Ford took an innovative approach to bringing the Fiesta to the US Market. Instead of simply updating their European version to meet US specifications, they gave American drivers the cars, armed them with a gas card, and sent them out to drive US roads. In exchange the drivers provided feedback and the American Fiesta was built. But will the Ford Fiesta live up to the hype and fulfill the needs of American drivers? Lets find out.

Starting with mileage the 2011 Ford Fiesta gets 30 mpg city and 40 highway. This is about even with the best mileage for 2009/10 vehicles, but nothing spectacular. We are likely to see this mileage surpassed when other manufactures release their 2011 versions.

The starting price is listed at $13,320 MSRP, however with full extras the Fiesta will run as high as $20,000. Looks like this little compact just went to ultra-affordable to just average. Of course the you are paying for extras but are cloth bucket seats and CD/MP3 compatible stereo worth an extra grand?

No test drive results are available yet for the 2011 Ford Fiesta. Safety ratings are expected to be high as the Fiesta is comes standard with 7 airbags, more than any other car in it’s class.

The verdict – While the 2011 Fiesta may be looking nice right now, it’s best to take a look at 2010 subcompact cars from other manufactures before pre-ordering. Remember Ford hasn’t sold a subcompact in the US since 1997, they may come out of the gate a bit rusty.