Commercial sense

The Fiesta van got off to a great start in life in being based on the Ford Fiesta supermini. The carrying capacity isn’t huge but its driving experience, design and build quality will set new standards for the sector.

The Fiesta van enters the supermini-derived van market and goes head to head with van versions of many of the same models its passenger car sibling must battle.

The Fiesta van follows the same basic recipe as the Clio van from Renault, the Corsavan from Vauxhall and the 207 van from Peugeot in that it sacrifices its rear seats and windows in favour of a flat load bay in which businesses with minimal load carrying requirements can stow their wares.

Prices are comparable, of course, with obvious competitors like Vauxhall’s corsavan and Peugeot’s 207 van. This Ford is available with a choice of Euro5-compatible engines: most will choose between a 1.25-litre 82PS Duratec 16 valve petrol unit and a frugal 1.4-litre 70PS Duratorq TDCi turbo diesel. At the top-of-the-range, the 1.6-litre 95PS Duratorq TDCi turbo diesel has a closed-loop coated DPF diesel particulate filter.

A key component of the Fiesta passenger car’s makeup is its enjoyable driving dynamics and the van version inherits these. Expect lively handling and first rate manoeuvrability married to a more comfortable ride than owners of the previous generation Fiesta van will have experienced. The steering system itself is Ford’s EPAS electric power assisted set-up and it gives good levels of feel with just the right level of assistance.

A payload range from 490kg to 515kg gives customers a competitive option for transporting their products. The rear side windows are replaced by body-coloured solid panels, and the rear passenger seats are removed to provide a load box area of 1,000 cubic litres, with a maximum useable load length of 1,296mm, as well as a maximum load box width of 1,278mm (1,000mm between the wheel arches) and a height of up to 806mm. A half-height composite bulkhead and DIN-compliant tie-down hooks are standard.

The styling of the Fiesta will win it many admirers and operators looking for a compact van that will cut a dash on the city streets will like the wedge-shaped front end as well as the curvy rear. The cabin is similarly avant-garde in its design with a control interface based around that of a mobile phone and a clever choice of quality materials.

Ford knows exactly how to build a class-leading supermini-derived van and as luck would have it, the vital ingredient of a class-leading supermini has been readily available to the marque down the years.

The latest Fiesta van has all the key ingredients to succeed and it should put the wind up its rivals in fine style.