FIESTA ACTIVE

What is it?

All manufacturers seem to be doing it these days, adding extra cladding here and there to make a normal 2wd hatchback look chunky and purposeful - you can probably blame Rover for this when they created their Rover 25 Streetwise. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, of course, it’s becoming a popular niche.

The Fiesta Active comes with the aforementioned extra cladding and rides 18mm higher than normal. Don’t get excited, mind, that’s less than the diameter of a 1 pence piece! Of course the suspension is modified and the tracks are 10mm wider to accept slightly taller tyres.

On the road

If there’s any difference between the Active and a standard Fiesta I’m going to say that the former is a little bit softer over undulating roads, though the steering remains sharp, as does corning.

The 1.0ltr 98bhp will take you from 0-62mph in 12.7 seconds, and you can enjoy a cheeky rasp from the engine whilst getting there.

The 6-speed manual box is lovely and slick, but sticking to a steady 30mph and I often found myself swapping between 3rd and 4th gear, as 3rd was a little too low and 4th was a little too high.

Whilst I’m being critical, the brakes felt a tad snatchy, which can be normal for cars that regenerate battery power through braking, though other cars are more seamless. That said, it didn’t detract from me having a lot of fun in the Active, and with an average of 49mpg over the week, it proved to be quite frugal, too. I should add that that’s with a lot of short journeys, as well as motorway blasts.

Off road

As I mentioned earlier, it’s a 2wd car with only the slightest of suspension mods to help it deal with life off the beaten track. That said, on a particular cobbled lane not far from Muddy Towers it was bloomin’ uncomfortable, being fair it’s more at home on dirt tracks and country lanes.

Surprisingly, the Active has quite good approach and departure angles, and when it came to traction I was quite surprised. It handled driving up steep tracks with lose stones and the odd wheel lift with relative ease.

It does have 3 Drive Modes that help; Normal, Eco and Slippery. The latter worked really well.

Interior

It’s still a small car and therefore I felt a little claustrophobic. The steering wheel’s too big for me and I wasn’t keen on how the the roof up front is too close to my head.

That said, it has good visibility all ‘round and tick the right boxes and you can have more hard-wearing interior fabric - excellent if you have a more active lifestyle.

All the switches and dials sensibly laid out and everything’s pretty easy to use. You get a 6.5” touchscreen infotainment system as standard which sits annoyingly in the middle of the dash (you know how much I dislike these things). Opt for the range-topping Active X and it grows to 8”. The heating and ventilation controls are intuitive to use and the built-in temperature readout is clear and easy to read.

There isn’t much room for back seat passengers, so young children only I’d say.

Engines ’n’ transmission

The Active comes with a choice of 4 engine options, from the 100hp, 125hp and 155hp 1.0 litre EcoBoost petrol hybrid, all available with the lovely 6-speed manual ‘box. Checking the Ford website just before going to press, only the 125hp version is available with a 7-speed DCT auto and there was no diesel option

Conclusion

It certainly looks the part, but personally I found the EcoSport Active to be better, but as the Fiesta is the UK’s best selling car, what do I know!

Why would you buy an Active over a normal version?

Maybe you want the extra protection it offers when venturing off tarmac onto uneven and muddy carparks when dogging, I mean dog walking! Maybe you want the extra cladding for supermarket carpark incidents, or maybe you just like the look of it. For whatever reason, the Active is stylish and you get a lot of gear thrown in, like LED Projector headlamps with LED daytime running lights, Quickclear heated windscreen and Cruise Control with Adjustable Speed Limiter, the list goes on. The Active models start at around £18,000, and around my neck of the woods especially is proving to be quite a popular buy.