2011 Ford Fiesta priced from $13,320, special deal for reserving early

Surprisingly, Ford decided to slip out U.S. pricing for its hotly anticipated and genuinely fuel efficient 2011 Fiesta with no fanfare at all. No major announcements at the LA Auto Show, no wordy press releases... nothing. But, if you head on over to Ford's official page for the new Fiesta, you'll see that it starts at $13,320 (plus a $675 destination charge).

Even better, the full Build and Price section is available, meaning you can see each and every individual option and its price. We went ahead and spent some time perusing the options list, and we see that the low base price is for the base S model, which comes exclusively in sedan form. The least expensive hatchback model is $15,120 (about $800 more than a comparably-equipped sedan).

Step up to a hatchback with Ford's new six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and you're looking at $16,190, and the uprated SES hatchback starts at $17,120 ($18,190 with the auto). Click past the jump for more interesting little tidbits that we noticed when pricing out our own Fiestas, including what Ford is offering for reserving one early.

One obvious omission that we noted was the complete lack of a real-life GPS navigation system. True, the latest SYNC system includes turn-by-turn voice navigation commands, but that certainly isn't the same as the screen-based navigation systems offered by some sub-$20k competitors like the Honda Fit, Suzuki SX4 and, soon, the Nissan Versa. Moving along, we note that the excellent and highly attractive leather interior comes at a cost of $715 and is available in Black, Cashmere or Plum tones. Note, though, that the leather interior is only available on the SEL (sedan) and SES (hatchback) trim levels. Still, several competitors don't offer cowhide insides at all.

Those looking to customize their rides a bit further can opt for five different graphics packages, though we'd just leave those options unchecked on our own Fiesta. For what it's worth, we did price out a competing Honda Fit and found it's pretty tough to option these two cars at similar levels. For instance, the Honda is available with a true screen-based navigation system (oddly only with the automatic transmission) but not with a leather interior. Consider too that the Fit is only available as a hatchback while the Fiesta can also be had in sedan form. In any case, the two cars are within spitting distance of one another when loaded to the gills with all available options.

Finally, Ford is offering a special deal to those willing to reserve their newly-priced Fiesta online by throwing in a free Sync system with turn-by-turn navigation, premium sound and a "VIP customer experience," whatever that means. Click here to see the whole shebang for yourself. Thanks for the tip, Alex!

[Source: Ford]