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WORKER
Many hauliers see hatchvans as a bit of a joke, but if you need to carry a small payload and value your creature comforts, the Ford Fiesta's commercial cousin has a lot going for it.
1 rreverent chat show host Mrs Merton: "So, Jeremy, you know a lot about cars—what would you say is the best car for a car boot sale?" Top Gear pundit Jeremy Clarkson: "Well for a car boot sale you're going to need a lot of space in the boot...what you really need is a van!"
What Clarkson means by van, of course, is your common-or-garden panel van with a couple of seats up front and enough room in the rear for a lifetime's worth of household junk. Vans do come smaller, however, with hatchvans in particular having little more loading space than an estate car and about as much payload as a wheelbarrow But they do have their uses and have found favour with those looking to move diminutive loads in as much comfort and for as little fuel as possible.
Modern hatchvans are well built and pleasant to drive. The standard's high and there's little to choose between them, but if it's anything like the car, the Fiesta van promises to be a strong contender.
• PRODUCT PROFILE As with other hatchvans, little differentiates a Fiesta van from a Fiesta car: Ford simply leaves out the back seats and replaces the rear windows with steel.
Also in line with other manufacturers, Ford keeps its car-derived van range simple. There are just two variants: a 1.3-litre petrol engine and, in the case of our test vehicle, a 1.8-litre naturally aspirated diesel.
The engines have identical power ratings, both developing 59hp (141cW) with rilbft (105Nm) of torque. This places the Fiesta at the more powerful end of the hatchvan class with only the nippy Renault Clio being significantly more powerful.
The new Fiesta has some important P.