Before I drove this car my experience of the current Fiesta had been limited to diesel versions in one form or another. The switch to a petrol model proved to be very revealing.There are three petrol engines in the range, and the one in the test car was the largest and most powerful at 1.6 litres and 118bhp (a 59bhp 1.25 and a 95bhp 1.4 are also available). I'm sure you don't need to tell me that greater engine capacity means a higher list price, lower economy, more CO2 emissions and more annual VED, though in the last three respects the 1.6 isn't too far removed from the others, even if the real-world difference in fuel economy is bound to be greater than the official figures suggest.I think I would be happy enough with less straightline performance, since hard acceleration is rarely an important factor in Fiesta ownership, but there's no doubt that the 1.6 is powerful enough to be amusing, to say nothing of having useful overtaking ability. More importantly, though, I'm beginning to suspect that the Fiesta was designed as a petrol-engined car in the first place, and that the diesels are something of a compromise.All other things being equal, diesel engines are heavier than petrol ones, and this gives suspension designers more work to do since that extra weight has to be carried somehow without affecting the ride and handling. In fact the ride and handling are affected, always, and the trick is to keep the difference within reasonable bounds. Generally a petrol car will be more appealing to drive than a diesel (because extra weight is a Bad Thing), but quite often the diesel turns out to be superior because the engineers made a better job of the compromise than they did of the original set-up.This does not seem to be the case with the Fiesta. It seems to have been developed as a petrol car and then had diesel engines added later. For a start, the petrol models ride far more smoothly, though this effect is partly spoiled in the case of the high-spec Titanium version tested here by its 16" wheels and correspondingly low-profile tyres which I'm sure the chassis engineers didn't have in mind when they were doing their work.Furthermore, although the diesels handle well, the petrol models are - or at least this one is - several steps ahead. The suspension is very softly sprung but very carefully damped, and the resulting combination of excellent grip and an ability to cope with almost anything the tarmac is doing makes the Fiesta astonishingly capable car for fast driving over difficult roads. I won't go into details, but on one occasion it created puzzlement and dismay in the driver of a hard-pressed MINI Cooper S, who got past only by ignoring a 30mph speed limit when we reached the next town.No doubt Ford will have a hot hatch version of the Fiesta in the dealerships sooner or later, but if you want such a thing and don't insist on an enjoyable sporting car having a high power output and an uncomfortable ride you don't have to wait - the 1.6 is already a hot hatch, at least if you want it to be.There is only one thing that might be considered a flaw. The suspension is so soft that it allows a lot of body movement, and this can be disconcerting. When you're driving hard you realise that everything works the way it should, but at lower speeds the pitching and rolling makes the car feel less secure than it really is.The petrol/diesel question does not, of course, affect other previously-published opinions of the Fiesta. Good points are that it's very comfortable up front and feels like far more of a quality product than any of its six predecessors, bad points that room in the back is limited and the miserable glass area at the rear has such a disastrous effect on visibility that I feel Ford should either radically rethink its new design language or throw it away and start again.The 1.6-litre petrol engine is available only with the Titanium trim, which includes Electronic Temperature Control, privacy glass, cruise control, automatic headlights and wipers, folding door mirrors and carpet mats along with the 16" alloys. If you want to spend less money your only option is to go for the three-door, which is £300 cheaper. Engine 1596 cc, 4 cylinders Power 120 bhp @6000 rpm Torque 112 ib/ft @4050 rpm Transmission 5 speed manual Fuel/CO2 47.9 mpg / 139 g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 9.9sec Top speed 120 mph Price From £14806.00 approx Release date 01/10/2008
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