Ford Fiesta Zetec Climate
If Al Gore is to be believed, climate change is something we should be very serious about. An inconvenient truth, maybe, but an inescapable one nevertheless. Perhaps I should say largely inescapable because the Ford Fiesta Climate doesnt really care what temperature it is outside. With standard climate control, it doesnt matter whether Britain is basking in balmy Mediterranean heat.
Set the dial to your desired temperature and youll be good to go.
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So it is that this Zetec Climate now gets body-coloured powered and heated door mirrors, as well as body-coloured side mouldings, door and tailgate handles. These give the car a more upmarket look than standard-issue black plastic items and are complemented by a chromed front grille. Inside, theres a silver dashboard bezel to brighten up the fascia a tad and theres also a leather-trimmed steering wheel with aluminium detailing. Just these small changes give the car a much classier feel.
For those who want to give a sportier impression, theres also an optional Sport Pack that adds 16-inch seven-spoke alloy wheels and tinted privacy glass. Also available is a Technology Pack that includes automatic headlights and wipers, power folding door mirrors, stereo remote controls and a second remote key fob. The Fiesta Zetec Climate range, priced from £10,395, offers up few surprises but an impressive degree of choice. You can specify your car in the three or five-door body styles or even opt for the high-riding Fusion model that nobody can quite see the point of.
Whichever option you ultimately pick, interior space is a definite strongpoint. In versions past, Fords supermini served up cattle class rear seating that would ask serious questions of anyone bar small children and national hunt jockeys. Now two proper adults can be accommodated with little fuss. Theres 268 litres of luggage space in the three-door Fiesta or 284 litres in the five-door and in each instance those volumes more than treble when you fold the rear seats down.
"The Zetec Climate range is the value pick of the Fiesta line up"
As regards engines, you have two entry-level petrol options - solid units, tightly priced and economical but which struggle to inject much verve into the substantial Fiesta package. The 1.25-litre entry-level option produces 74bhp and a 13.6s 0-60mph sprint but its major selling-point will be the 45.
6mpg combined fuel consumption. The 79bhp 1.4-litre alternative can hit 60mph in 12.3s and returns 43.
5mpg, so many will be inclined to find the required premium over the smaller alternative. The 1.4-litre TDCi has just 67bhp to call upon and a pedestrian 14.4s 0-60mph time but an outstanding 64.
2mpg combined economy showing and a full 160Nm of torque at 2,000rpm mean that this unit has a muscular feel and a puny appetite. The 1.6-litre TDCi option has more torque still, more even than Fords 2.0-litre petrol unit, with 204Nm at 1,750rpm.
Like the 1.4, it uses common-rail injection technology to produce a crushing surge of mid-range acceleration. 0-60mph in 11.2s doesnt tell you the half of it and a 62.
8mpg average makes this engine a first class all-rounder. There should be few complaints about the Fiestas handling whichever engine you choose. With accurate steering, one of the best gearboxes in the sector and plenty of grip, fun is always on the cards. All Fiestas get intelligent windscreen wipers, a CD stereo, central locking and Fords Intelligent Protection System.
The plusher models get body-coloured door handles and mirrors with all Fiestas benefiting from a reasonable quota of safety equipment. Twin front airbags, ABS, seatbelt pretensioners and extensive impact protection are standard. The car also illuminates its hazard lights automatically during heavy braking. The Fiesta has come in for some criticism in the past over the quality of the materials used in its cabin but the current car has progressed on this score.
There are more of the in vogue soft-touch surfaces but, happily, the uncomplicated layout and the durable feel remain. Nice touches include a digital display in the instrument cluster which gives the radio station name and other handy titbits that youd otherwise have to divert your eyes from the road obtain. The volume on the stereo is speed sensitive so as wind, road and engine noise increase with your velocity so does the volume of your favourite song. The Ford Fiesta is a small car with real substance.
Enjoyable to drive with good interior space, its well-equipped and has a genuine feeling of strength about its construction. Visually it isnt the most exciting supermini youll encounter, although tweaks to the styling have refreshed things to some extent, and the smaller engines sometimes make hard work of things. The Fiesta may have been around in various forms since 1977 but the current one is bang up to date and worthy of its place amongst the UKs supermini favourites. The Zetec Climate model is probably the best value of the mainstream trim levels, offering the essentials that keen drivers look for and a little more, without plumping up the price too steeply.
If forced to pick favourites, my selection would be a 1.6-litre diesel but so good are the basic Fiesta underpinnings that there isnt a duff choice amongst them.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Ford Fiesta Zetec Climate range
PRICES: £10,395-£12,595 on the road
INSURANCE GROUPS: 3-6
CO2 EMISSIONS: 114-147g/km
PERFORMANCE: [1.4 petrol] 0-60mph 13.2s / Max Speed 104mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [1.4 petrol] (urban) 32.1mpg / (extra urban) 60.1mpg / (combined) 45.6mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Driver's and passenger airbags
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: length/width/height 3917/1800/1432mm
