Just because there's been new life breathed into small cars doesn't mean buyers are going to clamor for dour, joyless, fun-free clunkers. Ford's well aware of that, so its readying a soft-top version of its lauded new Fiesta. The fabric-roofed little party on wheels will make its debut at next week's British Motor Show and should be on the road by early 2010. The sharp looking little cabrio forgoes the popular folding hardtop trend to save weight and maintain usefulness with a small-folding top stack. Competition is heating up in Europe, with plenty of smartly styled, diminutive 'verts hitting the market. We hope that when the Fiesta takes its boat ride across the Atlantic, some of these are tossed in the cargo hold.
For once, we don't have to stare at shots of an attractive compact Ford and wistfully complain that it won't be available here. The production Ford Fiesta hatch has been spotted in the wild, and with Ford's confirmation that we're getting the hatchback and sedan for 2010, the potential is there for this vehicle to be a common sight on U.S. roads. The Fiesta is a stylish domestic offering for a segment where the Fit beats all and the only domestic offering is the Aveo. A bigger choice of small cars is a good thing, and while the Fiesta's backlight looks a little pinched in a function-follows-form kind of way, it's still more handsome than the Yaris. Those hoping for a high performance SVT version should start making noise now. It wouldn't even have to be fast, just make it handle like the original Focus SVT and we'd be happy with that.
Click above for gallery of high-res Ford Fiesta spy shots
The question of whether or not Ford will offer the upcoming Fiesta in the U.S. as a three- or five-door hatchback is still unanswered, but we do know that a four-door sedan version is on the way. And here it is, recently snapped by spy photographers in Dearborn, MI. Though this prototype is wearing heavy cladding, its clear that the design will stick closely to what was previewed with the Verve sedan concept. Also note the sharp forward rake of the beltline, which gives the car a very high rear trunk lid and might lead to a sense of claustrophobia for rear seat passengers who can barely see out. Nevertheless, we're ready for Ford to reenter the small car market with a bang when the production Fiesta sedan arrives sometime later next year.
Brenda Priddy & Co. caught a Euro Fiesta mule filling up its gas tank in North Sweden, and the car can already be seen wearing a few cues inspired by the Verve Concept that debuted in Frankfurt. First and foremost is the large front grille that punctuates the cladding this mule is wearing. This car's beltline also sweeps up dramatically from front to back, and the rear taillights are mounted on the C/D-pillar just like the Verve's. Of course, we're interested in the European Fiesta because after it debuts over there next summer as a 2009 model, it will arrive in the U.S. virtually unchanged the following year as a 2010 model. Expect both three- and five-door hatchback models to be offered, which makes the loss of those model types in the larger Focus lineup a bit easier for us to swallow.
Spy shooters abroad have snagged a handful of pics proving once again that Ford's next generation Fiesta will be influenced by the Verve concept shown in Frankfurt. The automaker's Kinetic design language will influence every aspect of the five-door's exterior, with a cleanly stylized front clip, tautly drawn headlamps and a steeply raked windshield. The boxy persona of the outgoing model will be dispatched in favor of more curves and sculpted lines, and while the rear spoiler may be a bit of a stretch on this prototype, we'd expect something closer to the concept's to make it to production.
It's expected that the Fiesta will find its way to the States once the hatch meets U.S. crash regulations and the styling fits in with Ford's other American offerings. Our only concern is how the three-bar grille treatment will affect an otherwise faultless front end.
Just because there's been new life breathed into small cars doesn't mean buyers are going to clamor for dour, joyless, fun-free clunkers. Ford's well aware of that, so its readying a soft-top version of its lauded new Fiesta. The fabric-roofed little party on wheels will make its debut at next week's British Motor Show and should be on the road by early 2010. The sharp looking little cabrio forgoes the popular folding hardtop trend to save weight and maintain usefulness with a small-folding top stack. Competition is heating up in Europe, with plenty of smartly styled, diminutive 'verts hitting the market. We hope that when the Fiesta takes its boat ride across the Atlantic, some of these are tossed in the cargo hold. 
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