In the front

Standing 6ft 3in in my bare feet and boasting legs which should, by all accounts, be found hanging out of a nest, I am always a little cautious about getting into small vehicles.

I well remember a couple of years back being given a Citroen Saxo to test and having to hand the keys back immediately as I could not physically get in and drive the car.

I was surprised and delighted to find that not only was there sufficient leg room for me and my co-pilot but that there were acres of room to spare.

Quite how the Fiesta’s designers have managed this feat with such a small van is a mystery to me but the net effect is that I felt I was driving a much bigger vehicle.

The problem with a lot of smaller vans is that in a bid to squeeze those last extra millimetres out of the load area, they place the bulkhead too near the driver’s seat, thus restricting legroom in the front.

But here, the standard half-height bulkhead was set well back and the seat could even recline to a good degree.

There is not exactly a plethora of storage spaces in the front, but then again, there never is going to be in a van of this size.

The usual door pockets are supplemented by one can holder on the centre console and a smallish glove box.

Some vans add a couple of can holders in the lid of the box, but Ford has not done so.

Another gripe was the standard radio/cassette player, which really should be a CD?player nowadays.

One of those comes as a £175 option and I wouldn’t mind betting that the vast majority of fleet buyers won’t choose them.

Other options include air conditioning at £400, a ‘smoker’s pack’ consisting of an ashtray and lighter at £10 and a convenience pack featuring electric windows and mirrors at £150.

In the back

If the Fiesta van lacks a bit of ‘padding’ round the outside, this shortcoming is made up for in the load area, where the sides of the van are carpeted to half height and the floor has a rubber cover.

There are two lashing eyes countersunk into the floor at the front of the area and two more on the back panel under the hatch.

Load length and height are claimed to be best in class at 1,320mm and 977mm while payload is 494 kg and load volume is 1.01 cubic metres, bang on head-to-head with Corsavan while Cliovan boasts 535 kg and 0.9 cu m while Peugeot 206 van has 515kg and 1.1 cu m.

On the road

The press launch featured only diesel-powered vans for driving and took place on a rainswept morning at the Ford College in Loughborough.

It was enough to put a damper on anyone’s big day, but the perky little 1.4-litre common rail diesel motor proved such a delight that we (almost) forgot about the weather.

It offers a comparatively modest output of 67bhp at 4,000rpm and 118 lb-ft of torque at 2,000 rpm, but driving around the traffic-clogged streets of that university town, it proved a willing and able performer.

The gearshift seems enormously chunky for the size of vehicle and it helped give the van that ‘big vehicle’ feel.

Power steering was nicely weighted too and ABS brakes come as a welcome standard fitting.

And talking of safety, the van also features twin dual stage airbags which go off at different rates depending on the force of the impact, so won’t blow you and your passenger out of the rear hatch when you hit something at 10mph.

Side airbags are an option at £150.

Fuel economy is a claimed 45.6mpg and warranty is three years/60,000 miles and servicing intervals are every 12,500 miles.

Verdict

As car buyers have already been won over by the Fiesta’s willing ways and superb driving experience, so Ford should have little problem persuading van buyers to get out their cheque books.

Providing your loads will fit in, your drivers will just love getting behind the wheel of this cracking little performer.