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Ford Fiesta review – MPG and running costs

WLTP economy of over 60mpg makes the diesel a fuel-sipper, but the EcoBoost petrols are frugal too

Evo rating
RRP
from £16,385
  • Agile chassis, strong EcoBoost engines, class-leading ST
  • Lags some rivals for space/quality

Economy isn’t typically a priority for evo, but it’s certainly a big part of why people buy cars such as the Fiesta, and we’ll always appreciate the ability to have fun without spending much money.

With that in mind, the two most likely candidates for combining minimal cost with maximum fun are the three 1-litre EcoBoosts. The two lower-powered models both achieve a WLTP combined figure of 55.4mpg, while the 138bhp unit drops that marginally to 51.4mpg. CO2 figures are 116g/km and 123g/km respectively.

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Interestingly, the entry-level 1.1 Trend isn’t quite as frugal as the lower-output EcoBoosts, managing 53.3mpg combined and 121g/km, and if you can stretch to the monthlies we’d definitely recommend going for the turbo models as a result, for a better mix of frugality and performance.

The diesel, naturally, uses the least fuel, with a combined 65.7mpg and only 112g/km of CO2. How close you can get to that number is another matter, though it’s worth pointing out that the latest WLTP numbers are definitely more realistic than the old NEDC ones, on which the diesels were claimed to do more than 80mpg…

The ST still isn’t a big drinker, with a figure of 40.4mpg combined and 158g/km of CO2. This should be a pretty achievable target too – by the time it went back to Ford, our long-term Fiesta ST managed 38mpg, including group test appearances and plenty of exuberant driving.

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