New Ford Fiesta previewed: reborn small car to offer 250 miles of range
The Ford Fiesta will be reborn in 2027 as a sibling of a former What Car? Car of the Year, and this is everything you need to know about it...
On sale 2027 | Price from £24,000 (est)
The chances are that you know someone who has owned a Ford Fiesta. This small car is as common an appearance among UK households as a pair of jeans in your wardrobe or a coffee machine in your kitchen. When it was on sale, the Fiesta consistently ranked among Britain’s best-selling new cars. However, times moved faster than the Fiesta could keep up with, and in 2023 it was axed from showrooms — but now it's on the way back.
The all-new Ford Fiesta will be the result of a collaboration between Ford and Renault, with the new car sitting on the same underpinnings – and using many of the same components – as the Renault 5 and Nissan Micra. And as starting points go, those are some very good ones, because the Renault 5 was our overall Car of the Year in 2025, while the Micra has a five-star rating.
If the Fiesta uses the same battery and motor combinations as the Renault 5, the cheapest versions should offer 119bhp from a single electric motor driving the front wheels. In the R5, this motor can cover the 0-62mph sprint in 9.0sec. The more powerful 148bhp version can drop that sprint time to 7.9sec, which is quicker than any version of the Citroën ë-C3 or Hyundai Inster can manage.
As for batteries, the most basic Fiesta should come with a 40kWh (usable capacity) battery offering a range of around 190 miles, while the larger 52kWh model should up that figure to around 250 miles. And when it comes to plugging the Fiesta in to recharge, a maximum charging rate of up to 100kW should mean that a 15-80% top-up should take around 30 minutes.
Despite sharing heritage with the R5 and Micra, Ford officials say the new car will be a bespoke proposition, with its driving dynamics and styling dictated by Ford. Officials recently told our sister title, Autocar, that the firm was “not just buying a list of parts.”
Over the years, Ford has earned a reputation of building cars which are good to drive, even delivering genuinely agile SUVs such as the Puma. To that end, our AI-assisted artist rendering shows a clear off-road look, with body cladding around the car’s lower edges, and the sort of upright stance you’d expect from an SUV.
And while the Fiesta name isn’t confirmed, Ford has recently revived names from its past for a new generation of electric models, including the Ford Puma Gen-E and Ford Capri.
While the previous Fiesta was known as being rather cramped in the rear seats, the new model should be a little better. That said, our experience in the Renault 5 suggests that taller passengers in the rear seats will still find the tops of their heads grazing against the roof lining. As for the boot, we managed to fit four carry-on suitcases into the back of the Renault 5, which is one less than the e-C3 can handle.
Inside, the Fiesta will likely feature a small digital driver’s display and an infotainment touchscreen measuring 10.1in across. But while Renault uses a Google-based system, Ford will likely opt for the same Sync Move software which we’ve already tried in the Capri electric SUV. In that car, we found that the system offered sharp graphics, simple menus and quick responses.
The Fiesta is likely to be sold at a premium price above the Renault 5, likely from around £24,000. So while some small electric car rivals like the e-C3 and BYD Dolphin Surf will cost you less, the Fiesta should still be competitive. And it’s likely to qualify for the £1500 Government grant for electric cars. A successor to the Fiesta van is likely to follow in time.
The new Fiesta is only one of a number of new models planned by Ford. Among them is a new Ford Bronco small electric SUV, a smaller electric SUV likely based on the Renault 4, and two more sporting electric SUVs which will arrive by 2029.
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