The UK's best selling car returns in a new, award-winning incarnation with one of the best performing small engines on the market. Andrew Frankel takes a look
Ford Fiesta 1.0 Zetec 80
This model from £13,445
When you look at what it offers, it’s no real surprise that the Fiesta has been Europe’s best-selling car for years. No other car ticks so many of our boxes. Easily the best-looking car in this class and the best to drive too, it hammers home its advantage with an award-winning range of 1-litre petrol engines offering exceptional performance and economy.
It’s an uncommonly safe car too, every model boasting a total of seven airbags as standard. Drawbacks are few but include a slightly cheap look and feel to the cabin, and not as much room in the back as that offered by its most spacious rivals. One more tip: Fiestas are great but they are also plentiful, so always be prepared to haggle not a few hundred off the price, but a few thousand.
Performance
- Engine: 999cc, 79bhp
- Transmission: 5-speed manual
- Top speed: 103mph
- 0-60mph acceleration: 14.9sec
Costs
- Claimed economy: 65.7mpg
- Insurance Group: 6 (1=low, 50=high)
