I've recently bought a new shape Fiesta and am intending to do an interim service of filters, oil and spark plugs as they're almost due anyway.

Reading through the owner's manual it appears the engine air filter is described as a non-maintenance part - is this actually the case? I've already bought the filter as I was intending to do it, but I'm now wondering if the air box should be cracked open at all given the above.

Plugs should be pretty straightforward, but how about the air filter? Is it reachable from below the car or from above? Coming from having a Golf mk5 as my previous car the canister design is new to me - is it supposed to be undone/redone by hand or should I be using some form of tool to do so?

Many thanks!