It's the new Ford Fiesta Sport Van!

This might be over-sharing, but I’ve always had a slight fetish for vans. Specifically hatchvans. Why? Not sure, really. Maybe it was the bloke I used to know who did up his mk2 Fiesta van in a pseudo-rally style. Maybe it was too much exposure to Custom RS Turbo Escort vans as a teen, or overspill from my obsession for ‘70s American kidnap-special vans with porthole windows and dragons/mermaids/wild horses muralled up the sides. Who knows?

But there’s definitely something there. Which is why the new Ford Fiesta Sport Van made me smile. Not sure why I think it’s so good, either. Other than it’s a Fiesta (good news), with all the things that make Fiestas good, and with the rear windows replaced with metal. I’m going with the fact that the van is therefore more structurally rigid than the one with glass (pure conjecture).

From a practical point of view, there’s a rubber-floored cubic metre of loadspace, 1.3 metres of load-length and a carrying capacity of 500kg, annexed from the driver by a composite/mesh bulkhead. Up front there’s either a 1.0-litre turbo EcoBoost petrol with 123bhp or a frugal 1.5-litre TDCi diesel with 118PS, both front-wheel drive and six-speed manual.

And because vans aren’t what they used to be, there’s also the usual suite of modern-car connectivity and driver aids available, like Ford’s SYNC 3 with an 8-inch touchscreen and app-stuff, Pre‑Collision Assist with Pedestrian Detection emergency braking, Adaptive Cruise Control and Blind Spot Info. And if you want to give your vannists even fewer excuses for bad driving, there’s also Cross Traffic Alert to stop them pulling out in front of stuff, Traffic Sign Recognition and and an adjustable Speed Limiter. Though nothing that will stop them viciously cutting people up in traffic.

Now all we need is the Fiesta Sport Van in 198bhp ST trim. Wouldn’t put anything too valuable in the back without tying it down securely though.