Car blogs

Forget the fancy gadget, because this Fiesta's already a standout

A lot of cars now have a rear-view camera to help with parking. You put it into reverse, the camera comes on, and an image of what's behind you appears on a screen on the dashboard.

Quite handy – especially for ladies you might say (if you were a sexist, but I'm not so I'll say especially for women). C'mon, let us have parking, we've relinquished everything else. And I've found a study, actual statistics.

Anyway, you generally find rear-view cameras only on quite posh cars, ones that have screens for satnavs and all the multimedia stuff. This isn't a posh car, it's a Ford Fiesta. There's no satnav screen. So where does the rear-view camera display appear? In the rear-view mirror.

Perfect – that's where you'd expect to look to see behind you. And you can check the camera's view against the mirror's, to make sure one of them isn't lying. The only puzzling thing is that the first time it comes on, a warning sign pops up, along with what looks like a picture of a book. This has me and my girlfriend (there she is!) wondering what book it might be. Alice Through The Looking Glass? Mansfield Park? Stuart: A Life Backwards? Etc. Or possibly it's telling you to refer to the manual.

Oh, the rear-view camera is an extra – an extra £475. Nah, forget it. Especially if you're a fella, ella ella. Be a man, look over your shoulder.

What about going forwards then? Well, it's really rather good. As a famous motoring journalist, I drive a lot of new cars. And to be honest they're all pretty good these days. But also very few stand out, unless they're either something cute (Fiat 500, say) or quick (Nissan GT-R) or stately (Bentley Mulsanne). The humble Ford Fiesta manages to stand out without being any of those things. Well, stand out a bit – I mean it's not going to turn many heads. But I do really like it, and it's not often I think that about a car. That's it, it's a very likable car.

Why? Well, mainly because it's very nice to drive. Nothing blistering, but it's agile round town, precise and well-behaved. And on the open road it seems to grow by a few inches, feels like a more grown-up car. It's comfortable, the seats are great, the ride is good, inside it's quite stylish. It even looks nice on the outside, too, certainly much more elegant than the previous model.

That's enough, isn't it? A small car that's fun to drive, nice to look at and doesn't cost too much. And which, for an extra £475, will certainly help you park whether you're a he or a she, and possibly also encourage you to read.Ford Fiesta Titanium 1.6 Ti-VCT Duratec

Price £14,595
Top speed 121mph
Acceleration 0-62mph in 8.7 seconds
Average consumption 48.7mpg
CO2 emissions 134g/km
Eco rating 7/10
Cool rating 7/10MotoringSam Wollaston
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Tags: Motoring, Technology, The Guardian, Features, Reviews

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On the road: Ford Fiesta Titanium 1.6 Ti-VCT Duratec – review was originally published by Technology: Motoring | guardian.co.uk. Read the full story by clicking here.