Ford FIESTA 3 DOOR
Does Taking The Sensible Option Really Pay Dividends For The Supermini Buyer? June Neary Decides Behind The Wheel Of Fords Most Sensible Fiesta, The 3-Door TDCi
This week, I decided to stick to something sensible. In fact, the most sensible version of Britains most sensible supermini, Fords Fiesta. Normally, I write these things after a car has been with us for a week but in this case, the 3-door Fiesta TDCi in question has been around our offices for over three months as part of a long term test. Ive had plenty of opportunity to get used to it then which, as it turns out, has been just as well.
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I dont really do sensible and, as a result, my first impressions of the metallic blue three-door Zetec Climate model we were given were not that positive. Not that there was anything wrong with the car: it was just that there was nothing about it that was particularly memorable, good or bad. The more I lived with the little
Ford however, the more I began to see this as something of a virtue. There are few modern cars that dont have at least one irritating feature but with this one, anything that could possibly offend seems to have been ironed out at the design stage. The result is a supremely stress-free ownership experience.
The Fiestas Id tried previously had all been five-door models, so it was interesting to spend some time with the more popular three-door version. Its surprising just how much the deletion of a pair of doors can do for the looks of a car and heres a case in point. The three-door Fiestas roofline abandons the squared-off look of the five-door in favour of a more elegantly tapered line. This meets a more sharply raked tailgate with more of a kink than the abrupt angle of its more family-friendly sibling.
To emphasise this wedge effect, the hipline the line of the bottom of the side windows is angled upwards more aggressively. In many ways, I was quite taken with it. Headroom is 8mm less than in the five-door variant, but the rear is not cramped or claustrophobic, rakish looks notwithstanding. I was impressed to find that back
seat passengers also benefit from class leading knee clearance and because there are no rear doors, the shoulder room of 1,355mm is also top of the shop for a three-door supermini.
There are stowage bins to the side of the rear seat and entry and exit from the rear is easy due to the long doors. Mind you, as a result, its a bit of a stretch for the seatbelts when seated up front. The driving position is perfect, everything clear to read and operate. I found it very comfortable, too.
And Ford definitely have an eye for
smart but practical upholstery, which is a prime consideration if, like many of us, you alternate between driving clients and kids.
You dont opt for a 67bhp diesel engine in your supermini if your main priority is performance, so I was unsurprised to find that acceleration was leisurely, with sixty nearly fifteen seconds away from rest. I was of course expecting better things when it came to fuel consumption, but even I was a bit (pleasantly) shocked by the economy anything between 55 and 75mpg, depending on the type of motoring in question. Who needs a hybrid? On the road, the steering, though not particularly accurate, had a reassuringly weighty feel and I thought the gearchange to be superb with its precise short-throw action. There might not be much on offer by way of pace but the TDCi is quite refined when cruising: you just get that gruff oil-burning engine note when accelerating up to speed. The main sound inside the car is the road roar and this can become intrusive over time but the engine certainly doesnt make its presence felt too overtly.
Even in standard form, the 3-door Fiesta 1.4-litre TDCi Zetec Climate I tried looks a comprehensive package for buyers seeking an economical supermini with a sporty edge and at £10,995 (including air-conditioning), its not ridiculously expensive. What did open my eyes was the potential for nudging that price skyward with a foray into the options list. In addition to the standard Zetec Climate features, my car chipped in with cost options running to a roof spoiler (£225), metallic paint (£325), parking sensors (£250) 16" alloy wheels (£250) and thats not even the half of it. Numerous other features were included which bumped the price up beyond the £13,000 barrier. Suddenly the price on my little Ford started to look a little bit steep but most buyers will leave most of the features I benefited from on the options list, paying much closer to the standard £11,000 price. The same car with five doors would have cost £11,595 but 1.
4-litre TDCi models as a whole start at £9,195 in entry-level three-door Studio guise.
Anyone could live with this car. Its as inoffensive as any supermini could be but just manages to stay on the right side of blandness. If you want a car to make you feel good about yourself, then its probably not for you. If you want a car to make you feel good about motoring however, the Fiesta might just have what it takes.
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