Ford Fiesta Studio 1.25 (82ps) 5dr Car Review - February 2012

The Fiesta comes with big car levels of refinement and comfort in the cabin. Supportive seats with plenty of adjustment and a two-way adjustable steering wheel make it easy to find the perfect driving position. Ford has put plenty of effort into making the Fiesta’s interior as distinctive as its exterior, and most of the materials used for the dash look swish. Overall, the dash is modern looking and works well too, providing clear and easy to use controls.

This model comes powered by Ford’s excellent 1.25-litre, 4-cylinder, 16-valve petrol engine. It’s powerful enough - providing maximum output of 83bhp and 84lb-ft of pulling power. It’ll take you 13.3 seconds to get from 0-62mph, and on to a 104mph top speed – fast enough for most people’s needs.

There are also 1.4 and 1.6-litre petrol engines, along with 1.4 and 1.6-litre diesel options available in normal and super-efficient Econetic versions.

Its suspension is supple enough to iron out bumpy roads – even the worst surfaces you’ll find on city streets don’t throw it of balance – as it proves its agility and poise.

The 1.25-litre engine is superbly smooth, making the Fiesta among the quietest cars in its class. A touch of wind-noise when you’re doing about 70mph is evident but tyre-noise and road-noise are so well suppressed that you’d think you were in a much bigger and more expensive car.

The exact opposite of the old Fiesta – this one is modern, sleekly styled and vibrant with a range of head-turning colour choices available too.

The equipment on this Studio model is quite basic: stability control, electric door mirrors, an immobiliser and CD – but there’s no central locking.

Ford have a bewildering range of different trim levels to choose from so you can be sure you’ll find what you want to personalize your Fiesta – and there’s always the high economy Econetic and sports Zetec S options.

Metallic paint will set you back £495.

Upfront there’s ample space for anyone and the rear is able to accommodate two six-foot tall adults with ample headroom. Space in the boot is decent too; bigger than the previous model, with 295-litres available with the rear seats in place, and with them down that extends to 979-litres.

Euro NCAP gave crash test ratings of 5 for occupants, 4 for children and 3 for pedestrians to the Fiesta. They all come fitted with stability control and five airbags, one of which is a driver's knee airbag, but sadly curtain airbags aren’t included. They are available at extra cost.

Ford has invested much in reducing insurance ratings for the Fiesta, positioning lamps away from likely zones of impact and incorporating ‘crash-cans’ to reduce potential body-shell damage.

Deadlocks, an immobiliser and visible vehicle identification numbers are standard - making theft a little less attractive for thieves.

Fords in general have had a good reputation for durability in recent years and the Fiesta feels well built: it has also rated well for reliability in customer satisfaction surveys. The Fiesta comes with Ford’s 3-year- 60,000 mile warranty and service intervals of 12,500 miles.

This Fiesta Studio 1.25 is light on fuel, has group 5 insurance and it’s expected to hold its value well. Better than average CO2 emissions of 129g/km put it in VED band D for Road Tax, and fuel economy of 50.4 mpg is also good for a car in this class. With a price tag of £10,095 it offers better value than before – being less expensive to buy and run than previously. If you’re really on a budget then the Econetic version even costs nothing to tax. Overall the Fiesta is still one of the best options in the small car class.