Ford Fiesta at Forty

Cars

Ford's stalwart little runabout reaches its fifth decade - we explore why the Fiesta has proved a perennial

Of all the working class heroes that have been produced by Ford’s of Dagenham – the Fiesta is the longest surviving.

It may not be the most spectacular or glamorous inheritor of the company’s blue collar legacy – but the very fact of its ongoing existence is testament to how simple, straightforward and adaptable the car has always been

In fact, it is arguably lodged deeper into the automotive psyche of this country than either the Escort, the Capri or the Cortina. We reckon that absence has made our hearts think fonder of those cars than perhaps is justified.

It’s the Fiesta that is Ford’s true survivor.

Making its first appearance in 1976 – the Fiesta was the child of the Oil Crisis. Every European manufacturer was putting out cheap, economical, front wheel drive hatchbacks. Fiesta was the answer to a question that is still relevant. Can we buy a little runabout that won’t cost us a fortune, and which we can love?