Wayne Rooney struck twice in the victory and Ferguson said: "The performance is what we should be talking about because it was superb. The flow of our game, the tempo and movement, was outstanding.
"It was our best performance of the season, particularly in the 10-minute spell after Villa had taken the lead when we scored three times.
"Many sides will find it hard to come to Villa Park and win this season. It was a really good Villa team we got the better of today."
Ferguson added: "Wayne is in one of those spells where he is scoring all the time. He is like that at times and his movement was terrific.
"Wayne and Tevez made it very difficult for Villa. But then again they are two outstanding players.
"Tevez could have had a hat-trick and we made plenty of good chances. I'm very happy with the performance."
Villa had a day to forget with midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker and goalkeeper Scott Carson being sent-off.
Villa Manager Martin O'Neill said: "We got off to a great start and maybe should have scored a second goal. But the goals we conceded were really poor from our point of view.
"They were avoidable and suddenly we find ourselves 3-1 down at half-time.
"We tried to get back in it but I thought the sending off of Nigel was a big moment in the game. The first booking was debatable, the second is never a yellow card in a million years. It was really harsh.
"I'm really disappointed because we were really up for this game, ready to go, and we were made to pay for our defending."
