The Ford Fiesta is one of Europe’s most popular superminis and after four years in the market, it is now ready for a proper refresh. Our spy photographers caught two prototypes of the upcoming Fiesta facelift wearing significantly less camouflage compared to earlier sightings. The current Ford Fiesta was unveiled in 2017, and it received a series of upgrades in 2020 including the mild-hybrid EcoBoost engine, connectivity, and safety features. This time, Ford is giving the Fiesta a nip tuck in order to keep it fresh against the competition (VW Polo, Toyota Yaris, Renault Clio, Peugeot 208, etc).
The spy photos show two variants of the upcoming model – the regular Trend and the sporty ST-Line. Both benefit from the redesigned headlights with a more angular shape and new LED graphics, plus a new grille that appears to be larger than before. Like in the outgoing Fiesta, the ST-Line variant has a different bumper with a honeycomb grille and more complex intakes – mostly shared with the ST performance variant. The bonnet is also new, sporting a more sculpted look. At the back, changes are limited on the darker LED taillights – though only on the ST-Line variant.
What is weird is that both prototypes were three-door models, showing that Ford is probably keeping both three-door and five-door bodystyles in the facelifted Fiesta. This will make it one of the two B-Segment vehicles offering this kind of choice, next to the more expensive MINI Hatch. The current Fiesta range is offered in regular, ST-Line, Vignale, Active, and ST variants. Most of them are expected to carry on with the facelift, including the performance flagship which is rivaling the likes of the recently facelifted VW Polo GTI and the Hyundai i20 N. Reviewers agree that the Fiesta is among the most fun-to-drive cars in the segment, thanks to the suspension chassis and steering setup, so we expect Ford’s engineers to keep it up with the updated tuning.
As for the engines, it is likely that the three-cylinder 1.0 EcoBoost Hybrid in 123 hp and 153 hp guide will be retained with 48-volt mild-hybrid technology, while the ICE-only options could be phased out. We are not sure about the 1.5 TDCi diesel which was recently dropped from the UK range, but this could live on in specific markets. The facelifted Ford Fiesta is expected to be unveiled before the end of the year, for a market launch in early 2022. Like its predecessor, it is not destined for the US market where the demand for superminis is close to nonexistent.
