The car which was first unleashed
upon the world in 1976 has gone
through a number of guises from
essentially a cheap run-around, to
mum’s best friend, a first
timer’s to boy racer. The
new Fiesta gives a nod to
all of its predecessors
and adds something new
to the list – maturity.
The new Fiesta is the
baby car that grew up.
It’s an extraordinary car,
with tons of hidden
extras that will leave you
smiling.
City Stop – which makes sure you
won’t bump into the car in front.
My only complaint would be that at
lower speeds, in the car we tested,
you require a number of gear
changes and you find that you’ll
have to rev quite a bit to get the
power you really want when
coming out of country road
corners, it really doesn’t
enjoy sitting in 3rd or even
2nd where other cars might
be quite happy – but this is a
minor quibble as you remind
yourself you're driving a
diesel.
The Fit Out.
We have to say that we
wholly approve of Ford’s
attention to detail – the
cabin feels huge up frontcomplete with LED mood
lighting, this car feels a
million miles away from a
first timer’s car. Its
seductive lines and textures
actually beg for tactility. The
seats feel solid and allow you
to maintain a good posture,
ensuring that even after a
long haul in the new Fiesta
you step out feeling alive.
Since the launch of the
Fiesta, Ford has sold
over 15 million of the
little car, but you won’t
find much to link the
original to the latest
mach. Gone are the
cheap looking fittings,
the uncomfortable seat
fabrics and the vastly
unpowered engines and
hideous pea green or
insipid brown finishes.
That’s all been replaced
by sleek lines, fresh
modern colours and a
cabin that is as exciting
as it is relaxing.
The Drive
The Fiesta delivers incredible
power and economy for its
class, we tested a Titanium
Econetic 5 door 1.6 TDCi 95 PS
in Copper Pulse - and we found
it surprisingly zippy at home in
London traffic or on the
motorway.
THE POSITIVES
Looks great in its class of car
Safety features
Amazing ecomonics
Fab colours to choice from
In car entertainment and extras
Great responsive steering and suspension
The ride was smooth, agile and
solid and the car almost wants
you to chuck it around corners,
with its crisp and clean
steering. The ESP systems
ensure that you won’t over or
under steer, and keeps all four
tyres safely in contact with the road,
even in slippier environments.
THE NEGATIVES
Legroom for back seats
Pricier than other models in its class
We loved the in-car
entertainment – especially
on the version we tried out –
which included Ford’s
revolutionary SYNC system,
which can play your phone’s
music list, read texts, place
phone calls and in an crisis
situation can even call the
emergency services – all via
Bluetooth connection.
The Fiesta comes in a 3 door
and 5 door version, with plenty
of room – although the longer
legged of us, might struggle in
the back – and the boot space
is impressive, but not quite big
enough for an all out camping
trip to North Wales Pride!
Conclusion
The built in SatNav can calculate
All in all Ford’s updated Fiesta is a
your route’s destination in three
different types of journey: fast, most car we've fallen in love with. The
small car that's grown up. ∎
Ford has hidden a few neat tricks up direct and eco. And some of our
favourite features include: the easy
the Fiesta’s sleeve – like the hill
to select Cruise Control, the auto
start assist, which ensures that you
engine stop, which helps the eco
don’t roll back while waiting at the
credentials as it switches off the
lights.
engine at traffic lights and the Active
71
THEGAYUK FEB/MARCH
On the version we tested the car also
has a camera at the back, which
turns on automatically when you
select the reverse gear. A clever
guidance graphic helps you park
perfectly, every time.
CAR REVIEW
FIESTA 2013/14
2014
AUTO