• Low-cost petrol engines
• Cheap to insure, maintain and service
• No full hybrid or electric version

What are the running costs?

No surprises here that the Fiesta is cheap to run in terms of fuelling, servicing and maintenance. You couldn’t have it with a diesel engine late in its life, but the economical petrol engines, some of which feature mild hybrid technology, meant this wasn’t too much of a loss. Insurance groups range from 5E up to 15E – the Fiesta ST is 28E – so it’s at the cheaper end of the spectrum here too, and fuel economy and tax bills are very low indeed thanks to high-tech engines.

Ford first introduced mild hybrid technology to the Fiesta range in 2020, offered on the car’s 125hp and 155hp 1.0-litre petrol engines. Badged EcoBoost Hybrid, these occasionally use electrical assistance to help the petrol engine along. A small cog symbol will appear on the dashboard when the electric motor is assisting the petrol engine and a little battery logo when it isn’t. The latter normally appears when using the car’s regenerative braking and start-stop systems.

All Fiestas have good fuel economy figures. The most economical car in the range is the 125hp EcoBoost Hybrid, in which we managed to achieve around 45mpg and 49mpg during stints of town and motorway driving respectively.

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The more powerful 155hp EcoBoost hybrid was even more economical on paper, with official WLTP fuel economy figures of between 53.3mpg and 56.5mpg. But having that extra power under your right foot is a little too tempting – and if you enjoy it too often, your economy figures won’t stack up.

The entry-level 75hp 1.1-litre petrol engine also needs to be worked harder than the other engines, so it’ll be more difficult to reach Ford’s official 53.3mpg claim.

View detailed mpg and CO2 figures on our Ford Fiesta specs pages

Servicing and warranty

You won’t have any unpleasant surprises here. Ford has famously favourable servicing costs and an extensive dealer network. Parts and labour costs are typically lower than rivals and there were a range of service packages to help owners manage the financial burden.

The standard warranty was for three years or 60,000 miles. A little stingy alongside the seven-year/100,000-mile package offered with the Kia Rio or the 10-year warranty offered with the Toyota Yaris.

Reliability

• Cabin feels of reasonable quality
• Tried and tested engines and running gear
• Recent Ford dependability has been above average

Despite being smaller and cheaper, the Ford Fiesta felt as well built as the contemporary Focus and Kuga – but it was also clearly built to a price. The quality of the interior especially stands out as being good in your line of sight, though it fell short of the standard set by the equivalent Volkswagen Polo in that regard.

Read our owners’ reviews for the latest on real-world experience from the Parkers’ audience.

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