Ford Fiesta 1.1-litre review: 84bhp supermini driven in the UK

In 2017 you can still buy a new Ford Fiesta with less than 100bhp? That’s pathetic!

No it isn’t. Yes, we know the Ecoboost turbo three-cylinder wotsit can give you 100bhp… or 125bhp… or 140bhp… and there’s a 200bhp Fiesta ST coming. And given the Fiesta – even the new, more grown-up one – has a reputation for being a giggle to loon about in, you probably want to be bringing a fair old dollop of power to the party.

But this training wheels Fiesta, sampled with just 84bhp (there’s an even lowlier 69bhp coming too) is no runt of the litter…

Give me some numbers.

Tell you what, instead of jumping straight into tardy sprint times and lowly top speeds here are some relevant figures. Take ‘5’ – that’s the insurance group for this normally aspirated, 1.1-litre three-cylinder Fiesta.

Or try ‘165’ – that’s the number of pounds you’ll have to find a month to own one. Cheap to buy, cheap to insure, and returning nigh-on 49mpg in over-enthusiastic Top Gear hands against a claim of 64.2mpg, it’ll be cheap to run too. It emits just 101g/km of CO2, so tax won’t be a burden on hard-pressed purses. 

Give me the other numbers.

Oh, alright. Sending 84bhp through five gears (all other flavours of Fiesta get a slightly less-sweet-shifting six-speed manual), My First Ford does 0-62mph. Really. Oh, you want a time? Okay, it’s 14 seconds flat, and the top speed won’t breach 105mph. It’s not a fast car.

But it is a good one. Seriously, if you learn to drive in one of these (my first car was a Fiesta, bet a few of you lot out there had one too…) it might turn you into a proper petrolhead. 

How can a boggo Ford Fiesta do that?

Because there’s a fundamental rightness to the way it drives. Even with less power than a Nutribullet the new Fiesta is a gem. It’s supple on rough roads. It steers purposefully and feels agile and alert. It’s one of those rare cars that you can feel, just from how the rear wheels engage with the road, that it’s keen for a corner even when you’re tracking in a dead straight line. Which bodes very nicely too for the Fiesta ST.

As I’ve said, the five-speed box is light and slick and really satisfying – think Mazda MX-5 shift but with the lever from a 1980s Greyhound bus. We’ll let the Fiesta off for that because the gearlever, like the steering wheel is a delight to hold, and compliments a cabin that’s come on in continent-crossing leaps from the old car. Apart from the shoddy plastic door handles, everything feels tactile and mature. The 8-inch touchscreen’s Ford’s best ever infotainment set-up too.

And for all the Ecoboost turbo’s award-winning torque and perky nature, this 1.1 triple is no poor relation. Yes, you’ve got to get into the throttle earlier, but that’ll help the L-plate brigade learn to anticipate. Yes, you’re changing gear plenty, rowing the best change of any standard supermini. It’s all good practice. 

This thing will be a lot of people’s first experience of a car, and it’s a great introduction, of moderate power attached to a really forgiving, engaging chassis, that’s also more refined, comfortable and mature than it’s ever been.

Bin the spec sheet, you’ll totally disregard any grumbles of being shortchanged. In the Fiesta, you’re not punished for going in at the shallow end, like you are in a Polo or Fabia or Mini or Clio, which tend to work more agreeably with a bit more spec and a few extra horses sharing the load. 

And my grandparents will like it too, you reckon?

Yes – the elderly tend to be the other big demographic for these sorts of humble knows-their-place superminis – and they’ll appreciate the above-average visibility, the large-print graphics and the comfort on sensible 16-inch alloys.

What a pity they might not be able to hear that wind and tyre noise is dramatically hushed versus the old Fiesta (their grandkids similarly will be too stuck into the pumping B&O Play hi-fi to probably notice). 

True, we’d still recommend stretching to the 100bhp Ecoboost for the most rounded Fiesta experience. But there’s something satisfyingly right with the natural order of things when the most basic version of Britain’s favourite car is a gem. And happily, this one is.