A new Fiesta breaks cover; STEVE HUGHES takes a look at the latest Ford Fiesta, which was unveiled today and is due to appear in the showrooms in the autumn

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), Feb 15, 2008

Byline: STEVE HUGHES

FORD has taken the wraps off the latest Fiesta, which will be aiming to become the UK's favourite small car when it reaches showrooms this autumn.

To be seen for the first time at next month's Geneva Motor Show, the newcomer will be striving to improve upon the position of the current model.

More than 12 million Fiestas have been bought since its introduction in 1976 but although it is the current best-seller in Wales and Northern Ireland it is beaten by the Vauxhall Corsa in England and Scotland.

This sixth generation of the accomplished supermini aims to rectify that by incorporating a raft of improvements and leaps in technology to increase its appeal to younger buyers.

As these first official pictures show, it adopts the same family face as the new Mondeo and the latest Focus, which Ford refers to as its cutting-edge kinetic design.

The most noticeable improvements are said to be in terms of the craftsmanship and quality of materials used for both the three and five-door versions, which both boast a sleeker, coupe-like shape.

There will be a choice of half a dozen engines mated to a five-speed manual transmission with optional four-speed automatic.

Petrol units include the 70bhp 1.25-litre and 1.4-litre 80bhp units plus a new 1.6-litre that increases power by 15bhp over the outgoing model without any economy penalty.

The diesel units are a 68bhp 1.4-litre and 90bhp 1.6-litre, with an ultra-clean ECOnetic option to be added later in the year boasting a CO2 figure of less than 100g/km.

The newcomer retains the MacPherson strut front suspension and twist-beam rear suspension layout that Ford says has been one of the current model's strengths but both the suspension and steering system have undergone significant development, with electric power-assist steering appearing for the first time.

There is also keyless entry and start-up via a button on the instrument panel.

Inside is what Ford calls futuristic, mobile phone-inspired technology in the instrument panel centre incorporating the Ford Convers system that is already on the Mondeo, S-MAX and Galaxy models.

The new centre console includes a tray for MP3 players with built-in sockets for an auxiliary audio and USB cables plus a 12-volt socket.

This enables the car's audio system to control and charge the MP3 player and there is also Bluetooth connectivity with voice control.

More specific details and prices for the UK market will be announced nearer to the on-sale date this autumn.

CAPTION(S):

SIXTH GENERATION - above and right, Ford's new Fiesta has been unveiled; MANY IMPROVEMENTS - the new Fiesta features a host of technological innovations