Ford Fiesta (2013-2017) Review

Hundreds of thousands of people every year can’t be wrong. For many, the Ford Fiesta is the perfect second or even first car. It is a model with very few weaknesses and a broad array of strengths across the board.

It might be a small car, but the Fiesta offers big-car comfort and (if you pick the right engine) performance. It punches well above its weight on the road, and will eat up motorway journeys just as well as it copes in town.

If you need to often carry taller people in the rear, you perhaps ought to look at a larger option such as the Skoda Fabia or Honda Jazz. But the Fiesta can still cope, just, and it’s so good in most other ways, many seem prepared to make the compromise.

Ford Fiesta Style or Zetec trim is a good starting point, as Studio is just a bit too basic. Even better, choose a Ford Fiesta Titanium version, which has a better standard spec. Ford pushed things further upmarket during the Fiesta’s life with the indulgent Titanium X. We also like the later Ford Fiesta ST-Line variant, which has the look of a high-performance Fiesta ST without the overt sportiness of the hot hatch version.

As for engines, you can still buy a 1.25-litre Fiesta, with either 60PS or 82PS, but you’re much better off picking the 1.0-litre Ecoboost engine. It’s offered in 100PS, 125PS and 140PS guises. We reckon the 125PS version is a great all-rounder.

Ford sells Fiestas in both three-door and five-door formats. Our preference is for the more practical five-door, and these are represented in greater numbers on the second-hand market as well.

The UK small hatchback market is vast, with entrants from almost every major brand. Big challengers to the Ford Fiesta are the Vauxhall Corsa and Volkswagen Polo, plus the Polo’s closely-related siblings, the Skoda Fabia and SEAT Ibiza.

From France, there are the Citroen C3, Peugeot 208 and Renault Clio, while South Korea offers the Kia Rio and Hyundai i20. Japanese reliability comes in the shape of the Honda Jazz, Toyota Yaris and Mazda2, along with the more disappointing Nissan Micra.

The Fiesta handles so well, there’s many a MINI Hatch buyer who’d be perfectly happy to drive one. And it’s a fair bit more dependable than Alfa Romeo’s semi-premium offering, the Mito. We’d rather have an Audi A1 if we were forking out extra for a posh hatchback.

Basic quality is very good. Ford builds solid, robust cars, and this is evident throughout the Fiesta. Everything seems tough and good enough to withstand years of heavy-duty use. Ford knows it wouldn’t be the nation’s favourite if the initial showroom appeal wore off quickly, so you can be confident the Fiesta is a sturdy machine.

The quality of materials isn’t bad for a mainstream car, either. There’s a nice soft-touch upper half to the dashboard, and other plastics don’t seem too cheap. They become harder as you move down the dashboard, but there’s little sense that they’re particularly brittle or downmarket.

Posher Fiestas have some lovely design details, such as the aforementioned piano black trim. The Sony stereo has a premium look, too. It’s just a shame cheaper models have seat upholstery that looks like deckchairs – you need to move up through the range for better quality materials.

Infotainment is a big let-down for the Ford Fiesta. That’s despite this version being available with the Ford Sync system, which is meant to allow easier pairing with mobile phones and, as an option, include a rudimentary form of sat-nav.

The main problem is the lack of touchscreen functionality, and the small and dated display screen. It feels a bit like using an old Nokia mobile phone, and is in stark contrast to the brilliant touchscreen set-up in the latest Fiesta.

Even using basic functionality is tortuous, because the array of buttons is so confusing. There’s a bit more logic to the Sony system, but it’s still far from straightforward. You’d think voice control would make things easier, but this functionality is also limited in scope.

It all feels very old-fashioned and is probably the Fiesta’s weakest area – particularly as the design of the dash makes it so hard to upgrade with a modern aftermarket system. At least Bluetooth and USB connectivity are built into most models (apart from base Studio), so you can control as much as possible via your smartphone instead.

