Ford Fiesta review

The Fiesta was the car I picked up on the day of my accident. Edging into my adrenaline hangover, I was glad to have any car, even a small and under-powered one, to replace my poor Beemer. However I have to admit that I warmed to the little Fiesta pretty quickly. Even in rental-spec it had nice features like steering-wheel-mounted controls for the radio, the engine was zippy and loved to rev, and with wheels at the four corners it cornered like a go-cart. Up at motorway speed the engine revved pretty high, but was never obtrusive, unlike the Fiat Punto I got last time I had a loaner. It did lack a sixth gear, which would have helped a lot with the motorway cruise.

In town the steering was precise, and while it could have given more feedback, I was never in any doubt about what the front wheels were doing. This is another area where the Fiesta was unlike the Punto, or indeed any recent Fiat. The clutch was light and responsive, and as long as I kept the revs above 2500 rpm there was plenty of torque available to take advantage of short-lived gaps in traffic. The engine really did like to rev, but somebody at Ford had decided to fit a “shift-up” light and program it to come on just shy of 2000rpm, or about 500rpm before the power band starts. I, of course, took this as a challenge to drive absolutely everywhere with the light blazing, including while parking. Yes, I am actually twelve years old.

The cabin was basic but well laid out, with plenty of storage, all the controls within easy reach, and radio controls right on the steering wheel. This last is something I believe should be standard, as these are some of the most frequently used controls in a typical drive. For many drivers in fact the radio controls are used more often than indicators (a pet peeve of mine).

I even succeeded in getting the tail to step out while late-braking on a wet roundabout, and the slide just felt so right. In true Troy Queef style, I simply catch it with a dab of oppo and I’m away.

The Ford Fiesta: approved.