Ford Fiesta

The Fiesta is a humble hatchback that’s as fun to drive as some sports cars thanks to its sharp handling and precise, well-weighted steering. Keen drivers will love its responsive, composed nature on demanding roads, but it’s the Fiesta’s ability to put a smile on your face on even the most mundane journey that’s most endearing.

Put simply, the Fiesta is the best-handling small car on the market and actually outshines many cars from the class above. Mind you, the Seat Ibiza comes jolly close to being the Fiesta’s equal, even though it isn’t quite as nimble.

ST-Line versions of the Fiesta receive sports suspension with a lower ride height. This makes the Fiesta even more agile and grippy, which is great if you want hot hatch handling without the bigger bills that a powerful engine brings.

The Fiesta’s 1.0-litre Ecoboost engine is remarkably smooth and quiet for a three-cylinder. Accelerate hard and you feel and hear less of a buzz than you do in rivals with equivalent engines, such as the Seat Ibiza and Skoda Fabia.

There's some road noise, particularly on versions with larger alloy wheels, but not enough to really irritate. However, there is a fair amount of wind noise at motorway speeds, especially in models fitted with a panoramic glass roof.

Meanwhile, the Fiesta’s accelerator, brake and clutch pedals are all positively weighted, making it a really easy car to drive smoothly. The six-speed manual gearbox (fitted to all versions apart from the entry-level 1.1 Ti-VCT) is also very precise, if not quite as slick as the ‘box in the rival Ibiza.