The Fiesta is one of the more compact small hatches, measuring less than four metres long. Despite this, it’s still accommodating for those in the front. Taller drivers will find they have to slide the seat almost fully backwards, but it’s still comfortable in there, with ample headroom and plenty of adjustment from the steering wheel. The seats are located in a natural-feeling position and the pedals are not cramped or offset. It won’t necessarily feel like you’re driving a small car.

It’s tighter in the rear, particularly if those in the front are tall. It’s not painfully cramped – far from it – but the room there is more obviously small hatchback-standard, rather than the Tardis-like feel you get in something like a Honda Jazz or Toyota Yaris. 

Rear-seat access is a bit impractical in three-door models, which is why we prefer the five-door. The door openings are just about large enough and they help rear-seat passengers feel less hemmed in and claustrophobic. They’re also much easier if you have children: the Fiesta has dual ISOFIX mounts on the outer rear seats. 

Cabin stowage space isn’t bad. The door bins will take one-litre bottles, and there are cupholders in the centre console. Upper-grade versions feature a convenient central armrest that opens up to reveal a deep cubby.  

The Ford Fiesta's boot space measures 290 litres, which was decent by the standards of 2014 but is on the small side today.  It extends to 974 litres with the seats folded. Some rivals manage to get beyond the 1000-litre barrier – special mention once again to the Honda Jazz – but the Fiesta isn’t bad.

Do note, however, that in cars fitted with the optional space-saver spare wheel (rather than the standard tyre repair kit), load capacity drops to 276 litres. There are no fancy underfloor stowage options like those you find in more modern cars either, and the boot’s load lip is a bit too high for comfort. Width isn’t as broad as it could be, although the boot will prove deep enough for most. It will pose no problems for the weekly shop, for example.

The Ford Fiesta's dimensions are 3969mm long, 1978mm wide and 1495 tall.

The carry-over 1.25-litre engine is a bit too underpowered to make the most of the Fiesta’s talents. It’s OK if you really only cover short distances in town, but even here, drivers will find its lack of low-rev response a bit frustrating. And when you rev it to tap into the power, it becomes rather raucous.

The Ford Fiesta 1.0-lite Ecoboost engine is far superior. The core version is a 100PS motor, but we prefer the 125PS version, which is appreciably faster against the clock. Neither is slow, though, with strong turbocharged torque giving a reassuring response to the accelerator pedal.

The Ecoboost engine is also staggeringly smooth and refined in everyday driving, while emitting a sporty growl when worked harder. It’s a wonderful engine, and became even more hot-hatch-like in a later 140PS setup. All Ecoboosts have engine stop-start to save fuel in town.

Be careful not to get your 1.0-litre engines mixed up, though. Ford later replaced the 1.25-litre engine with a non-turbo 1.0, which produced 80PS. It’s still smooth-running, but doesn’t have the welcome pulling power and acceleration of the Ecoboost-branded turbo versions. A yawning 0-62mph time of nearly 15 seconds is proof of this: the Ecoboost 100 slashes it to 11.2 seconds (and the Ecoboost 125PS needs just 9.4 seconds). 

As for diesels, the 1.5-litre TDCi is offered in 75PS and 95PS guises. It’s a decent engine, but still obviously a diesel, and pales in appeal alongside the Ecoboost. Ford also offered a 1.6-litre petrol with an automatic called Powershift, which is very disappointing. Unless you really must have an auto, stick with manual, as the gearbox is exceptionally smooth and slick-shifting. Powershift was later offered on the 1.0 Ecoboost 100, and it’s a far superior drive.

Good refinement is another Ford Fiesta strength. Road noise is well isolated, meaning it’s only a bit of bump-thump noise over road scars that is transmitted through to the cabin. And on the motorway, a relative lack of wind noise means it’s a peaceful machine for a small hatch. It hums along quietly and comfortably.

The Ecoboost engine helps here. With pulling power in reserve, it’s easy to make good progress without revving it hard, which makes the Ford Fiesta feel like a very grown-up machine. The 1.5-litre diesel has a similarly powerful and easy-going feel, but diesel engines are naturally noisier than petrols, and Ford was less successful in isolating the four-cylinder motor’s clatter.

