Review of the new Ford Fiesta 1.25 Range

Car manufacturers aren't exactly renowned for putting their hands in the air and admitting they got it wrong. Ford virtually admitted as much since the return of the 75bhp 1.25-litre to the Fiesta range. When the latest generation Fiesta first went on sale here, buyers were treated to an unspectacular 70bhp 1.3-litre engine in entry-level petrol models and quickly voted with their feet. Great car, OK engine. Hence the quick return of the 1.25-litre engine size which has been with us ever since. The Bridgend-built 1.25 may be a bit of a blast from the past, but what a blast it is.

The lightweight aluminium engine was a highlight of the last generation Fiesta range and certainly offers plenty of zip. Take performance figures for example. Whereas the 70bhp 1.3-litre unit Ford originally earmarked for this car would make 60mph in 15.8 seconds, the smaller engine slices over a second off, stopping the watch at 14.5 seconds. The combined fuel economy figure of 45.6mpg remains unchanged, but CO2 emissions creep up slightly to 148g/km. Prices start at £8,595 and there's a trim choice ranging from entry-level Studio to Zetec Climate.

With the facelift that dominates the front end of the current Fiesta, Ford haven't gone too overboard. The grille is now of a diamond mesh design, the headlamps are pointier and the side mouldings grow thicker as they progress rearwards. The rear lights have been reshaped as have the bumpers and the overall effect is a slight move away from the Fiesta's inherent chunkiness in a sleeker, more dynamic direction. Dramatic the changes are not. If you liked the look of the sixth generation Fiesta, and the sales charts suggest that plenty of people did, you'll like today's version of it.

Ford's primary concern when designing the car was the quest for internal space. Not content with the musings of some polo-necked designers with pencils and napkins, Ford employed a RAMSIS supercomputer to maximise internal space, using the enormous processing power to shift seats, floor, wheelbase and so on to attain an agreeably spacious cabin. You'd have to say their investment was worth it. It also meant that the rear suspension was modified in order to save space. The suspension turrets now no longer intrude into the loading bay and a relatively archaic torsion beam system is used at the back. Therefore, the Fiesta should be about as composed through corners as a frog in a sock but it doesn't work out that way. This, we have to surmise, is progress.

"The Fiesta is an entertaining handler, if a little less infectious than the larger Focus"

The Fiesta is an entertaining handler, if a little less infectious than the larger Focus. The steering's rich in feedback and the body roll well controlled. That may sound irrelevant if all you want to do is bimble to the shops and back but should you ever be in an emergency, having a car that changes direction easily, controllably and predictably could just make the difference between having or avoiding an accident. Twin dual stage front airbags are standard equipment as are five three-point seat belts. Ford have developed a clever crash severity sensor at the front of the car that can work out whether you've bumped a supermarket trolley or fallen asleep at the wheel and encountered the Watford Gap Service Station thus deploying the airbags correspondingly. There's also an ingenious 'de-coupling' brake pedal assembly that serves to reduce the possibility of lower leg injuries in the event of a shunt.

Where the Fiesta really scores is in terms of space. It's a small car you'd certainly consider it for the longer journey. Though it can't claim to be the largest cabin in its class, extending the length, width and height of the car over its predecessor has paid dividends. Whereas the rear of the old Fiesta was a place suitable solely for small children, pixies and handbags, the latest car makes a justifiable claim as a full five-seater thanks to more knee-room at the rear than some cars from the next class up. There's a good luggage capacity too (of 284 litres or 10 cubic feet) up 14% on the old car.

Wide opening rear doors and that impressive rear seat roominess mean that installing a child seat in the back won't prove the usual Olympic challenge. Although the backrest of the rear seat is split for increased versatility, unfortunately the seat cushion itself isn't. While we're carping, it would also have been useful if someone at Ford had thought to include an interior boot release catch (though there is one on the key fob). Drop into the height-adjustable driver's seat and you'll be greeted with a dashboard that adopts many of the quality conventions of the Mondeo range, and that's good news. For those who enjoy tracing the lineage of the design, the Mondeo's interior designer was poached from Volkswagen - and it shows. It's easy to see where cost has been excised from the Fiesta, competing as it does in a class where margins are utterly cut throat. Some of the fascia plastics could be nicer to the touch, there's a lack of cupholders and storage spaces and whilst the rear seat backs split 60:40, the cushions remain obtrusively fixed.

It isn't often that a company of Ford's size gets an engine decision so publicly wrong but in this case, it didn't do them any harm. Perhaps a little egg on the corporate face from time to time will end up in better customer focus.