The New Ford Fiesta

New Ford Fiesta

Shocking, this car completely, well and truly, shocked, wowed and more importantly won the heart and mind of a man who is usually not afraid to tell people, he doesn’t really ‘like’ Fords.

They just never really did anything for me, always seemed to be extremely common and in my ‘be different’ mindset meant I honestly just didn’t care for them. I have to admit though, I liked my dads old Sierra XR4X4 2.8i, right up until it got stolen and set fire to.

You can say, without a shadow of a doubt, the word Ford and anything associated, brings on a feeling of ‘cheap’, ‘mass produced’, ‘common’, ‘dull’ so on and so fourth.

I wanted to hate the new Fiesta. I usually succeed with my preconceived ideas however this time . . . actually I’ll let you finish that sentence when you’ve read the rest of this.

Enough waffle, the car.

I was lucky enough to be given a ’nearly’ range topping Ford Fiesta 1.6 Zetec S, 3 Door.

The Zetec S 3 Door is the ‘Sporty’ model in the current line up, until the ST arrives later on. This means, Side Skirts, Roof Spoiler, Alloys, Tinted Rear Windows (Option). This gives the car a very youthful, fun and energetic feel, it’s a good look, sporty, futuristic and ‘grown up’ all in one.

Unlock the car using the ergonomic and tactile key fob and clamber inside and you’d be fooled into thinking that you’ve transformed into Captain Kirk and you’ve been called upon to pilot the ‘Enterprise’. Back on Earth you shut the door and instantly the outside world becomes nothing more than imagery through the glass. Cocooned in almost silence you can sense the amount of money that was thrown at this car in Research and Development. Wow. All the buttons, surfaces and steering wheel have a quality feel about them, if this was a 3 pointed star or blue propeller branded vehicle, I’d accept and a praise the quality, in the old blue oval, I cannot praise it enough.

I couldn’t just sit in the car, fiddling with the buttons, it was about time I set off. Had to give it a bit of a range of styles, so city driving, stop start city traffic, national speed limit roads, twisty bends and a horrifying cobbled road to really shake things up.

Instantly the car springs to life, the dashboard illuminates in a red glow and the engine very quietly simmers into life. Set off and you’re immediately greeted once again by an eerily smooth ride, I say eerily because this is a cheap car, it’s a Ford, why is it starting to resemble the build of a Maybach Benz? Surely the smooth ride means it’s going to roll and wallow in corners, erm…nope. Pretty taught and composed, you’d be very confident driving this around bendy country lanes compared to it’s French counterparts.

The engine as mentioned is the 1.6 Duratec Ti-VCT (Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing), this is currently the most powerful engine you can have in the Fiesta, boasting 120 PS and a 0-62 time of 9.9 Seconds. No it’s not a Lamborghini but under 10 seconds is nippy and more than adequate to embarrass boy racers in 1.1 Clio’s. Trouble is, this car has lots of equipment, is extremely safe which means it is a little heavy, 120 PS sounds like quite a bit, in this, it feels as if anything less and the car would hardly move. Take the 1.25 (Baby 60PS Model), 0-62 in 16.9 seconds. Oh Dear.

Over the rough cobbles, it takes them in it’s stride, it doesn’t rattle and shake the cabin to complete bits, obviously you can feel them but not completely intrusive. The only thing I could think was if the model I was driving had smaller alloys or steel wheels, it’d have been even more forgiving.

After a lovely drive, I was saddened at the prospect of having to give this car back, the complete shock of how good this car is won me over big time.

Back at the showroom I fiddled with the voice controlled system, it understood me and worked as it should and as it’s advertised but I don’t have an accent and I’m well spoken, it’d be interesting to hear if any of you lucky Fiesta owners who have a strong accent have issues with the system.

You can have the car with a host of gadgets that are usually found on more expensive cars, such as Auto Wipers and Lights, Cruise Control, MP3 and USB Connectivity, Heated Windscreen, Start Button, Ford KeyFree System, Power-fold Mirrors, Headlamp Courtesy Delay and Ford Easy Fuel (So that you can only put the correct fuel in) to name a few.

The boot space, although in my case was took up via somebody’s brief case, coat, books and a host of other items was of a generous size, plenty enough for a weekly shop with a bit of self indulgent clothes shopping too. Perfect for anybody.

After reluctantly handing the keys back and whilst driving back to the office, I felt empty, sad and like I had left a good friend behind for good.

Out of all the new super‘sized’minis out there, I’d only want to buy the new Ford Fiesta.

I suggest that if you’re in the market for such a car, you move the test drive for this, to the top of your list.