Ford Fiesta ECOnetic: On the Drive - Conclusion & Quick Tech Specs

We test the new Ford Fiesta ECOnetic to see if it's as 'Green' as it seems

Cars UK conclusion on the merits of the Ford Fiesta ECOnetic – is it Green?

Cars UK Fiesta ECOnetic Road Test Verdict

Cars UK – Fiesta ECOnetic Road Test Conclusion

Ford Fiesta ECOnetic Road Test / Review – Cars UK’s Conclusion

We wanted to give the Fiesta ECOnetic a good work out, and we did. Four different drivers over ten days, travelling over 500 miles in a variety of road conditions, none of which were ‘Eco’ favourable. The vast majority of the time was spent on short journeys with lots of stop/start. Off to the shops; kids to school; dogs to the woods; meetings and errands. Only John went on a jaunt – off to the North Essex Coast to see the outlaws – and being John he didn’t hang around, so let’s say he averaged a ‘little over’ the national speed limit on his 100+ mile round-trip up the A12.

But despite this less than economy-friendly 500 miles or so the Ford Fiesta ECOnetic averaged 55.9 mpg. Worst mileage in the ECOnetic was from Vince at 51.4 mpg (who did very short journeys – many from a cold start) and the best was from Carla who managed 65.3 mpg. Which we find remarkably good for a fun to drive, comfortable and well-built car that can, if pushed, convey four (or even five) adults in reasonable comfort.

But we thought we ought to be fair, so John went out to play at ‘Eco’ driver for 50 or so miles. Diligently changing gear whenever the ECOnetic requested (which when it wants you to change in to fifth at 40mph going uphill is not something many of us would do instinctively) it managed 76.3 mpg. Which is almost exactly the same as Ford’s claimed 76.7 mpg, and just goes to show what a difference an ‘Eco’ driving style can make to fuel economy (although we have to add that he was bored silly by the time he got back from his ‘Eco’ drive!). But we also reckon that if Ford fitted a Stop/Start system to the ECOnetic you could probably improve that figure by a good 10% if most of your mileage was around town.

The Fiesta ECOnetic is a great little car and lived up to its ECO image

There were a few gripes. Visibility out back is not wonderful, although the extra-cost parking sensors on our car mitigated the problems to some extent. The interior is a bit on the basic side, and the standard kit is a bit mean (we would have liked to have seen AirCon fitted – especially at this price – but ‘Eco’ probably justifies its exclusion from the standard spec), but it’s a very good looking car and importantly – as far as we’re concerned – still great fun.

So would we buy one? If we wanted to ‘Save the Planet’ by having a low emission car that we still enjoyed using, then yes. Unequivocally. Not only that, but we would go so far as to suggest that the Ford Fiesta ECOnetic is a much better ‘Planet Saving’ option than something like a Toyota Prius. It’s substantially cheaper, much nicer to drive, more economical and emits less Co2. It’s smaller, yes, but for 90% of most people’s journeys it would do the job remarkably well.

But if you just want cheap driving then you will have to do huge mileage to recover in fuel savings the extra money you spend on the ECOnetic over and above a similarly-equipped Fiesta from the rest of the range. Our car listed at £12,945 (5 door), and with the options the car had it came in at an alarming £14,665.

But then no one ever said that ‘Saving the Planet’ was a cheap option!