It’s the non-turbo petrol engines that will be most raucous, simply because you have to rev them hard if you’re not to be bogged down. When you do so, they make a fair bit of howl and whine, betraying the Ford’s small car status. Refinement is another good reason to go for the 1.0-litre Ecoboost if you can.

The Ford Fiesta scored well in Euro NCAP crash safety tests in 2012. Adult occupant protection was a very impressive 91 percent, with child occupant protection not far behind on 86 percent. Safety assist features were rated at 71 percent, with pedestrian protection a bit further behind on 65 percent.

All Fiestas feature front, side and curtain airbags, and the driver also benefits from a knee airbag. There are ISOFIX mounts for the two outer rear seats, although it’s only the front seats that benefit from a seatbelt reminder. Stability control is standard on all Fiestas, but a speed assistance device was not available.

There were some safety standouts on the Fiesta. The Ford Sync system offered automatic emergency assistance calling in the event of an accident, and automatic emergency braking was also optionally available. This promises to stop collisions completely at speeds below 10mph, and mitigate them at speeds of 19mph and under. The Fiesta was also fitted with a device to stop it rolling back during hill starts.

Then there’s the ingenious Ford MyKey. This allows people to programme one of the car keys with certain parameters – such as a restricted top speed, or a maximum volume for the in-car audio. It’s great for parents who want to let their youngsters drive on their own, but don’t want them to get carried away.

The Ford Fiesta scored an underwhelming 8.75 out of 10 for reliability in the HonestJohn.co.uk Survey, lower than several of its rivals and also lower than some other Ford vehicles.

As a brand Ford didn't perform very well either, being placed 26th out of 30 manufacturers. Partly this is down to the sheer number of Ford vehicles on the road, but it does also point to the fact that reliability is somewhat mixed.

A low-powered and basic 1.25 60PS Studio comes in at group three insurance, which is as low as you can go with a Fiesta. The 1.0 80PS Zetec is also pretty low, in group six, while Ecoboost engines do push up into double figures: a 100PS Zetec is group 11.

Diesel models start from group nine, while moving up from Zetec to Titanium generally adds a group onto the insurance rating. More generally, the sheer popularity of the Fiesta, plus Ford’s focus on low repair costs and vehicle security, should keep insurance costs in check. The Fiesta is likely to prove cheaper to insure than many of its direct rivals, even in Ecoboost guise.

High MPG means bargain VED (road tax). Most engines emit less than 100g/km of CO2, which equals zero tax, and you can’t ask for better than that. Surprisingly, 1.25-litre versions also dipped into the free VED car tax bracket, albeit only when fitted with engine stop-start.

Even the 140PS Ecoboost version isn’t bad, costing £20 a year. Given its warm hatch performance, there are few cheaper ways to enjoy driving, particularly when backed up by great fuel economy.

Just be aware of the 1.6 Powershift. VED is another reason to dislike it: owners will be paying £165 a year.

Basic Ford Fiesta Studio models lack the distinctive LED running lights of other models, and also don’t have key features such as air-con, DAB and Bluetooth. These came to the Style, along with remote central locking, making this the absolute basic Fiesta we think you should consider.

Better still is the Ford Fiesta Zetec, which features 15-inch alloy wheels, front fog lights, body-coloured door mirrors and door handles, plus extra chrome trim on the outside. Inside, Zetec models get a useful heated windscreen, leather steering wheel and a trip computer. The Ford Fiesta Titanium is even better equipped, with Titanium X proving positively lavish.

A firm-favourite Fiesta trim is the later ST-Line, which combines the looks of the range-topping Ford Fiesta ST with cheaper and more economical engines. It has a full bodykit, including side skirts and beefy tailgate spoiler, 17-inch alloys finished in gunmetal grey, lower and stiffer suspension, a great pair of sports seats and a chunky three-spoke steering wheel.