Price as tested: POA
+ Slick styling, brilliant engine, classy cabin, handling
– 100ps and 125ps EcoBoost versions won't be cheap
= Updates put the Fiesta right back at the top of the small car tree
Cinecitta Studios lies just on the outskirts of Rome and has been home, over the years, to productions as famous os Ben-Hur, Cleopatra and The Gangs Of New York. When choosing to launch an updated version of the Ford Fiesta, so bursting with new technology that it could not be more bang up to date, it might seem odd to have it sit in front of a fake recreation of the Roman Senate. But hey, maybe Ford has just looking for a little reflected glory from the likes of Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.
Certainly, the updated Fiesta looks glamorous enough to bestride a film set. That new grille (very Aston Martin-ish), lights and bumpers have really freshened up the shape.
Inside, much effort has gone into improving cabin quality and the results are palpably good. Before, you would have had to place the Fiesta just behind the likes of the Volkswagen Polo in the interior quality stakes. Now it's neck-and-neck.
From the mobile phone and media player-linking SYNC system (that recently debuted on the new B-Class mini MPV) to a new function called MyKey (long since on sale in American Fords) which allows nervous parents to limit the speed, audio volume and other functions of the car when their teenage offspring have borrowed it, the Fiesta can now be specified to levels that would have seemed ludicrous when the 1977 original was launched. A self-braking city safety system, a function that automatically phones the emergency services in the event of an accident and niceties such as a reversing camera and an automated parking system are now all available, for a price.
Indeed, you'd have to ask if Ford is backing the wrong horse – investing in high-tech gizmos at a time when most buyers are looking more closely at the bottom line and rivals like Dacia are arriving with arrestingly low-balled prices. I asked; Ford said no. All its research points to customers wanting more and more technology in the car.
Ford's award-winning 1.0-litre, three-cylinder EcoBoost engine has already found happy homes in the Focus and B-Max, but the Fiesta is surely the car best suited to the lightweight, frugal, free-revving little unit. For the first time, you'll be able to buy an EcoBoost unit that doesn't use a turbocharger, and the new 65bhp and 80bhp versions of the engine will eventually replace the ageing 1.25-litre Yahamha-developed unit at the base of the Fiesta range. Punchier 100bhp and 125bhp versions, with a turbo, will be rarer by far in Irish dealerships but sadly, that's all that Ford made available for us to drive on this event.
I say sadly, actually it was terrific. In 123bhp form (a version which still scores a 99g/km Co2 rating and can, claims Ford, average better than 65mpg) the turbo EcoBoost almost qualifies as a junior hot hatch. There's a touch of off-boost lethargy below 1,900rpm but after that the little engine revs smoothly and crisply to the 6,500rpm redline and theres's a thick seam of effortless 170Nm torque to revel in on the way there. Even with just a five-speed gearbox, it's an effortless drive and maybe it's just me, but there seems to be a hint of Porsche-like roar as you pass 4,000rpm.
As ever, the Fiesta's chassis is up for any challenges you throw at it, and the updated electric power steering is better than ever – firmly sprung and rewardingly talkative, it goes beautifully with the Fiesta's neutral balance and grip. Even on roads streaming with heavy rain and peppered with aggressive Roman traffic, the Fiesta never felt less than confidence inspiring, and frequently felt just damned good fun.
Alongside the EcoBoost units and the carry-over 1.25 petrol, Ford will also offer a new 1.5-litre TDCI diesel and two updated versions of the existing 1.6-litre diesel, the most efficient of which emits just 87g/km. Prices will start from €15,550 for the most basic 1.25 and you can expect the 99bhp EcoBoost turbo to clock in around the €17,500 mark.
Bringing the test car back to Cinecitta was a slightly bizarre experience what with having to thread the Fiesta between sets, semi-abandoned props and the occasional film-set statue that had be placed next to a car park. There was even a complete TGV-style train, marooned on tracks that go nowhere, presumably to give future Cary Grants and Tom Cruises a convincing set for railway-based action.
Thankfully, the Fiesta is no film-set fake. It’s a car of true style and substance, with a delightful chassis and, with the brilliant EcoBoost engine, real star quality.
Ford Fiesta 1.0 EcoBoost 125ps
Price as tested: TBA
Price range: €15,550 to €TBA
Capacity: 999cc
Power: 123bhp
Torque: 170Nm
Top speed: 170kmh
0-100kmh: 9.4sec
Economy: 4.2l-100km (67mpg)
CO2 emissions: 99g/km
Road Tax Band: A2. €180
Euro NCAP rating: 5-star; 91% adult, 86% child, 65% pedestrian, 71% safety assist.
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