Autoblog

click on image above to view both spy shots of the 2009 Ford Fiesta

KGP photographers are the first to have caught the 2009 Ford Fiesta testing on American soil. These shots give us, and many Europeans, our first look at the sub-Focus car that will be sold in both Europe and the U.S. As we learned back in March when Ford announced the new European Fiesta would also be sold in the U.S., the two cars will be virtually identical save for a little longer nose on the U.S. version to meet our own crash safety standards. Based on the same platform as the Mazda2, the new Fiesta will wear a more conventional look that will likely please the masses more than the Mazda's swoopy design. Though the camo does its best confuse the corneas, we can definitely make out pronounced wheel arches on the car, and a more typical set of rear taillamps that don't climb up the C-pillar like on the Focus. While rear overhang is virtually absent, the nose on this test mule does project far out in front of the lead wheels, which implies that Ford may be far along in making the design and engineering tweaks necessary to sell the Fiesta in the U.S. While there's no clear shot of the Fiesta's face this time, one can clearly see the influence of Ford of Europe's design language in the shape of the headlights and the grille. Our sources say we'll get no three-bar grille, as the Fiesta marks the first official comingling of Ford's Red, White and Bold (U.S.) and Kinetic (Europe) design themes in the same market. Though the Fiesta isn't expected to go on sale until at least late next year as a 2009 model, we want to know if you think it will be worth the wait.

[Photos: KGP Photography - do not republish]