After just over 12 months on the BusinessCar fleet, the Fiesta has departed, and I’m certainly sad to see it go.
Despite its supermini status, it proved to be easily up to the task of taking the day-to-day role of a larger car, which was what we were attempting to investigate when it arrived in late 2008.
The first concerns I had with downsizing from an upper medium hatchback was the loss of interior space. This was unfounded thankfully, as the Fiesta was accommodating of almost everything I could throw at it – from chests-of-drawers to family dogs [1]. The seats were easy to fold, although the fact they didn’t create a flat surface when dropped was an irritation at times [2].
Specification was rewardingly high as well – many a time I was thankful for the optional parking sensors and the aux input to the stereo that the Titanium trim level brought. The iPod connection lead that was provided was fiddly to use though [3], and was an option I could have done without.
But aside from the gadget and size complaints, the issue of finances was one that kept cropping up. Firstly, refuelling had me worried to begin with, with the car delivering some very inefficient mpg figures at times – as low as 27.9mpg at one point. However, this steadily improved as the running-in period passed and the engine loosened up. I only really saw a tangible rise in average economy past the 3000-mile mark, suggesting it took longer than maybe expected for the engine to really settle. A final average consumption of 35.3mpg was OK, but it would have been nice to see more tanks in the early 40s, as managed when I made the long trip down to Cornwall and back.
As the Fiesta was with us for a year, I had the pleasure of putting it through its first service. To say I was surprised to be quoted a price of £213 for the work would be an understatement. It was therefore pleasing to be presented with a much more acceptable bill for £168 when collecting the car at the end of the service from Bristol Street in Bromley. On top of that, the car was booked in for 8am and I was away with everything completed by 10.30am.
Less good is the cost of buying the car in the first place. Although they didn’t affect our running costs, the five price rises that Ford implemented over the past year mean that recommending the Fiesta got harder all the time. While it was great to own, at £15,499 the Fiesta now costs £2755 more than when it joined us. For this reason, we can’t recommend it quite as highly as we would have done 12 months ago.
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