You never forget your first. Well this beautiful, shimmering, sometimes bright blue, sometimes a turquoise ocean greeny hue, was the very first car I’d ever driven abroad. The very first LHD car.
I stalled it, and I drove on the other side of the road, but I didn’t hit anything…
Here as promised are some arty detail shots of my favourite curves of the car.
My own car is a Titanium spec, and so I felt right at home. I’ve mentioned before how a 3dr isn’t suited for me as a shorty in terms of seatbelt shenanigans, but I was instantly at ease knowing that if I veered out of lane the lane keeping tech would alert me; if I went too fast or in the wrong gear, the car would gently give me a nudge, and that the blind spot sensors would get me out of any mirror flusters. The B&O Play system was the icing on the cake…
Driving the most lovely roads from Valladolid to our hotel in Valbuena de Duero was an absolute pleasure. In fact the only reason I preferred being a passenger in this little beauty was because that gave me more opportunity to scout out locations to make this gorgeous finish pop.
There are other bloggers who can tell you more about the technical specs of the car, I can only say how it made me feel… windy as it was, this selfie says it all…
I’ve been taking part in a really special @forduk event this week, sharing all the excitement with you on Social Media. Be Social with me using the icons below #newfiesta #FordFiesta
So I’m back in the UK after my first product launch event (please not my last!).
As I’m heading into work today, to a place that is certainly NOT Northern Spain, I’m mindful of this research from Spotify and Ford earlier in the week, that despite my Love of Loud, a melancholy song may actually be the best way to ease into your morning, showing us “that the morning commute is an important transitional time”.
According to Amy Belfi, a cognitive neuroscientist from New York University who is an expert on the effects of music on the brain, “What was particularly intriguing was that far from having to be ‘happy’ songs those most likely to have an uplifting effect could equally be brooding and melancholic. Of course, ‘sad’ songs can actually make us feel good about ourselves. They may remind us, for example, of difficult experiences that we have overcome and learned from.”
I’ll be posting my final posts soon, so for now I’m listening to Green Day, Wake Me Up When September Ends, and taking time to reflect…
I’ve been taking part in a really special @forduk event this week, sharing all the excitement with you on Social Media. Be Social with me using the icons below #newfiesta #FordFiesta
Music connects, uplifts, affects… and FordSocial reports research from Spotify that reveals “that it is during solo drives, in our own private space, that we cue up secret playlists, turn the music up and sing our hearts out. For many of us, there are playlists that we only dare turn to in the car, an especially intense place to listen to music where the sound is designed to perfectly fill the space we are occupying.”
You know already that when I heard I was to join the launch event team I turned the volume right up with some Faith No More. My tastes are pretty varied – I know I’m feeling down when I haven’t got the heart to sing along to the radio, and I flip between stations to find something that fits – be it smooth Motown, ’80s pop, ’90s rock… but if I can play steering wheel drums while I drive it’s probably a winner – Guns’n’Roses tends to hit the spot pretty reliably!
The new B&O PLAY Sound System for editions of the all-new Fiesta is said to be the most powerful for a car in its class. “Engineers spent a year listening to more than 5,000 tracks to ensure the premium 675-watt technology sounded great whether enjoying Adele, Foo Fighters or Jay-Z – or chilling out to classical music – no matter how quietly or loudly you play it.”
So I polled my friends to find out what their go-to, turn-it-UP tracks are for the car, and while we cover a huge range of musical tastes, here are the tracks that came up time and time again:
Bon Jovi – It’s My Life
ELO – Mr Blue Sky
Guns’n’Roses – Sweet Child of Mine
Killers – Mr Brightside
Meatloaf – Bat Out of Hell
Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody (another 41-year old in the mix!)
All of which I would cheerfully turn all the way up. As you can see, I have excellent taste in friends!
Nathan: Living on a Prayer / Bon Jovi (we like Nathan!)
James: Cocoons by Bungle (James used to be a DJ)
Adam: Storm Queen / Look Right Through
Rick (@Ford): Victoria / The Kinks
Even our Chairman, Andy Barratt, has recently shared his musical tastes (from Coldplay to Górecki if you’re asking).
So what was my verdict on the B&O system in the All-New Fiesta?
Spanish radio is not good. And whoever had preprogrammed a playlist into the system had missed our tastes entirely!
But when you find something you love you can turn up the sound and despite being as loud as you want it sounds wonderfully balanced – surrounding you from all angles, with depth, rather than attacking you with a front wall of noise.
As someone who tends to like to tick the options box the extra couple of hundred pounds is worth considering, and of course the B&O PLAY system is included as standard with the Vignale, which was our Day 2 drive.
To find out more about Ford’s research with Spotify, click here.
I’m taking part in a really special @forduk event this week, sharing all the excitement with you on Social Media. Be Social with me using the icons below #newfiesta #FordFiesta
Drive 