【英语生活】福特嘉年华试驾心得

I took a short drive in Ford's new Fiesta compact car today. The route covered several miles through Manhattan, from a traffic jam on 42nd Street to a 70-mph stint on the West Side Highway. That isn't far enough to completely size up the car, but it is more than adequate for a first impression. And it's a good one.

The Fiesta shows that a small car can run quietly and smoothly, with nimble handling and high fuel economy, without becoming too expensive. Of its pleasant driving qualities the one that sets the car apart from almost every other small car and many larger ones is its quiet interior. Even when I pressed hard on the accelerator to pass a group of slower cars on the highway, I didn't hear the sewing-machine buzz typical of small engines. Traversing New York's trademark potholes in a car is never pleasant, but the Fiesta felt solid and sure-footed where most compacts feel like they are being swallowed.

What bothers be most about small, cheap cars is that they make me feel, well, small and cheap. Their exteriors are often plain and uninspiring and their thinly-padded interiors are short on comfort but long on ugly hard plastic. They rarely make a good impression when arriving at a dinner party. Making them better - more stylish, comfortable and fun - usually results in a sticker price more appropriate for a mid-size car or SUV. That's what happened with BMW's Mini Cooper.

The Fiesta starts at just over $13,000 and rises to about $20,000 for the top-of-the-line version loaded with extra - cost options. But even the least-expensive model comes with a specially laminated windshield that helps keep the cabin quiet, and the agile suspension that holds the road so well. It also comes in great colors like 'lime squeeze' and 'bright magenta.'

There are a few details that betray the Fiesta's high-quality feeling. It has drum brakes on the rear wheels instead of the more efficient discs that are standard today on nearly every car except the cheapest bargain models. The seats are covered in the kind of cloth many of us associate with the least-desirable cars in the rental fleet. You know, it's gray with patterns woven into it. Ugh. But the plastic dashboard panels have a soft feel and a nice texture you'd expect on cars costing twice as much. And you can always upgrade to leather upholstery.

今天我小试了一把福特新推出的嘉年华小型车，在曼哈顿从拥堵的42街直到限速70迈的西侧高速公路，跑了几英里。这么一段路，当然不足以全面地评判一辆车子，不过得出第一印象是足够了。的确是辆好车。

Jonathan Welsh 福特新推出的嘉年华小型车。福特嘉年华告诉我们，小型车跑动起来之后也可以很安静很平稳，它操作便捷，非常省油，价格又不是很贵。在它的诸多良好性能中，有一点是其他几乎所有小型车以及很多大型车都不具备的：车内空间很安静。我在高速公路上要超越一溜速度很慢的车子时猛踩了油门，没有听到小型发动机常见的那种缝纫机般的嗡嗡声。驱车行驶在纽约特色的坑坑洼洼路面上当然是很不舒服的，不过开着福特嘉年华时感觉很稳健很踏实，而多数小型车肯定就得颠得不行了。

廉价的小型车让人最不爽的就是它们给人小气、廉价的感觉。这种车子通常都是外观简陋、毫无新意，汽车内饰的衬垫很薄，舒适度差，充斥着大量丑陋的硬邦邦的塑料。去参加晚宴时开这样一辆车很难给人留下好印象。进行改造──让它们变得时尚、舒适、有趣些──需要很多钱，那还不如去买一个中型车或是SUV呢。宝马的Mini Cooper就是面临着这样的窘状。

福特嘉年华起价13,000美元，配备齐全的顶级版本售价在2万美元左右。不过即便是最便宜的车型也配备了特殊处理过的夹层挡风玻璃，有助于保持车厢内的安静，灵敏的避震器赋予了车子良好的抓地性能。颜色也非常棒，有“潮流灰”和“烈焰红”等等。

不过还有几处小细节同其总体的高品质感觉不是很搭调。它采用的是后轮鼓式制动器，而如今除了那些最低级的便宜车，多数车子的标准配备都已经使用盘式制动器了。座椅的布料会令人联想起那种租来很不讨人喜欢的车子。唉，就是那种灰色的上头有编织图案的布料。不过它的塑料仪表盘感觉很柔和，质感不错，感觉像售价两倍的那种车子。而且内饰可以随时升级为皮革质地。