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A spin of roulette in the sporty Ford Fiesta Black
With colours to match card suits, is it worth a gamble?
Button up
As I drove around a sweeping bend, I had a sensation trigger like a smell from a childhood memory. The Ford Fiesta Black has shades of Peugeot 205 GTI one of the greatest hot hatches of all time. The steering isn’t quite as immediate, the over-assisted electric power steering sees to that but it’s still an entertaining little car to hustle.
Keep the revs up and it will sing along a windy road, in part thanks to the suspension having been lowered and stiffened when compared to the middle-of-the-road Fiestas. The attractive seats hold you well and a sporty suspension gives you a good feel for what is going on underneath you.
Speed humps are a bit jiggly but there would be absolutely nothing wrong with using this as a daily driver.
The 138bhp EcoBoost is remarkable
The star however is the engine, Ford is so proud of the 1.00 EcoBoost that the demonstrator has a sticker showing what’s under the bonnet. Perhaps it’s a shame that the interesting sounds, the off-beat thrum and turbo whine are overly-cosseted with sound-proofing and a neighbour-friendly exhaust, but then the dramatics are left to the top-of-the-range Fiesta ST.
Despite the electronics regularly putting it to sleep, the EcoBoost wakes instantly and you don’t dread “Califorinan stops”. While motoring you’ll want to keep it on-boost all the time, cue the left foot braking, and it would be good if it had a sixth gear to keep the rev ranges that bit closer, but with a pointy front end it’s an entertaining thing to buzz about in.
Not too much space in the back, but it's OK
Then you realise it’s a Fiesta, so all the practical things are there. Just about enough space in the back for kids on long journeys – providing they have the requisite tablets – or adults for medium to short ones. There is a decent enough boot and the rear seats fold down.
The fuel economy is amazing at a rated 62.8mpg and 104g/km of CO2. There is a green tinge to this black car.
The Reg Verdict
So does it succeed in being a “head and heart” car? Well, ish. I worry about it being too expensive for the target youth market. Not just the £16,495 that it costs, which can be haggled, but the insurance group of 18. It may be well down on the hotter ST’s 30, but it will still be prohibitive for anyone without a significant no-claims bonus. Still, it may well be that those who aspire to an ST will go red or black for the very same reason. And for those people at least, it very much is the heart car you buy with your head. ®
Price: Fiesta Black £16,495 (red sibling £15,995) More info: Fiesta Black
Biting the hand that feeds IT
