Ford Fiesta 1.4 16v Ghia

I'm very happy with my Ford Fiesta and very pleased to say it is a great city car!

Ford Fiesta 1.4l 16v Ghia City Car ReviewHalf a year ago, I got pretty sick of my Fiat Punto. Being a young male driver with not a huge sum of money at my disposal, insurance alone limits me to smaller cars right now. So I set about researching the most suitable super-mini around.

Now, going from an 8 year old Fiat to a brand new Ford is probably going to distort my view of things somewhat -- people say that the new Fiesta is let down by the quality of its plastics, but compared to my other cars it's like a Jaguar inside. But I think I can point out a few good and bad things that should apply to everything.

First off, the handling. It's great. I test-drove a Clio and a Polo as well as this, and the handling is unmatched by either. It's the primary reason I bought it. It sticks to the road like glue, there is little to no body roll, and you can take most corners at speed without fear. It also goes well on ice and snow, as I learned in the recent snowstorms in Britain. If you live in a place with a lot of roundabouts or sharp curves, like I do, this will definitely be a good choice.

Second most obvious thing is the space. From the outside, it doesn't look like a particularly large car. It really doesn't, especially not my 3 door version, which slopes down more steeply at the rear. But when you get inside, it suddenly becomes a family car. Indeed, I've had my whole family in this car with no trouble. My father even commented that he was more comfortable in the Fiesta than he was in his Mondeo, and he's a big guy, both in terms of height and width, so that's saying something. It'll seat four adults with ease. It also has a fairly large boot, even if the bottom 'lip' is a little hard to lift over.

Interior visibility isn't as good as my old Fiat, though. The front is OK, but it's the rear that holds the troubles. It may not apply to the five door version, but on the three door version the rear pillars are quite wide, and the rear-side windows are not very big. I've had a couple of near-misses simply because there is a blind spot which is just that -- completely blind, even when you physically turn yourself around to look. If those rear pillars were just slightly thinner, cars wouldn't be able to hide behind them.

The exterior is not large at all, though. It will park easily -- a plus for me, considering how tight the car park is where I work -- it has a tight turning circle, and there are even subtle visual aids inherent in the exterior design; you can actually see the very tips of the bonnet.

I'm also pleased with the kit, though as I said, coming from an 8 year old Punto a wheelbarrow has more gadgets on it. But the QuickClear windscreen especially is a useful feature. Ice on the window? Why stand in the cold scraping until you can't feel your hands anymore, when you can just sit in the warmth of your car and wait for a couple of minutes while your windscreen heating elements work their magic?

It's that easy. Flick it on, wait, use your windscreen wipers and drive off. I've angered my neighbours several times by doing that while they stand there scraping. I can't praise the feature enough. It also works for condensation -- if you get wet in the rain, and your windscreen starts to steam up in that special, uncontrollable way, just flick on the heating elements.

The elements are more-or-less invisible too, unlike the ones on your rear window. You can only see them from a certain angle, or in the rain, as feint zig-zagging lines.

The sound system is good too, especially the Ghia model. The radio/CD player auto-adjusts for road and engine noise (engine noise being fairly low unless at a high pace, by the way); when you go faster, the radio subtly increases in volume to compensate, and decreases when you slow down. The speakers are good too, with a good deal of bass.

And the dash controls are well placed and big. An idiot could, and does, operate this car while driving, without taking my eyes off the road. Big, clearly labelled buttons are logically placed. If you're after a car with a dashboard that looks like the cockpit of an aeroplane, this isn't the car for you -- this is simplicity at its best.

The steering wheel adjusts for height, and in the Ghia at least is leather covered, which gives it a much nice feel than the standard rubber (though, knowing my luck, a shorter lifespan). The gear knob also has a leather covering, and a nice, smooth aluminium top. The interior door handles are also aluminium.

The gear stick, by the way, is placed well; quite high, and well within reach.

Some bad points, though, sadly. The most persistent one being the power. I was expecting a 1.4 litre engine to be a lot faster than my previous 1.2 litre engine, especially as it is based on technology 8 years newer. But it's actually just as fast. It does pull well, though, except for in second gear.

Also, I have had to take it back to the dealer once already. The clutch kept sticking, and then just before I booked it in, the brake warning light kept coming on. Ford fixed them both, but made me very angry in the process.

You see, I had been working very hard to keep my brand spanking new car clean and tidy, inside and out. I washed it every week, vacuumed it whenever it wasn't raining or too cold. I kept it spotless for three months. So I took it in for a checkup, so they could find out what was wrong and book it in for some proper work. Within an HOUR, they had plastered dirt all over the interior. When I took it in for the work the following week I demanded they clean it. They didn't. They also removed the battery without giving it a backup source of power, thus resetting my clock, my radio programming, everything. They did this twice.

Which is why I have been hesitant to take it in again to get the other problem fixed: the clutch creaks. While this isn't a serious problem, it is driving me insane. I tried to get them to fix it while it was having a courtesy check, but they fobbed me off with a story I knew to be false. Ford's service alone is more than enough to discourage me from buying their products in the future.

The car itself, though, is fine. It's definitely fun to drive, and feels like a bigger car than it actually is. It may lack the power you might expect, but it will still leave a lot of cars in its wake if you give it a little extra effort. Fuel efficiency is average for a car of this size, though the tank is a little smaller than most, which may cause you to fill up more often. Though, by the same token, it will cost you less to fill up.

A good, solid car, all in all. Its biggest pluses are handling, and interior space -- if you want a supermini that can turn on a dime and hold your entire family, this'll be the one.

It's primarily let down by the dealer it came from rather than any major failings of its own; though if your dealer is a good one there shouldn't be any problems.