Ford's sedan version for the ASEAN market of best-selling Fiesta will make its debut at the Bangkok Motor Show (26March - 6 April 2010) and will go on sale in Thailand by August 2010. Ford has already sold more than half a million examples of the Fiesta hatchback worldwide and hopes to increase its share of the market in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region with this sedan version. It will be built at the joint Ford-Mazda factory in Rayong, Thailand. This factory also produces the Fiesta's chassis sharing partner, the Mazda 2 hatchback and sedan for the region (with the exception of Singapore which gets its 2 from Japan). The Thai flavoured Fiesta will be produced in both five and four-door formats, with exports planned for Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

For the Thai market the four-door Fiesta is offered with a choice of 1.4- or 1.6-litre petrol engines, both of which can operate on E20 bio-ethanol fuel. Buyers can choose between a manual or the new generation six-speed 'Powershift' (DSG type) automatic transmission. The bigger engine is the latest 120 ps Duratec engine with twin variable camshaft timing (Ti-VCT) and is mated to the 6-speed dual-clutch Powershift transmission. The smaller engine, with an output of 96 ps, will have a 5-speed manual transmission.

Remote keyless entry is standard in all versions of the new four-door model, while Ford claims that Bluetooth, USB and iPod connectivity, as well as a voice control system are all unique in the segment. We do not know whether this system standard across the range or limited to the higher specified cars.

As for the looks, looks like a slightly heavier styled Mazda 2 with some angles looking better than others. It is a decent looking sedan derived from a hatchback. Unlike some not so successful hatch to sedan designs (the previous Honda City or current Nissan Latio sedan as examples).

The Ford dealership in Malaysia has reported that they will sell the Fiesta sedan (and hatchback) by the middle of 2010 but no actual launch date has been set as yet. As for Singapore, there is no news as to whether the Thailand built sedan will be sold in the Lion City. The Fiesta currently on sale is the 1.4liter hatchback version imported from Germany. So would a sedan version be accepted by the market if it came from Thailand?