Fiesta still celebrated

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), April 22, 2005

Byline: By Roger Mills

Long live the Fiesta. It's 29 years old and still going strong, with the name as enduring as old Henry Ford's replacement for the horse, the Model T.

While it might be pushing three decades in age, you will never see any current-model Ford Fiesta drive past its sell-by date.

The Blue Oval's frequent freshening-up keeps the Fiesta flying out of the showrooms.

There's always pressure on car makers to offer as much variety as possible from the one basic platform, and Ford has diversified the Fiesta range from the demure 1.2 Finesse to the super-quick ST.

In between are a couple of nippy newcomers such as the tested 1.6 litre Zetec-S, which, in a nutshell, means that Ford's take on a sporty supermini now ranges from the affordable (the Zetec-S is pounds 11,5195) to the awesome ( the 2.0-litre Fiesta ST, at pounds 13,595.

The Zetec-S houses a 1,596cc, four-cylinder petrol unit under the bonnet, a spring-heeled and smooth operator that produces 98bhp, but needs engine speed upping to 4,000rpm to milk the most out of the 1,07lb/ft of torque.

The standard gearbox is a five-speed manual, and the combined fuel figure runs to 41.5mpg. The 114mph top speed and 0 to 60mph time of 9.9secs points to decent supermini performance and response.

The interior is utilitarian, and the colour scheme somewhat gloomy, but the presentation good overall.

Ford has added a few sporting touches, starting with 6-inch alloys, special fog lights, and high rear spoiler on the outside, and continuing with front bucket seats and satin alloy-gaited gear lever on the inside.

The supplied three-door model didn't throw up any access problems to the rear seats, with the flip-lever on front seat shoulders easy to both reach and use, and leg- and headroom at the back are of fair adult-sized proportions.

The two doors open from the outside via a key fob, but that doesn't open the rear hatch door. The key itself is needed for that ( a pain in pouring rain.

Ford has paid the expected close attention to passenger safety, but side impact and side curtain airbags are an extra-cost option.

The Zetec-S may not zoom into the distance as dynamically as some hot superminis, but it's still a very competent, quality small car for the price.

Ford anoraks, by the way, might take exception to the 29-year figure mentioned in the introduction: the car first went on sale in Europe in 1976, but didn't actually reach these shores until early 1977 ( 28 years ago. Trivia buffs may also like to know that the basic 957cc model in February 1977 cost pounds 1,856, and it did 79mph tops.

Facts and figures

Make: Ford

Model: Fiesta Zetec-S 3-door

Price:, pounds 11,595. Fiesta 3 and 5-door range from 1.2 Studio (pounds 8,295) to 2.0i ST (pounds 13,595)

Mechanical: 1596cc, 98bhp four-cylinder engine, driving front wheels through 5-speed manual gearbox

Company car tax liability: 159g per km C02 emissions (17% of cost of car when new, taxed)

Performance: top speed 114mph

0-60mph: 9.9 seconds

Official fuel figures: city 30.7mpg, country 52.3mpg, combined 41.5mpg

Fuel tank: 45 litres.

Insurance group: 7

Warranty: three years/60,000 miles

Website: www.ford.co.uk