12:38 AM
Lucky Start 79
The latest Ford Fiesta is one of our favourite small cars. Probably because it doesn't feel like a small car, more like a down-sized Focus. Which makes it very good.
Very good to drive and very good to look at, both inside and out. And there are versions to suit every whim and need (well, almost) from very frugal Econetic to..well, no Fiesta ST or Fiesta RS yet, but we live in hope.
All of which means the new Ford B-Max – debuting here in Geneva – has a very big head start in the 'Is it any good' stakes. And from what we've seen it is very good.
It is very good to look at for what it is – a compact MPV. Which always seems a bit of an oxymoron. But the B-Max defies its compact dimensions with a very clever suicide door arrangement with the B-Pillars built in to the doors themselves.
Which means a huge hole to get in and out if you open front and back doors together. Absolutely perfect for chivvying the little horrors in for the school run. And drop the seats – including front passenger - and you have an almost cavernous load space.
And that interior looks properly grown-up too, with some very decent materials and a real feeling of upmarket quality.
And that's about as far as we'll get. Because Ford aren't keen on sending out cars for review any more, preferring to play at 'Social Media' as their platform for customer enlightenment on their products.
Fortunately, we got to spend a week reviewing a Fiesta or two before Ford sidelined almost all but the traditional print media (how very forward thinking), so we know it's a cracking supermini.
But from now on it's all guesswork as far as how good any Ford is to live with.
