The Fiesta is available with a broad range of engines. The 1.4 petrol tested here, like the base 1.25-litre engine (and unlike the new range-topping 1.6 petrol) is a Duratec unit carried over from the previous-generation Fiesta, and produces a healthy 95bhp and 94lb ft of torque. It’s mated to a five-speed manual gearbox.
At this price level and engine size, most of the Fiesta’s rivals will duck comfortably under 12 seconds in a 0-60mph dash – some less than 11 – so the Fiesta’s 11.9sec time over the same benchmark is nothing to write home about.
Of more relevance on the road is in-gear flexibility, and here the Fiesta is again only reasonable. It needs 21.8sec to go from 50-70mph in top gear, which is far less flexible than a 1.5 Mazda 2 (13.4sec), but equally superior to a 1.4-litre Vauxhall Corsa (27.8sec).
What the Fiesta lacks in poke, though, it makes up for in character and sound. The 1.4-litre unit revs with a willing zing to the top of its rev range, while the gearshift is precise, and the clutch pedal action is easy and progressive.
In recent years European Fords have been at their most compelling when it comes to handling, and it’s a pattern the Fiesta continues.
There is a verve to its road demeanour that no other cooking supermini in this class – not even the lighter Mazda 2 – possesses. The Mazda runs it closest, but none can quite match the Fiesta’s deftness on a decent road, or its linear, agile response to inputs.
We suspect also that this is the best Fiesta set-up. We haven’t yet driven a Zetec S in the UK but, given that even Ford engineers admit the chassis at the Zetec’s point in the range is optimal, we don’t expect the compromise in comfort to be worth the bother.
Even the Fiesta’s steering, although now electrically rather than hydraulically assisted, has a pleasing weight and smoothness, albeit largely lacking in feel.
