2009 (59) Ford Fiesta

Last weekend my car went in for servicing and i took a new shape Ford Fiesta as a courtesy car to drive for the weekend and thought i'd deliver my verdict to the HJ Back Room.

The car is a 59 plate 3 door Ford Fiesta 1.4TDCi Zetec in Silver. Its the first time ive had a good look at the new Fiesta and i feel it looks better in the flesh than in the pictures. Being the three-door the first thing i noticed was how massive the doors are, a bit like on a big Coupe. The Fiesta is nearly four metres long and when you get inside it feels bigger than that. The dashboard is massive and stretches out in front of you to accomodate the sleek look of the front of the car. The days of the Fiesta being a small car are over.

The interior may look cheap in photographs but actually sitting in the car you find the photo's dont do it justice. It feels well built, pretty solid and rather chunky. The steering wheel is big and heavy, the indicators make a reassuring clunk and the radio unit is well designed and reminds me of a Nokia. Im 6ft and theres more than enough headroom, and with the seat fully back im too far from the pedals so a taller driver should have no problem in the Fiesta.

Driving

Its no secret on here that im sceptical of small diesels, the last one i drove was an old Fiesta 1.8D and that was befitting of the term 'tragic' but im delighted to report things have changed. Started the Fiesta up and although you can tell its a diesel, thankfully its really not that obvious. The engine is quiet and with the radio on even at a very very low volume you cant really hear the engine at all. Out on the road i was impressed, its 0-60 time is a highly pedestrian 15 seconds but what that doesnt tell you is its 0-30 (which is much more relevant) is absolutely lightning! Pull out of a side turning in town and with minimal fuss you're up to speed. When i came off a roundabout onto an NSL road i gave it some beans in third and it pulled excellently, fourth gear has a very keen quiet pull and up into fifth is relaxed motoring. It pulls very keenly for its size.

Handling has been Ford's party piece for some time now, just toodling around town the steering is sharp and precise which makes for an effort free driving experience. Theres a road locally which banks to the left for about half a mile and it held the road extremely well round it and feels planted and sturdy as you zoom round a roundabout. Out on a dual carraigeway it still feels relaxed but anything past 75 and you start to feel it running out of pull, but thats ok as thats speeding so its illegal to go that fast anyway (smiles). It will go faster but its not as comfortable past 70-75ish.

The ride on this zetec model may be firm but its not jarring like on the mk2 Focus Zetec. It takes speed bumps very well and you dont need a doctor afterwards, if i had a criticism the seats are maybe slightly too firm and dont offer the support you would hope but on the whole they're perfectly ok.

Rear Visibility

This has been asked a few times specifically by Avant due to the exterior design of the car so i will try and answer it. Whats the rear visibility like? Well truth be told its not as bad as you think, the view directly out of the rear window is fine and the rear pillars certainly dont obstruct the view anymore than in a Mondeo. There is a small issue with checking the blindspot before pulling out as you turn your head and dont see much but on the flip side the wing mirrors are very good and give a wider field of vision than most small cars, almost like the mirrors on a van.

Liked

Exterior looks, the interior build quality is fantastic, its nippy around town, handling is precise, its a comfortable car (i drove it on a 110 mile round trip and had no problems). Excellent radio, easy to navigate controls, very good headlights and the interior space is very good for this kind of car.

Disliked

Handbrake is in the wrong place as its closer to the drivers seat than you expect so i kept reaching for the passengers seatbelt button and missing the handbrake. Clutch is a bit heavy for this sort of car and the massive doors on the 3 door can prove tricky in a car park if someone parks close to you. Little green arrow on rev counter telling you when to change gear is simply not neccessary.

Conclusion

Fantastic little car, i still think the 1.6 would be the better engine but the 1.4TDCi is thoroughly decent. Fuel economy was very good, i can verify over the weekend i did 55mpg and that was with no real effort on the economy front with throwing it round roundabouts and putting foot to the floor from time to time. Got money knocked off my service for putting diesel in his car (to verify economy) so it was a win win weekend.

In my view Ford may have shot themselves in the foot with the Fiesta. Because unless you specifically need a big boot and significant room in the back (for which you'd buy a Mondeo) i cant see why you'd buy the more expensive Focus over this Fiesta.

Score: 8 out of 10