Performance
While Vignale spec hasn’t changed anything under the skin, the car benefits from the fact that the latest Fiesta, like its predecessors, is an excellent drive. Under the bonnet is Ford’s always excellent turbocharged 1.0-litre three-pot, producing a perfectly usable 123bhp and pushing the Vignale to 62mph in 9.9 seconds. The engine has always been a masterpiece of extracting power from almost nothing and mated with the latest Fiesta remains one of the best around. The power comes smoothly, with very little sign of the engine’s blown nature and it remains so quiet you sometimes forget it’s not a smooth straight-six pulling you along. In a world of less and less communication for drivers, the Ford steps out of line and demands to be heard. The steering is beautifully weighted and marvellously talkative, reading everything the roads of Sussex could throw at it, without ever being thrown out of whack with the judder of the county’s plethora of potholes. For a family hatch, the gearchange can be remarkably rewarding, and the whole drive remains at the absolute pinnacle of its class.