Ford Fiesta (2012-2017) Review and Prices

You can get the Fiesta with a range of petrol and diesel engines and with either a five-speed manual or a smooth-shifting automatic gearbox.

The best engine on offer is the 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol. It’s got more than enough punch to help you nip through city streets and can hold its own at motorway speeds without struggling to keep up with traffic.

It’s available in four guises, ranging from a 80hp model that’ll return a claimed 65.7mpg to a more powerful 140hp version – available on ST-Line models only – that’ll get up 62.8mpg. That’s a few miles per gallon more than you’ll get in an equivalent Vauxhall Corsa with a 1.0-litre engine but, in real-world driving, these results will be reversed.

The pick of the 1.0-litre bunch is the 100hp model – it can return the same impressive fuel economy as its 79hp sibling but, thanks to its performance-boosting turbocharger, feels much nippier to drive. It’s also the only 1.0-litre Fiesta that’s offered with an automatic gearbox.

Unfortunately these small 1.0-litre petrol engines do come with a fairly hefty price tag – even the most basic EcoBoost models will cost you around £1,000 more than a 1.25-litre petrol version – but it’s a price well-worth paying for the extra performance and economy. The 1.25 is really only suited to town driving – it’s slow, returns poor fuel economy and is more noisy than the 1.0-litre engine.

If you spend a lot of time on motorways and cover very high mileages, you should consider one of the Fiesta’s three 1.5-litre diesel engines. The cheapest of which – a 74hp model – will cost around £800 more than a mid-range petrol but it’ll return a claimed 78.5mpg.

A slightly more powerful 95hp model will sip just as little fuel while a high-tech ECOnetic version with its start/stop feature to save fuel in stationary traffic is claimed to eke out as much as 88.3mpg. It will, however, set you back nearly £900 more than the entry-level diesel model so you’ll have to cover quite a few miles for it to be worth the extra cash.

Pick a Fiesta with an automatic gearbox and it’ll help take the effort out of long trips and make bumper-to-bumper traffic jams that little bit more bearable. The automatic gearbox does, however, add around £1,400 to the price of petrol models and £300 to diesels. It shifts gears quickly, but can be jerky at manoeuvring speeds.

The Fiesta is a breeze to drive and offers both good visibility and a comfortable, easy-to-adjust driving position. Around town it feels nippy and is a doddle to navigate through tight streets or slip into small parking spaces – especially with the optional £425 parking sensors fitted (standard on Titanium X models).

Avoid sportier ST-Line versions with their firm lowered suspension and you’ll find the Fiesta deals with most bumps and potholes without sending any unpleasant jolts through the cabin. It feels equally stable on motorways, too, and can cruise comfortably without excessive wind noise or droning engine sounds – providing you pick a frugal diesel or a slick EcoBoost model and not the wheezy 1.25 petrol. Among the very few criticisms here is the rumbling noise that comes from the Fiesta’s tyres at motorway speeds is louder than in the VW Polo.

However, if you want a compact car that’s also fun, few small cars will put a smile on your face like a Fiesta will – the combination of strong grip, intuitive controls and the sporty driving position make it tempting to drive it quickly. On a more practical note, the Fiesta doesn’t lean too much when you go around corners either, so you’re not likely to make passengers feel car sick unless you’re being a total hooligan… which the dinky Ford does tend to encourage.

The Fiesta should be relatively safe too – it got a five-star Euro NCAP crash-test rating, but that was in 2012 when the testing criteria were less strict than they are today. It doesn’t have any fancy safety tech such as the adaptive cruise control or automatic emergency braking you can get on a VW Polo.