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our test drives or view them all

Ford Fiesta 1.4 five-door Titanium

HOW do you spoil the reputation of the best supermini in the UK? Spend money on a wheel and tyre upgrade on your new Fiesta.

After a week with the best small car to wear the Ford badge I came away angry that such a fine example of a well-designed five-door hatch can be undermined by specifying 45 section low profile tyres and wrapping them round 16 inch alloy wheels.

OK, so the combination on my five-door 96bhp 1.4 Sigma petrol-engined Titanium model was optional – but the low-profile covers ruined the car’s refinement and ride, just to look good.

New car buyers are still falling into the trap of spending extra on big wheels and low-profile tyres that add prestige and nothing else. It’s crazy.

The Fiesta Titanium’s standard alloys and 50 section tyres are perfect. They make the most of the new car’s inherent good ride and keep tyre rumble at bay. Spend £146 for the optional 195/45 tyres and you undermine that composure and risk rear seat passengers complaining about road noise and a bouncy ride. Don’t do it!

Apart from that the Fiesta Titanium is the height of supermini sophistication. It’s the best supermini on the market and ticks all the boxes when it comes to practicality and low running costs that averaged 49mpg on long runs through the west Highlands.

As a family carry-all it’s outstanding. The 295 litre boot area is the biggest in the supermini class and grows to 979 litres when you flip the rear seat backs flat. Pity though that the seats don’t tumble all the way forward and they leave the cargo space with an awkward lip.

This is undoubtedly the finest and most practical small Ford ever and is so good it is assured of seeing its name up in lights for Car of the Year awards around Europe.

In the 32 years since the original Fiesta appeared, the small Ford has been a consistent best-seller. Around 12 million were sold in Europe alone and this fifth-generation model is particularly good-looking in both three and five-door guise and justifiably tipped for success.

It’s a genuinely exceptional design – roomy, strong, safe, well built, generously equipped, frugal and affordable. But under its skin is a pan-European design – not entirely a Ford product. The car giant has pooled its expertise from shared badges and used the outstanding Mazda2 as the underpin for the new Fiesta – but Ford has better engines and, with more than 30 different model combinations to choose from, far more choice.

I can’t see how Ford can go wrong.

Apart from the disappointing road noise generated by the optional 45 section low profile tyres, my 1.4 litre Titanium five-door test car lived up to the car’s pre-launch hype.

The Fiesta is some 40kg lighter than its predecessor – and that’s after 5kg more in sound insulation, 5kg more in safety structure and equipment and 3kg more to meet latest emission regulations.

Yet there’s no evidence of cost-paring in assembly and it drives and feels like a solid, top quality car. Just as the updated Focus opened a new window on quality for Ford in January last year, the Fiesta will do the same for the supermini.

The new car gets more power, lower emissions and big-car features in a roomy hatchback shell that looks stunning with a full range of updated Ford petrol and diesel models. The range also gets an ultra-clean ECOnetic version costing £11,595 that escapes Road Tax bills thanks to wind-cheating lowered suspension, low rolling resistance tyres and a specially calibrated Duratorq 1.6 litre TDCi for an ultra-low 98g/ km CO2 and a combined 76.3mpg.

Fiesta is a small car with large-car pretensions it can carry easily – it will do well in northern Scotland.

The five-door Titanium sits at the top of the luxury trim level. It’s not cheap and the best value is in Zetec trim where £11,842 gets you the same engine and five-doors. The range starts with a 60bhp 1242cc petrol three-door Studio model from just £8515.

But if you appreciate a little extra cosseting the Titanium fits the bill with cruise control, 16-inch alloys, folding electric mirrors, privacy glass, electronic air conditioning, automatic headlamps and wipers and a pair of additional rear speakers for the superb radio/CD installation where Ford still dominates the mass market.

The front drive Titanium has just enough power to make it entertaining. Acceleration is reasonable from rest, thanks to its weight-saving technology and its 109mph top speed is plenty for today’s traffic situations with a steady 60mph cruise registering 3000rpm in top. The electric power steering is light, accurate and comes with good road feel while the five-speed manual gearbox is by far the best in the supermini sector and slick and easy to use. The steering is a real highlight with a satisfying neutral feel that guides the car beautifully through tight bends thanks to Ford’s new three-stage electric steering – the best I’ve come across on a small car.

Seating is supportive, trim levels excellent and the quality of the generously-proportioned dashboard is the highest I’ve seen on any Ford since the Focus. Front space is beyond criticism and while the rear seats are comfortable enough there’s a feeling of being hemmed in with only slightly above average legroom.

But that should not be taken as criticism. This is a supermini and given its lowly place in the food chain the Fiesta five-door is spacious and surprisingly comfortable.

It’s all part of a well-designed car – apart from poor three-quarter visibility on the three-door where the rising wedge of the waistline makes it hard looking over your shoulder at junctions.

From the back it looks classy and competent; from the front it’s bold and characterful while the heavily sculpted flanks, racy rising body and waist lines and prominent wheel arches are the ultimate expression of Ford’s dynamic new styling.

This car looks so good it is bound to steal sales from the larger Focus as buyers scale down their transport to trim costs.

Mechanical noise is well insulated while wind noise is absent until you break the 70mph barrier.

I was disappointed by the three-quarter visibility and could nit-pick about the hard plastic linings on the doors and low trim areas. But the dash is a masterpiece of soft-touch materials. It has a cockpit feel with a logical and attractive layout that comes in a choice of colour coded finishings – some of which are fairly garish.

The Fiesta is a real bullseye for Ford in a small-car market that will expand as motoring costs balloon.

Just remember to order the car with standard wheels and tyres!

Rating: 8/10 

FINAL THOUGHT: The new Fiesta is the 2009 motorsnorth North of Scotland Supermini Car of the Year. It’s an excellent small car that’s a lot bigger than its supermini status suggests. Comfortable and well appointed in Titanium guise, it offers better value in Zetec trim with the same lively 1.4 litre petrol engine that’s almost £600 cheaper in five-door guise – plus it has 15-inch alloys and quieter high-profile tyres. It’s Ford’s best-ever supermini, safe, frugal, great value and has just two rivals – its cloned Mazda2 sister and Vauxhall’s outstanding Corsa.

Ford Fiesta 1.4 five-door Titanium

• Price: £12,429
• Capacity: 1388cc
• Power: 96bhp
• 0-62mph: 12.2 seconds
• Maximum speed: 103mph
• Economy: Combined 49.5mpg; Urban 37.6mpg
• CO2 emissions: 133g/km
• ESP: £294 option
• Insurance: Group 4