Ford thinks big with its little Fiesta

THE Ford Fiesta may still be a small car but, these days, it thinks big in almost every way

Its styling is designed to make more of a statement in the supermini segment.

And under the bonnet lies an impressively-clean and frugal range of petrol and diesel units.

Plus there’s a more up-market cabin, safety technology that can automatically brake the car for you even at night and a pokier diesel engine option.

Ford has also broadened the appeal of the range with an ‘Active’ Crossover bodystyle, plus variants more specifically aimed at buyers wanting luxury and sportiness.

And as well as all that, the brand reckon it’ll be even more fun to drive than its predecessor.

This new seventh-generation model is 15% stiffer and both front and rear track measurements are wider. The engineers tell us that the chassis now offers 10% more cornering grip, supported by Electronic Torque Vectoring Control, which enhances the driving experience by applying a small amount of braking to inside wheels to assist traction and stability when cornering.

Braking distances at 62mph are reduced by more than 8%. There are freshly-developed five and six-speed manual gearboxes. And rear disc brakes feature on models with engines developing more than 100PS.

The three-cylinder 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol unit is offered in 110, 125 and 140PS guises. Sharing this powerplant architecture is a lesser 1.1-litre normally-aspirated unit, available at the foot of the range in 70 and 85PS guises.

The 1.5-litre TDCi 85PS diesel unit is familiar from before, too, but this time round, this powerplant is also being offered in a pokier 120PS guise.

As before, it’s offered in three and five-door bodystyles and both are tidy pieces of styling with evolutionary styling and a bolder, wider front grille.

Inside, it’s completely different. Gone is the previous button-heavy fascia with its cheap plastics. In fact, the number of buttons on the centre console has been reduced by almost half, with many connectivity and entertainment controls relocated to a freshly developed ‘SYNC3’ 8-inch touchscreen.

Pricing should start at around £13,000 for entry-level ‘Style’ models, but most private customers will buy in at the mid-range ‘Zetec’ level at just under £15,000. Beyond that, there are ‘Titanium’, ‘Titanium X’, ‘ST-Line’, ‘ST-Line X’ and ‘Vignale’ specification options.