Have you driven a Ford lately?

Our latest rental car is a brand new 2009 Ford Fiesta. There were only 7 km on the odometer when we picked it up at the rental agency. It's our favorite car yet. After just two minutes of city driving Mary Ann was already extoling the virtues of this car.

Despite being in a similar "compact" category as our previous Citroën and Peugeot rentals, the Fiesta clearly outclasses them in all areas. The interior is much more comfortable and has greater means for adjustment. Although slightly larger, the blind spots are much smaller and the mirrors more effective. But most importantly, this car actually has some balls. There were roads that we just couldn't climb in the C2, and the Peugeot was a liability when merging onto the highway. The Fiesta has more pick-up than my GM gas-guzzler back home and is a lot of fun to drive.

The guys at Top Gear learned the same thing when they put the car through a comical set of road tests. I'm not sure that we'll be making any beach landings in the rental car, but I may just find a Zebra head at one of the local flee markets. That's a story for another blog post.