Most of the recent coverage of the Ford Fiesta has been about the bad news from Dagenham, with references to how its sales have been dipping on the Continent. But this is still the UK's best-selling supermini, and runner-up in the overall sales league to the Focus.The Ghia is the top model in the non-sporty pages of the Fiesta catalogue. It comes with either the 1.25 Zetec engine or the 1.4, which was the specification of the test car.While I can see that Ford needed to freshen up the styling for 2000, I'm not all that keen on what's been done to the front end. It certainly makes the Fiesta seem more closely related to the Focus - "new edge" and all that stuff - but it's not so . . . well, friendly-looking.There are some minor interior changes, but the Ghia cabin remains much as before. That means supportive but rather firm front seats, the odd bit of wood effect trim, and a very good passenger-side layout, where the fascia curves forward to allow far more legroom than you get in many cars in this class.Air-conditioning is standard on the Ghia, and so are alloy wheels, a heated windscreen, double locking and rear headrests which don't obstruct the view directly behind.Back-seat passengers don't fare as well as the folk up front. The Fiesta is an older design than some of the more recent superminis which major on packaging, and rear legroom is tight. Boot space, though, is well up with the best in the class.Out on the road, the Ghia is a funny mixture. This is not really the Fiesta for people who want to rush around, but it will handle very well when pushed. The Ford guys really know what they're doing when it comes to chassis engineering, and this is, after all, the platform passed on to the Puma.But if many Ghia owners go more for the top level of equipment than for sporty handling, they probably find the suspension a little on the unyielding side.The 1.4 Ghia is a noticeably livelier car than the 1.25, but it records almost identical fuel consumption figures.Second opinion: To me the most immediately appealing thing about the Fiesta is that it no longer looks like a fish. This one is also quite nippy, and in fact if it didn't have the Ghia badge and the level of equipment it would be a very acceptable little warm hatch. That's at the expense of ride quality, though, which is a strange thing to compromise on with the "luxury" model in the range. David Finlay. Engine 1388cc, 4cylinders Power 90bhp @5500rpm Torque ib/ft @4500rpm Transmission 5 speed manual Fuel/CO2 39.2mpg / 169g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 11.4sec Top speed 110mph Price From £11146.00 approx Release date 01/10/1999
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