A lot of virtual ink was spilled in discussion forums over Ford’s choice of a dry clutch DCT in its smaller models, but all it takes is a short drive to convince yourself that it was, indeed, the right choice. Low-torque engines tend to be bogged down by automatics, but the 1.6 litre in the Fiesta shows surprising spunk and is eager to play and rev away. More playfulness can be found at a tug of the gear lever, accessing Sport mode, granting shifts at higher revs and giving the driver manual control through a thumb selector. Thumb? With the rise of the millenials, expect more thumb controls. It works so well even this gen-X’er was able to flick shifts with his thumb.

I’m risking blasphemy here, but I’ll go out on a limb and say that the PowerShift may be a better fit for the Fiesta than the standard five-speed manual. Why? The Fiesta is packaged like Ariana Grande, a lovely rendering done at 7/8’s scale, right down to the legs. At an even six foot, I prefer a close relation with the controls and upright seating. Legroom is actually fine – lengthwise. Beef: the center console seriously intrudes in the pedal’s airspace, to the point that a three pedal tango would probably induce a very sore right knee.

Other than that, ergonomics of the diminutive cabin are splendid. The deep dash sits behind a panoramic windshield, and forward view is enhanced by sidelights and an ideally placed rear-view mirror. Out back, despite the curvy hatchback bod, blind spots are minimal and the optional electric / heated mirrors feature separate convex mirror lens to negate any blind spot to be found in the car’s tiny shadow. Except for said lack of pedal box width, a good driving position is easy to achieve and you sit higher than you would in a Focus.

The steering wheel is a joy to hold, thanks to a meaty leather-covered rim and easy-to-use ancillary controls. Instruments are in plain view, and the Sync 3 touchscreen sits high up and center in your field of view, shielded from sun glare by a protruding shelf. It’s rare that I drive a car whose screen never gets washed out, and this is one of them.

One issue though: the clock display is also shielded from view by the shelf, but again not many six-footers drive Fiestas sitting bolt upright – your results may vary. The 2014 interior upgrade yields an ambiance that belies the low price of entry of the Fiesta range.

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