Roomy... the Ford Fiesta WT LX Sedan.
It seems to be a rite of passage for any expectant parents: upgrade from their city runabout to a large sedan or SUV, before the first baby is even out of the womb.
But with more and more couples refusing to move out to the ‘burbs after having children – not to mention the rising cost of petrol - it’s time to challenge the notion that a family car means big and grunty.
Last week my family was given a Ford WT Fiesta CL sedan for an extended test-drive and the experience was eye-opening.
Firstly, two forward-facing car seats fitted neatly in the back seat, with plenty of leg room for our two children (aged 3 and 1). My rather large pram (Stokke Xplory) fitted easily into the large 430L boot leaving ample room for a nappy bag and a small load of groceries.
Up front there’s plenty of room for the adults and the instruments are clear and easy to use, with handy modern touches like stereo controls on the steering wheel, bluetooth connectivity and voice control.
Voted car of the year in 2009 (Best Small Car Under $20,000), the WT Fiesta CL is small and light but looks and drives like a weightier sedan, with new Powershift® six-speed dual-clutch automatic drive.
All WT Fiesta models are capable of a 5 star ANCAP safety rating – a key consideration in a family car – but CL buyers will have to purchase the optional Safety pack in order to fit the car out with side and knee airbags.
The rear doors do not have a child lock switch (as we found out when the 1yr old opened the door while driving!) but locking all doors via the central console gets around this problem. My older child loved that he was easily able to open doors and climb in and out of the vehicle without assistance.
With petrol already nearing $1.50 a litre in most capital cities and expected to rise, the 6.1 litre per 100km fuel consumption of the petrol model Fiestas is a great budget beater. The diesel Zetec variants use only 4.4 litres per 100km while the Econetic uses a tiny 3.7L, making it the most fuel-efficient car on the market, ahead of its hybrid rivals. This means you can drive from Sydney to Melbourne on only one tank of fuel!
Manoeuvrability is another bonus when it comes to small cars. After four years with an SUV I had great delight in weaving through Sydney traffic and squeezing in to tight urban car spaces again.
With these kinds of benefits it’s easy to see why the small car market is booming in Australia. The large car market has fallen from 29.9 to 6.9% market share over the last 10 years*, with small/light cars and SUVs rapidly gaining popularity.
This January, the Toyota Carolla and Mazda 3 were the two top-selling cars nationwide*. But for the budget conscious, who want a simple car to transport the family from A-B, perhaps it’s time to look at even smaller options. You might be surprised.
* Source - VFACTS
The Ford Fiesta starts at $16,990 for manual CL hatch. Visit your dealer for more information.
