Last Updated: 10/03/2010
LONG TERM ROAD TEST FORD FIESTA VAN
With the ever expanding crop of compact high cube vans that have arrived of late, you might be forgiven for thinking that there is no longer a place for the true car-derived commercial. Vans like the Nemo, Bipper, Fiorino and Kangoo Compact offer customers a boxy loadspace, with good carrying capacity and frugal running costs, all in a modern LCV package.Renault obviously thinks this is the case, having dropped its Clio-based van in favour of the Kangoo Compact. But these boxy load haulers haven’t totally won over small van fans. Vauxhall continues to sell its Corsavan, Fiat has the Punto, despite both having a compact high cube van in their line-up. For Ford the decision to continue with Fiesta Van is even easier to make, as it fits nicely below the smallest Transit Connect.
Ford updated the Fiesta Van last year, following the launch of the latest car model. At the time we felt that the small Ford carried on nicely where the previous model had left off, providing an entertaining drive, particularly in Sport trim, with a reasonable loadspace.
To find out what the smallest Ford is like to live with, we’ve added one to the Van User fleet. Our mid-range 1.4 litre Trend model offers 1cu m of loadspace, with a payload of 513kg, not that bad compared to some of the dedicated van models.
More importantly to most prospective customers though, it doesn’t look like a van, until you notice that the rear side windows have been replaced by solid panels. For small business users who need to park in front of the house each night, that can be an important factor.
Of course the biggest advantage of being based on a modern car, is that the van version comes very well equipped. Our Trend model is comprehensibly kitted out.
This includes rake and reach adjustable steering, driver and passenger airbags, ABS and EBD, an MP3 compatible stereo with Aux input, auto dimming rear mirror, electric windows and folding heated side mirrors, auto lights and wipers, a heated windscreen, front fog lights, driver’s seat lumbar support and remote keyless entry with double deadlocking. You also get a half height bulkhead, ‘home safe’ headlights, which stay on while you walk to the house or come on as you walk to the van in the dark in the morning.
From all of that lot the heated front windscreen has been the most welcome on frozen mornings, while heated mirrors keep the lenses clear even in heavy road spray. I prefer to turn the lights on manually, but I have come to rely on the auto wipers, which have an uncanny knack of operating just as I would be reaching for the stalk.
To that lot Ford had added metallic paint (£250), manual air-conditioning (£400) and an upper bulkhead section (£100). Comprehensive indeed, yet even with the extras included that comes to just £11,835 plus the VAT. It’s easy to see why the likes of plant hire companies provide their machine operators with vans like this, relatively low cost, good spec and the ability to carry a few tools or a drum of diesel, make them ideal daily transport to the job site.
The 1.4 litre Duratorq engine provides 68hp and 160Nm of torque, not a lot when you are climbing out of a 170hp long term pick-up. But the Fiesta only weighs 1,535kg fully laden, so the engine is capable of propelling it along well enough.
Indeed even with just five speeds in the box the Fiesta is a capable motorway companion, offering a quiet, comfortable ride even at higher speeds. But it is around town and on country lanes that the compact Ford excels, its lively steering and supple suspension making it fun to drive and easy to position on the road.
The seats are long and supportive, although a bit more side bolster in the backrest would be helpful when cornering. Certainly a few hours at the wheel doesn’t result in any aches or pains.
By using a three-door car body you get very long driver and passenger doors, to allow back seat passengers to get in when it’s a car. The downside of this is that you need a bit of space to open the doors when getting in and out. The upside however is fantastic visibility at junctions as the glass goes well back beyond the back of the seat.
We picked the Fiesta up with just 500 miles on the clock, so it was barely run-in, but already it is returning just over 50mpg in mixed motoring. I would expect that to improve slightly as the engine settles in a bit more. As with all modern Ford’s you get the green change-up arrow in the dash and, as we found with the Connect last year, if you follow its guidance it really can have an effect on consumption.
We’ll report back once we have put a few thousand miles under the wheels. This isn’t a huge sector of the market, around 3,000 Fiesta vans are sold in the UK each year, but first impressions are that Ford has certainly improved upon its smallest LCV.
