Fancy a Fiesta? T

accidents with 953 accidents reported in 2016.

On the other end of the scale, the North East has seen the least number of drink driving accidents, 129 in 2016. In this region, the cities with the largest number of accidents caused by drink driving were: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (19), Sunderland (13) and Gateshead (8).

Click4reg.co.uk assessed data for London, and the results have shown a rise in reported accidents caused by drink driving in the capital from 2012 until the end of 2016. The figures show a significant rise from 2012 where there were 267 accidents, compared to 386 accidents in London in 2016. This represents a 45 per cent difference in just four years.

Click4reg.co.uk also sought to find out which day of the week and at what time you are more likely to be stopped by the police and asked to take a breathalyser test.

With a total of 18,695 reported breath tests accounted for all hours of the day in 2016, the results have put Friday as the most likely day to be stopped by the police and to be breathalysed. Sunday is ranked as the ‘safest’ day with the lowest number of reported breath tests for all hours throughout the year at 12,507.

The most ‘dangerous’ hour for drivers who indulged in an alcoholic drink before returning to their wheel is 5pm, with 10,127 reported breath tests around that time in 2016.

In contrast, the ‘safest’ hour in which drivers are least likely to be stopped by the police is 4am, with 560 reported incidents requiring drivers to take a breathalyser test. HERE is a confusingly wide range of models and variants of the Ford Fiesta between 2008 and 2017.

But it was still one of the best selling new cars, and the best selling secondhand car almost every year. That’s because it is an excellent all rounder.

There was a mid-life revamp in 2012 with a new corporate grille more than a little reminiscent of an Aston Martin, and new lights front and rear.

There’s a wide range of petrol engines to choose from, but the lowliest 60bhp 1.25-litre is woefully slow. It’s also available with 82bhp and that’s much more acceptable.

The 1.4-litre diesel is also terribly slow even if it is very economical, and it’s not a power unit I would recommend. Other petrol units include a 1.4 with 94bhp, a 1.6 with 103 and a later 1.0-litre with 80, or turbocharged to produce 100, 125 or 140.

These last are lovely to drive and now form the backbone of the petrol range.

The diesels start with the 1.4 67bhp I have already mentioned, followed by a 1.6 with 93bhp and a later 1.5 with 75 or 95. The super efficient Econetic version claims 88mpg and emissions of just 82 grammes per kilometre.

Performance in the higher powered 82bhp version of the 1.25 petrol is just about acceptable but the 0-62mph sprint still takes 13.3 seconds.

The turbo 1.0-litre units are excellent and offer good performance even from the lowliest 100bhp model. With a fivespeed manual ‘box it tops out at 112mph and will do 0-62 in 11.2 seconds.

The later 1.5 diesel in 95hp form has a top speed’s of 112mph and good acceleration too, bringing up 62 in 10.9 seconds.

The better performers are great fun to drive with very agile handling, excellent grip, precise steering and quick cornering with little body roll.

Parking and manoeuvring in town are very easy, with a tight turning circle and a stall prevention system.

And it easily holds its own out on the motorway too, with good stability and decent cruising speeds.

There are plenty of variants to choose from so check your prices and don’t pay over the odds. Finally, as I always say, never buy without full service history unless the price is rock bottom.

Pay around £5,300 for a ’12 12-reg 1.2 Style 5 door, or £8,100 for a ’15 15-reg 1.0 Ecoboost Zetec 5 door.