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Our Fleet Test Drive: Ford Fiesta - 15th Report
Date: 02 December 2009 | Author: Tom Webster
Fiesta long-termer isn't the downsizing bargain it was a year ago
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Back at the end of 2008 the Fiesta joined the BusinessCar long-term fleet as part of a downsizing experiment.
We wanted to see whether you could save money by going down a size category and not lose out on the toys and luxuries enjoyed on a larger car.
The Ford arrived on the fleet with a price of £12,744 and replaced a Hyundai i30 CRDi with a P11D £14,220, so savings were immediately made on leasing costs and BIK tax.
Unfortunately, we would have to think a lot harder about the decision now as the recession and the abysmal Pound-to-Euro exchange rate have taken their toll on Ford's price list.
The Fiesta now comes with a vastly increased P11D value of £14,620 that has also bumped up the overall running costs. Thankfully the daily costs remain the same - BIK, road tax and fuel economy - partly because we took the car on at a time when the buying price was much lower.
However, it makes it harder to make a case for repeating the decision should we find ourselves in the same downsizing position again. A supermini loaded with all the toys, as is our Titanium-spec Fiesta, is easier to justify at £12,744 than it is at close to £15,000. That Hyundai, by the way, is now priced at £14,400, within £180 of the price a year ago.
The RV people are not convinced the increase in price will result in an improved performance on the second-hand market, either. While the car was expected to hold on to 37% of its original price, it is now expected to retain 32% of its new higher value, meaning it will cost a whole lot more for new buyers to justify the choice of a fantastic supermini.
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