It can be difficult to comprehend just how well a good Ford drives until you’ve tried one. Take the Fiesta launched in the 2000s as a case in point. I’d read the reviews, after it had hit the UK market in March 2002, and clocked all the plaudits, but I had to take what I’d seen as writ: I was a few years from having a driving licence, for one thing, and a considerable chunk of time and experience from being able to assess one in any meaningful and comparative way.
Necessity, by chance, finally put me behind the wheel of one in 2021. An overseas friend visiting for several months wanted an inexpensive car and, as luck would have it, another friend was selling just such a car: a 2008 Fiesta Ghia with the 1.4-litre Duratec engine. But to make the deal work, I needed to take ownership of it for a while, and to go through it from nose to tail, which would allow me to get some first-hand experience of Ford’s highly regarded hatchback. Playing around and tinkering with another car without forking out any of my own money? I didn’t need to be asked twice.
Unsurprisingly, and echoing my experience with other older Fords, the compact Fiesta was a breath of fresh air compared to a lot of the modern cars I was testing at the time. For starters, the cabin was uncluttered and bereft of electronic annoyances. And to drive, it was a delight, with tactile controls, well-weighted hydraulic power steering, nimble and eager handling, and a supple ride. Just as my previously owned first-gen Focus had done, the 1140kg Fiesta ably demonstrated that affordable and conventional needn’t equate to drab and uninvolving.
