Ford Fiesta Van review

Ford has a comprehensive range of vans for sale, and the smallest models are the Fiesta Van and Fiesta Sport Van. As you can tell from the names, they’re based on the Ford Fiesta supermini, while the Sport model gets a racy look to boost its appeal.

There aren’t many rivals to the Fiesta Van these days. In fact, supermini-based models like the Vauxhall Corsavan and Fiat Punto Van have been discontinued, while little vans like the Citroen Nemo and Peugeot Bipper are no longer built, either. In many ways, the Fiesta Sport Van is now in a class of one, but is ideal for users that need a van that looks sporty and only require a modest payload, yet is easy to drive.

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And the Fiesta Van has plenty going for it. Go for the Sport Van and you get a look inspired by the sporty Fiesta ST, so there’s a racy bodykit, black honeycomb grille and a range of alloy wheel options from 16 to 18 inches. This gives the Fiesta Sport Van an upmarket look, with the only external clue that it’s a commercial vehicle being the body coloured side ‘windows’.

Inside, the Fiesta Van ditches the rear seats, seatbelts and parcel shelf and replaces them with a flat load floor liner that stretches forward to a part-mesh steel bulkhead located just behind the cab.

Again, if it wasn’t for the bulkhead, you’d think you were simply driving a Fiesta supermini. The Sport Van version adds supportive sports seats with red stitching, a leather trimmed steering wheel, aluminium gearlever and brushed metal pedals, while most of the supermini’s options are available to upgrade the Fiesta Van.

In the back, the Fiesta Van has a load volume of 0.96 cubic metres, making it one of the smallest vans on sale, and it has a maximum payload of 511kg. The flat load floor features four lashing eyes and measures 1,281mm by 1,283mm, although what you can load on board will be limited by what you can fit through the hatchback rear – after all, there are no sliding side doors, like you’ll find on a Ford Transit Courier, the next largest van in Ford’s range.

The standard Fiesta Van has 15-inch wheels with plastic trims, a basic radio and auto lights, but not much else in terms of luxuries.

Standard equipment on the Sport Van includes 16-inch alloy wheels, a rear spoiler, Ford’s excellent Quickclear windscreen, sports suspension, auto lights and wipers, electric mirrors, air-con and keyless starting. On top of that buyers can add bigger 18-inch wheels, LED headlights, sat-nav, rear parking sensors, adaptive cruise and traffic sign recognition, plus a range of funky colours.

Power for the standard Fiesta Van comes from either Ford’s basic 84bhp 1.1-litre petrol or an 84bhp version of its 1.5 TDCi diesel. The Fiesta Sport Van pumps up the power, with either a 123bhp 1.0 EcoBoost three-cylinder or 118bhp 1.5 TDCi four-cylinder diesel. Both versions are front-wheel drive and all bar the 1.1 petrol have a six-speed manual gearbox – there’s no Powershift auto offered.

Prices start from around £14,100 (ex VAT) for the Fiesta Van, while the Sport Van carries a premium of around £2,200 on top of that. Buyers after a compact van that has sporty appeal and sharp looks won’t be disappointed by the Fiesta Sport Van, especially as it has the handling ability of the Fiesta supermini locked in place.