Ford Fiesta Active interior
Everything in the Fiesta Active’s cabin is exactly where you expect to find it and the infotainment screen’s reasonably easy to use, but a larger eight-inch display costs extra
Style
The Ford Fiesta Active’s cabin is sensibly laid out and everything’s pretty easy to use. You get a 6.5-inch touchscreen infotainment system as standard which takes pride of place in the cabin like an iPad resting on the dashboard. The heating and ventilation controls are intuitive to use and the built-in temperature readout is clear and easy to read.
Entry-level Active 1 versions come with soft plastic trims on the dashboard and some glossy plastic trims around the air vents and the central touchscreen display, but there are still plenty of hard, brittle plastics on the centre console and on the doors.
Step up to an Active B&O Play model and you get an upgraded stereo, some flashy yellow inserts instead of the standard car’s black items and a larger eight-inch touchscreen. The cupholders in the centre console even come with colourful illuminated rings – just what you’ve always wanted.
Range-topping Active X cars come with the same standard features, but add some plush-feeling partial leather upholstery for the front seats. They also do away with the B&O model’s yellow inserts.
Were it not for the flashy yellow trims you can get in B&O Play models, the Active looks identical to the standard Fiesta. That’s no bad thing, however…
- Used
- £12,731
Infotainment
Entry-level Active 1 cars come with a 6.5-inch touchscreen infotainment display. It’s not the biggest screen around, but it’s reasonably bright and the clear icons make navigating through the various menus reasonably easy. The systems you get in a VW Polo or SEAT Ibiza are even more intuitive, however.
Still, at least you get Apple and Android smartphone mirroring as standard in the Ford Fiesta Active that lets you use a selection of your phone’s apps – including Google Maps and Spotify – through the Ford’s built-in screen. As a result, it isn’t really worth upgrading to the Active Nav model with Ford’s own (rather clunky) navigation system.
Pick a B&O Play or Active X model and you get a larger eight-inch touchscreen, but the menus and graphics look identical to the smaller 6.5-inch unit. It’s slightly easier to read on the move, however, but the lack of physical shortcut buttons means you can’t skip quickly from one feature to another on the move like you can in a SEAT Ibiza.
The Ford Fiesta Active’s standard stereo comes with six speakers, but you can upgrade to a 10-speaker 675W Bang & Olufsen system in B&O Play models. This sounds more like it belongs in a fancy executive saloon than in a chunky family hatchback so should be more than loud enough to embarrass the kids on the school run.
- Used
- £12,731