Ford Fiesta gets the Puma’s 48v Mild Hybrid powertrain options

Ford announces the Fiesta can now be optioned with the 48v Mild Hybrid powertrains already available in the Ford Puma. Costs from £19,860.

When the new Ford Puma arrived as a Fiesta-based SUV this time last year, it came with the option of Ford’s new 48v mild hybrid powertrains. So it’s no surprise to find the more efficient powertrains now finding their way in to the Fiesta too, although it’s perhaps a bit of a surprise it’s taken Ford a year to do it.

Ford claim the new mild hybrid option improves economy by around five per cent by using the familiar, and very good, 1.0 litre three-pot petrol with a small lithium-ion battery and an ISG (integrated starter generator) to shove in an extra 15lb/ft of torque and minimise turbo lag.  There’s also an energy recovery system on the brakes to to grab energy to store in the battery which can then be used to help acceleration or drive electrical systems.

Just as in the Puma, the Fiesta gets two power options for the mild hybrid system, with either 123bhp or 153bhp, both with a six-speed manual gearbox and official economy of 57.6 mpg and 55.4mpg respectively.

Ford has also fitted the Fiesta with traffic sign recognition and adaptive cruise, with the interior getting a tweak to the SYNC3 infotainment and wireless phone charging.

Prices for the new Ford Fiesta Mild Hybrid start at £19,860 for the 123bhp Fiesta Titanium.