The Ford Fiesta is being laid to rest but it’s going out on a high. This final generation of the long and loved line is a peach: great to drive, refined and practical.
It’s also a really good buy as a used car, which is handy because that’s more or less your only way to get one now.
There’s plenty of choice – not just in the sheer numbers on sale but also in the breadth of the model range. Take the engine line-up. The petrols include a 1.1-litre with 69bhp and 84bhp and a turbocharged 1.0-litre three-cylinder Ecoboost in 94bhp, 99bhp, 123bhp and 138bhp states of tune.
There’s also a 1.5-litre diesel with 84bhp or 118bhp, which was withdrawn from sale in 2020. Later models incorporate mild-hybrid technology in 1.0 Ecoboost 125 and 155 versions.
You can even have your seventh-generation Fiesta as a raised-up SUV called the Active, or as an impressively agile 197bhp ST hot hatch.
Trim choices are equally all-encompassing. Entry-level Style models have air-con and electric front windows, while Zetec adds 16in alloy wheels and a heated windscreen.
You also get an 8.0in touchscreen infotainment system, with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, with Zetec and above. Titanium brings cruise control, automatic lights and wipers, and climate control, while B&O Titanium (there’s also a B&O Zetec) has an upgraded 10-speaker 675W sound system.
Titanium X gets the B&O sound system as standard along with heated front seats. ST-Line and ST-Line X gain sportier exterior and interior styling and firmer suspension.
ST-Line otherwise has the same equipment as Zetec, while ST-Line X is based on Titanium. Top-of-the-range Vignale has leather seats, a panoramic glass roof, rear parking sensors and a reversing camera.
But it’s the way it drives that sets the Fiesta apart. The 1.1 petrols and 1.5 diesels are pleasant enough but the 1.0 Ecoboost is the star. It’s punchy and refined and beguiling in any of its power outputs.
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But if you want to play a game, walk around a car park and check the brake callipers of all the Fiesta's, bet you can't find one that doesn't look like its been under the salty sea for 20 years.
The other thing to consider is buy the best anti theft device you can afford as Fiesta's are easier to steal than a pack of chewing gum from Tesco. The most stolen car in the country.
This final generation of a long and loved line is a peach.
It's also a really good buy as a used car.
Reliability. In the most recent WhatCar? reliability survey, the Fiesta finished 28th out of 28 cars in the small car class.
How can a car which proves to be the worst on test for reliability, be described as a peach and a really good buy?
Yes, I'm sure it's a great car to buy new and own while it's under warranty. But who wants a used one when it's reliability is worst in class with many issues reported as serious. It sounds like one to avoid to me.
There often seems to be this disconnect between motoring publications and all the reliability data available to them. AE have their Driver Power Survey, a large amount of owner data, which always shows, for example, Land Rover products to have major quality and reliability issues, yet they do a used review of one and barely mention it.