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By Jonathan Crouch

The Ford Fiesta gets a useful dose of electrification in EcoBoost mHEV mild hybrid form. Jonathan Crouch takes a look at the revised model.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 55

Not quite ready to go all-out electric but need greater efficiency in your next supermini? Then Ford has a proposition for you in the shape of this much revised Fiesta EcoBoost mHEV mild hybrid model. The brand's mild hybrid tech gives you some of the benefits of electrification without the priciest parts of this technology.

Backgroundword count: 163

Electrification is everywhere in the market at present but there's not much evidence of that in the supermini segment. Not at prices the average person can afford anyway. If your budget can shoulder premium pricing, Toyota will sell you a full-Hybrid Yaris, Renault will now do the same with their Clio and Peugeot and Vauxhall have full-electric versions of their 208 and Corsa models. But not everyone can stretch to cars like these. Ford says it can offer a more sensible solution and this is it, the Fiesta EcoBoost Hybrid. This model adds mild hybrid tech to the company's usual 1.0-litre EcoBoost three cylinder petrol engine to create a small but significant improvement in efficiency. And, at the same time, a perkier feel through the gears. All at very little increase in price over conventional levels. Sounds promising. Especially when all of this is combined with the useful packages of design changes which have created the revised version of this seventh generation Fiesta.

Driving Experienceword count: 315

Simplicity's the keynote here, so the 1.0-litre three cylinder EcoBoost petrol powerplant this car features is essentially the same one Ford's been offering since 2011, more recently enhanced with cylinder deactivation tech which cuts down on cylinder use at low-to-medium throttle speeds. In mHEV mild hybrid form though, this unit gets a lower compression ratio and a larger turbo. And it's been embellished by a beefed-up starter/generator driven by a belt at the front of the engine that stores the energy harvested when you brake or decelerate in a tiny 48-volt lithium-ion battery secreted at the back of the car. Which provides a bit of extra zip when you accelerate (Ford says up to 50Nm of extra torque) and delivers a little electric boost from low revs to 'torque-fill' while you're waiting for the turbo to spool up. So that little momentary hesitation you sometimes get with small little turbo engines when pulling off from roundabouts and away from junctions is dealt with too. Few potential Fiesta customers will have the ordinary version of this engine to benchmark against on their test drive but those already familiar with it would perhaps notice that in this form, this unit pulls more easily from almost any speed with fewer gear changes needed, which makes it feel like a much larger-capacity powerplant. We've already noticed when trying this unit in the Puma crossover that there's a pleasingly fizzy, thrummy soundtrack under full throttle: you certainly wouldn't think the little EcoBoost lump beneath the bonnet ahead of you had just three cylinders and a litreage capacity not much different to that of a good bottle of Burgundy. Most Fiesta EcoBoost Hybrid buyers will probably choose the 125PS version of this engine which gets to 62mph in 9.4s en route to 126mph. There's also a perkier 155PS version of this same unit which improves those figures to 8.9s and 136mph.

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