<\/p>\n
Good things come in threes. Three-point basket buzzer beaters. The Three Stooges. Charlie\u2019s Angels.<\/p>\n
And Ford\u2019s turbocharged, 1-liter, three-cylinder engine.<\/p>\n
Three-holers have been as rare as four-leaf clovers in recent years as their poor power and inherent lack of balance have won them few buyers. The Mitsibishi Mirage and Smart, to name two, have underwhelmed with their buzzy leaf blowers. But with the relentless advance of fuel economy regulations and engine technology,\u00a0automakers like Ford are re-introducing the three<\/a>\u00a0to a new generation of buyers.<\/p>\n The 2014 Ford Fiesta SFE is lightning in a bottle. Make that lightning in a 1-liter bottle. With its surprising power, hybrid-like fuel efficiency, and Fusion-like good looks, this overachiever is sure to become a micro-car icon. Indeed, the Ecoboost Fiesta brings to mind another three-banger idol from last century, the Geo Metro.<\/p>\n Sure, the little Ecoboost just won International Engine of the Year for an unprecedented third straight year. OK, Germany honored its tech innovation with the prestigious Paul Pietsch Award. Ford wants three-cylinder bragging rights stateside? It\u2019s gotta go through the Metro first. Eager to gauge the three\u2019s evolution, I went hunting in my Race Red SFE for a late \u201890s Metro.<\/p>\n Geo Metro owners are a proud lot. Like the Dwarves in Tolkein\u2019s Hobbit, they are a close tribe fiercely protective of their\u00a0cars They give the new Fiesta more respect.<\/p>\n I contacted the Michigan clan through the online Geo Metro Forum. My offer to reciprocate driving a Geo Metro for the Fiesta was met with much enthusiasm. The Metroids are intrigued by a 1-liter that aspires to the Holy Grail of 50 mpg while also promising performance \u2014 a strange concept in the remote, Middle Earth realm of three-bangers.<\/p>\n The Geo Metro itself was hatched as an economy car in every sense of the word. At $8,085 in 1995 ($12,639 in today\u2019s dollars) it was the cheapest chariot on the lot \u2013 and would still be today. So obsessed was GM with Metro\u2019s price tag that it offered the passenger side mirror as an option.<\/p>\n The pride of the litter, the Geo Metro XFi (manufactured from 1990-1994), got an EPA estimated 43 mpg city\/53 highway. That\u2019s 47 mpg combined. It was the penny-pincher\u2019s best friend. But the Metro made no pretense of performance. Zero-60? Use an hour glass. Side Gs? Side what?<\/p>\n Lansing-based Geo Metro owner Matt Spiess answered my call for a three-for-all. We had a blast.<\/p>\n Spiess\u2019s 49-horsepower, 1995 Metro is officially EPA rated at 40 mpg combined (37 city\/44 highway) a year after GM discontinued the XFi. But in his quest for better fuel economy, Spiess has upgraded his matchbox (complete with \u201cGot 50 mpg?\u201d sticker on the bumper) with XFi guts and a rear spoiler not unlike my Fiesta. As a result Spiess is averaging an astounding 52 mpg around Lansing. On my 80-mile trip from Detroit, I drove \u201cgreen\u201d \u2013 5th gear, at the speed limit (you don\u2019t know how hard that is for me) \u2013 and still managed \u201conly\u201d 47 mpg.<\/p>\n Point to Mr. Geo. Yet, while returning hybrid-like fuel economy numbers, the affordable Fiesta is one zesty salsa to drive. Game, set, and match, Mr. Ford.<\/p>\n To the\u00a0auto This three is King Kong in a can.<\/p>\n The turbo\u2019s peak torque arrives at just 2,500 RPM. Merging onto US-127 north of Lansing at full throttle, the subcompact Fiesta disappeared from the Metro. Its 8.3-second, 0-60 sprint is a half-second quicker than\u00a0a 1.8-liter Honda Civic<\/a>. The Fiesta\u2019s power comes smoothly, predictably, quietly.<\/p>\n The quiet is a testament to the fact that subcompact advances aren\u2019t just under the hood.<\/p>\n Thanks to extensive sound-deadening and chassis work, the interior is noticeably quieter than the buzzy Metro. The instrumentation is more refined, the cup holders abundant, the cargo room plentiful. The three-banger only comes in Ford SE trim with a list of standard features as long as your arm. Seven air bags, leather steering wheel, a passenger side mirror . . .<\/p>\n \u201cI can’t believe how smooth, quick, quiet, and powerful it was,\u201d wrote Spiess at\u00a0GeoMetroForum.com<\/a>\u00a0afterwards. \u201cIt did not feel like a little 3-cylinder at all.\u201d<\/p>\n Our comparison was not without its old school nods, however. Throwing the threes into tight turns, I found the Metro\u2019s hydraulic steering more responsive than the Fiesta\u2019s numb electronic rack. And in a nod to cost, the Ford only comes with a five-speed manual gearbox.<\/p>\n The cost-cutting is a reminder that the Fiesta\u2019s leap in engine technology is not cheap. Where the Metro tri-hammer was a base engine, the Fiesta mill is a $995 option over the base $14,925 sedan. Add the SE trim,\u00a0heated seats But the wee Metro also came with a price: Dealers couldn\u2019t give them away. The\u00a0XFi died in 1994 due to poor sales<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 the Metro brand followed in 1997. Squeezed by Washington mpg edicts even as Americans shy from small cars, the Fiesta 3-cylinder is an attempt to make fuel efficiency fun.<\/p>\n\u00a0GM\u2019s Metro wowed us with 47 mpg numbers long before Toyota gave birth to the Prius \u2013 or the 3-cylinder Fiesta took Europe by storm. Though discontinued before the Millennium, the Metro maintains a cult following that worships its small sticker price and big fuel savings.<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/images.intellitxt.com\/ast\/adTypes\/icon1.png\")
<\/a>\u00a0and three-cylinder artisanship. They are dismissive of pretenders \u2014 ahem, like the Mirage and Smart \u2014 that fail to live up to the three\u2019s fuel efficiency potential. The 1.0-liter Smart gets only 36 mpg? Amateur.<\/p>\n<\/a>\u00a0engineers of the last 20 years, we salute you. Start with the Fiesta\u2019s briefcase-sized engine. Its 123 Ecoboost-ed horses are not just 74 more than the Metro. Not just more than the standard 1.6-liter Fiesta. It\u2019s more ponies-per-liter than a Lamborghini Aventado (106) or Corvette ZR-1 (103).<\/p>\n<\/a>, and destination charge, and my triple stickered at $18,190. That may be south of similar mpg hybrids \u2014 and Mini Cooper\u2019s stylish three-holer ($21,300 base) \u2014 but it\u2019s well north of what an inflation-adjusted Metro would be today. Heck, you could buy a used Metro for the Ecoboost premium, Spiess noted.<\/p>\n