Driven: new Ford Fiesta - On the road

At a glance, the engines are a familiar bunch. However, this hides improvements in economy, emissions and performance across the board.

There are a couple particularly worthy of mention – the Econetic, based on the lively 1.6 diesel, which is the cleanest engine in any car on sale in the UK, and the uprated 118bhp 1.6 petrol in the sporty Zetec S.

Effectively, there are two types of Fiesta – a standard set-up with more compliant suspension and speed-sensitive electric power steering, and the firmer set-up for the Zetetc S, which has consistently weightier electric steering.

Damping is superb, shrugging off mid-bend craters with disdain and remaining unfazed by all but the worst town bumps, and the car is wonderfully agile and involving, especially in Zetetc S guise.

What's more, Ford has repeated the trick it pulled off with the latest Mondeo, offering vastly better refinement for minimal trade-off in dynamic ability.

The 1.6-litre petrol and diesel engines, the only two we've sampled so far, are audible but not intrusive and extremely smooth.

Road noise is present only on coarse surfaces and there's just a hint of wind noise along the sides of the car.