WHEN Ford launched the new Fiesta almost two years ago they said it was the “most significant global vehicle product since the Model T” - which of course was the first mass-produced affordable car, that set the world in motion in 1908.
At the time I thought the manufacturing moguls were going a little overboard, but with sales of its traditionally large cars and trucks plummeting I understood why they were placing such importance on it.
So, two years on, has the Fiesta got the blue oval back on top?
Expectations were high. Not only do I like small cars in general, I like Fiestas in particular because when it comes to simple driving pleasures, Fiestas have shown the way among their kind. Ever wondered why the Fiesta is the choice of so many boy racers? It’s because they are a joy to drive.
At first glance the Fiesta does not disappoint.
It is a cute car, from its rising waistline to its falling roofline, from the ultra-slim headlights at the front to its clean, compact tailgate at the back.
Get inside and things keep on getting better. The driving position is perfect, and it feels spectacularly well built for a car priced from just £8,695.
When I first drove this Fiesta the main difference between it and its predecessors was obvious. The Fiesta is now all grown up.
But once the roads clear and I was able to start throwing the Fiesta around I discovered that it still has its old flair; you just have to try a little harder to find it.
Thrash the engine and hurl the Fiesta into corners, and instead of begging for mercy as would a Renault Clio, the Fiesta begs for more.
The harder you drive, the better it feels: tight, poised, balanced and, for a sensible supermini, genuinely good fun.
There is nothing revolutionary about this Fiesta as there was with the Model T, and I don’t think it’s Ford’s best car in decades. Indeed, the first generation Focus was a more remarkable, more visionary achievement in 1998 than this Fiesta is today.
What it is, in fact, is an entirely conventional hatchback dressed up in some exceptionally pretty clothes and executed with a degree of finesse hitherto unseen in this kind of car.
No car can turn around the fortunes of a company as large as Ford on its own, but as steps in the right direction go, it is a significant one.