'14 Ford Fiesta a peppy fuel sipper.

• Author: Job, Ann M.
• Position: Cars

Byline: Ann M. Job

Ford's smallest car in the United States, the Fiesta, doesn't have a hybrid power plant and it doesn't plug into an electric outlet. The 2014 Fiesta doesn't even come with a fuel-conscious continuously variable transmission.

Yet the affordable, sprightly, five-seat Fiesta ranks as a top nameplate in the United States in fuel economy among 2014 cars with conventional gasoline engines.

The Fiesta's best fuel mileage rating from the federal government is 32 miles per gallon in city driving and 45 mpg on the highway. This combined 37-mpg mileage is for a Fiesta that's fitted with a new-for-2014, 1-liter, three-cylinder, turbocharged, gasoline engine that generates 123 horsepower.

But even 2014 Fiestas with Ford's 1.6-liter, naturally aspirated four cylinder that develops 120 horsepower can be rated as high as 30/41 mpg by the federal government.

For 2014, there's other news for the Fiesta, which is sold as a sedan and five-door hatchback. The front styling on all Fiestas gets a bit of an Aston Martin treatment with new headlight shapes and prominent grille. There's new equipment, including Ford's MyKey that provides personalized controls over maximum driving speed and audio volume.

Best of all, the Fiesta can be tailored with many convenience, connectivity and luxury features -- even heated leather-covered seats.

Arguably, the most stylish and versatile of Fiestas is the hatchback, which was the test model and a comfortable size for driving in the city.. At 13.3 feet long bumper to bumper, the Fiesta hatchback is subcompact in the...