If you're the average British driver, driving an average mileage on decidedly average UK roads, Ford estimate you'll change gear approximately 200,000 times a year. Think about it. By rights, your left leg should be the size of a tree trunk. Which is why Ford's latest Fiesta can be specified with the Durashift EST gearbox: a system that takes the effort out of changing gear without depriving the driver of that vital element of control.

Ask many drivers committed to manual gearboxes what they dislike most about a conventional automatic and it would probably be just that: the removal of that vital element of control. We've all driven poor automatics that change up halfway through corners, thus depriving us of grip. Either that or they'll snick the next gear up as you start descending a hill, ensuring that you wear through brake pads at double the normal rate. Durashift EST is different. It's a clutchless manual gearbox that retains all the control, performance, low cost and economy of a manual 'box, along with the convenience and simplicity of an automatic. That's Ford's party line at least.

This sort of gearbox isn't particularly novel. The famous Ferrari F1, Alfa Romeo Selespeed and BMW SMG systems were all early examples of its ilk, but the Fiesta's system runs headlong into more prosaic and slightly less well-known competitors. Direct rivals like the Renault Clio Quickshift and the Vauxhall Corsa Easytronic have made inroads into this market. In order to move the game forward, the Fiesta Durashift needed to bring something new to the table.

"The Durashift gearbox adds another string to the Fiesta's formidable bow"

Priced from £11,195 and available as a £500 option on Fiesta Zetec Climate models fitted with the Duratec 1.4-litre 16v petrol engine, Durashift EST is an electromechanical adaptation of the Ford Fiesta five speed manual transmission with two distinct modes of operation - Auto Shift Mode (ASM) and Select Shift Mode (SSM). Three tiny electric motors take the place of the clutch pedal and the cables normally required by the clutch and shifting mechanisms. Two of these motors do the shifting work on the driver's behalf and the third motor, supported by a hefty spring, actuates the clutch. So yes, despite there being no clutch pedal, you still get a clutch. If you go for the larger 1.6-litre engine, there's the option of the Durashift Automatic, a conventional automatic gearbox.

To engage the manual SSM mode, the driver merely has to move the lever from the 'D' position and tip the lever back to change up and forward to change down. Unlike most systems which can be a little jerky, the Fiesta Durashift is easy to flick smoothly up and down the gearbox, the engine even blipping instantaneously on downshifts to match the revs for you. The key difference between Durashift EST and many other sequential manual transmissions is the quality of the software in full automatic ASM mode. Drop the lever into 'D' and roll away and you'll probably appreciate the syrupy smoothness, but there's a whole lot of clever programming behind it. The Transmission Control Unit (TCU) is a box of tricks that gathers information from a number of sensors, analyses driving styles and communicates with the car's main brain, the engine control unit (ECU). This allows the Durashift-equipped Fiesta to include a number of clever driving 'strategies'.

It has a downhill detection system that compares vehicle acceleration and driving torque. When the downhill mode is activated, the system reacts by forbidding upshifts below a certain engine speed. When the brakes are applied, the system downshifts to a lower gear ratio. Likewise, the system has strategies for driving uphill or when driving against resistance, for example when pulling a trailer. There's a curve detection mode to prevent unwanted gearchanges midcorner and a 'fast-off detection' system that stops the gearbox upshifting if the driver's foot flies rapidly off the accelerator - a typical response when he or she is unsure of the road ahead or about to hit the brakes. Like any automatic, there's even a 'creep' function that eases the car forward when in 'D' or backwards when in 'R' prolonging the life of the clutch in stop/start traffic and making the whole process a good deal smoother.

Ford has worked hard to keep the weight of this car down - it tips the scales at 1,035kg. That's just as well for with 79bhp on tap, this little 1.4-litre 16v engine has to work pretty hard to haul a ton of car along. No good then, expecting especially sparkling performance: sixty from rest takes 12.2s on the way to 104mph. Still, a 44.1mpg combined fuel return means that the Ford strikes a good balance between power and parsimony.

Most should find the engine to be smooth and unobtrusive, provided it's not revved too hard. You may find yourself doing just that however - nor only to make it over steeper hills. As with the old-shape Fiesta, this car is a great handler - and it may well bring out the Colin McRae side to your character, assuming of course that you've got one. The steering's great, the grip impressive and the body roll well controlled. That may sound irrelevant if all you want to do is tootle 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.

The Durashift gearbox adds another string to the Fiesta's already formidable bow. Maintenance free for 145,000 miles, Ford claim it won't serve up the sort of clutch-burning histrionics of first generation sequential manual transmissions. Looking at the amount of design that's gone into the system, we're inclined to take them at their word. Ford have studied the average British driver long and hard. The car they've created in response is anything but.