particularly sporty variant

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Ford Fiesta (1976) - Insight into production

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Ford Fiesta (1976) - Uwe Bahnsen and Claude Lobo at the Design Center

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Ford Fiesta (1976) - Start of production in Valencia

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Ford Fiesta (1976) - the different color variants shown on entire bodies

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Ford Fiesta (1977) - convincing small car from Ford - Geneva Motor Show 1977

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Ford Fiesta (1976) - Roger Moore also liked the little runabout

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Discarded front view of a test vehicle 1975

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Ford Fiesta (1976) - Technology made visible

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Summary

In 1976, Ford launched its VW Polo competitor, the Fiesta, a year late in the race to win the favor of small car customers. With almost the same dimensions, it offered more space for passengers and a larger trunk. However, the Ford lost out to the VW in other respects. This article reproduces a test report from 1976 from the magazine "hobby" and shows the first Ford Fiesta in historical photos.

This article contains the following chapters

Good space
Friendly interior
Short transverse engine
Foolproof handling
Easy maintenance
Plus
Minus
Technical data

Estimated reading time: 6min

Preview (beginning of the article)

For two billion marks, you get a third of the Daimler-Benz share capital, can buy BMW or - depending on your needs - also bear half of the annual Bundesbahn deficit. Henry Ford, ruler of the world's second-largest automobile empire, opted for a fourth solution: "The biggest investment in the history of the company" benefited one of the company's smallest cars. It is called the Fiesta, has front-wheel drive and a tailgate and is only around three and a half meters long. The Mini will initially be built in Germany, Great Britain and a specially constructed plant in Valencia/Spain. However, the Cologne engineers in charge had their hands full until the time came: "There was actually nothing left of the prototype that the Americans gave us one day," says Waldemar Ebers, Head of Development at Ford Cologne, emphasizing the German copyright claim.

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