Ford Fiesta Trend – the new ‘CHEAP’ Fiesta

Ford has had a fiddle with its Fiesta range in the UK again, replacing the Zetec trim with the new Fiesta Trend as the entry-level model.

Ford is on a bit of a mission to make car sales properly profitable in the UK (and Europe), and despite heading down the SUV route to garner sales it can’t ignore what is the UK’s best-selling car – the Ford Fiesta.

So Ford is introducing a new entry-level trim for the Fiesta – the Ford Fiesta Trend – as the start of the range. Which you might expect is a bit of a bargain. Which it is. But also it’s not.

Just a couple of years ago you could grab a Fiesta in the UK from £12,715, but that changed when Ford culled the Fiesta range earlier this year and turned the Fiesta Zetec in to the entry-level model. And it was almost £3k more than the old Fiesta Style was.

Now the Fiesta Zetec is being binned too and replaced with the new Fiesta Trend, but it starts at £15,995, more than £500 more than the Zetec it replaces.

Ford’s defence, not unreasonably, is that the new Fiesta Trend comes with a chunk of extra kit to justify its price, and if you want the kit that makes sense.

It includes 16″ alloys, tinted windows, chrome trim, halogen projector lights and metallic paint, as well as Ford’s latest Infotainment and connectivity, lane keep assist and MyKey to limit speed and sound system for the kids.

Available as a three or five-door, the Fiesta Trend gets Ford’s 1.1 litre three-pot engine with 84bhp, a five-speed manual ‘box and the promise of 62.4mpg.