The new Ford Fiesta, now
in its sixth incarnation, is not a car designed with me in mind.
But while I am patently not the twenty-something woman that represents the Fiesta’s main target audience, I am nevertheless rather taken with it.
The way it manages to meld a sense of high-quality solidity with genuine lightness is especially impressive. It’s the only one of its main rivals to weigh in at under a tonne, yet there’s a real Mondeo-in-miniature feel to the Fiesta - and I mean that as a compliment.
The ride is also something of an engineering masterpiece. Cars as light as the Fiesta tend to bounce around the road – it’s much harder to effectively damp a light car than a heavy one.
Not so the Fiesta. Despite its low weight and humble twist-beam rear suspension, the Fiesta displays a fair chunk of the much heavier, independently sprung Mondeo’s composure.
It may have been designed for fashion-conscious women, but I suspect the Fiesta will be yet another Blue Oval with a very broad appeal.