Performance and 0-60 time
With three different engines, two petrol and one diesel, and several alternative states of tune for each unit, performance figures vary from somewhat anaemic to peppy without being downright fast. From an evo perspective the two naturally aspirated 1.1-litre three-cylinder units can probably be discounted with their leisurely 0-62mph times of 14.9 and 14.0sec respectively for the 69 and 84bhp versions.
The diesel offerings in 84 and 118bhp guises knock off the benchmark sprint in 12.5sec and 9.0sec, the latter model being currently the fastest accelerating Fiesta you can buy. It feels pleasantly rapid on the move making good use of its 199lb ft of torque that’s on tap from 1750 to 2500rpm. And given it weighs 1188kg its in-gear acceleration is certainly rapid enough to make overtakes pretty effortless.
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The Ecoboost turbocharged 1-litre three-cylinder models come in three states of tune – 100PS (99bhp), 125PS (123bhp) and 140PS (138bhp) and the two lower powered models have identical 125lb ft torque outputs while the 140 model can muster a slightly higher 133lb ft. If you must have an automatic gearbox (and only around 11 per cent of Fiesta customers choose this option) you’ll have to choose the 100PS Ecoboost as this is the only engine to which the six-speed auto can be mated. Performance suffers if you do go auto, with a rather leisurely 12.2sec 0-62mph time compared to the six-speed manual’s 10.5 sec.
The two higher powered Ecoboost Fiestas dispatch the 0-62mph dash in 9.9sec (125PS) and 9.0sec (140PS) respectively but on the move the latter model does make its extra 15bhp count and according to Ford is 1.4sec quicker from 31 to 62mph in fourth gear which gives a good indicator to its increased flexibility.
