Skip advert
Advertisement

Ford Fiesta review – design

Looks like a gentle evolution of its predecessor. It’s not universally successful, but sporty models have attitude and the bright orange Fiesta ST Performance Edition is quite appealing

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

The Fiesta has been Britain’s best-selling car for decades now and Ford clearly didn’t want to upset the apple cart with an all-new design, so the eighth generation of Fiesta is reassuringly familiar while looking ever so slightly more grown up, too.

It’s larger than before – 71mm longer, 12mm wider and with a 4mm longer wheelbase – but the overall look is very familiar with high-mounted swept-back headlamps, a swage line that rises to the rear lights along with a tapering window line. New light clusters at the rear endow it with a more sophisticated look, if perhaps not appearing quite so neat as those on the older Fiesta.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Different model lines come with different wheels and styling, the most obvious being the sportier ST-Line, ST and the Vignale. The latter features unique front and rear bumper assemblies along with the Vignale-style satin aluminium grille as seen on other Fords. The 17-inch alloys on the ST-Line and Vignale models certainly fill the arches well, but we’d avoid the optional 18s as while they do look good they take the edge off the chassis’ fluidity.

The Fiesta ST is fairly subtle, but its ornate alloy wheels do stand out from the crowd. We prefer the more motorsport-inspired multi-spoke units of the ST Performance Edition though, which also gets a bright coat of orange paintwork.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

Best used sports cars – proper performance cars for less than a new Golf GTI
Cheap sports cars
Best cars

Best used sports cars – proper performance cars for less than a new Golf GTI

With the sun shining and fuel prices palatable, now is the time to indulge your used sports car desires
1 Jul 2025
New 2026 Ferrari Amalfi revealed – physical buttons return in the 631bhp Roma replacement
Ferrari Amalfi front
News

New 2026 Ferrari Amalfi revealed – physical buttons return in the 631bhp Roma replacement

The Ferrari Amalfi picks up where the Roma left off, as a more capable, debugged super GT that’s finally brought back buttons
1 Jul 2025
Can Lotus survive its latest crisis?
Lotus factory
Opinion

Can Lotus survive its latest crisis?

Lotus’s latest troubles are grabbing headlines, but the writing’s been on the wall for some time.
28 Jun 2025