For the second time this year, I find myself writing about the humble yet stalwart Ford Fiesta. For those of you that missed it, the first time was when my friend’s 14-year-old version, feisty and with some interesting foibles, saved the day after a midnight puncture in my wife’s Mini.

This time, I have been behind the wheel of the bang up to date, high-spec Vignale, at a somewhat eye-watering £28k.

Initial feedback was that for passengers it wasn’t the most comfortable drive, and experiencing that myself I’d have to agree. For the driver though, it’s a much-improved, pleasant experience.

A compact, tech-savvy package

As it ever has been, the Fiesta is a compact, tech-savvy package with all the toys you’d want. Even with the 1.0 MHEV system in my test car, it still feels relatively responsive. But while it satisfies on a performance level – and even in this small capacity format, it acquits itself admirably on motorways – it’s lacking something...

It’s missing that spark; that ‘je ne sais quoi’; the soul of its older relative.

Which leads me to another interesting question. Is the fiesta targeted at those who want a little joy with their driving? Perhaps the answer is that, for this model at least, it isn’t. But that doesn’t mean the experience has to be sterile.

Don’t get me wrong, I still like the Fiesta, and it ticks an awful lot of boxes, but I think my choice would be to opt for the marginally lower-priced ST-Line, or at least the Active X version to hopefully inject a little more sport, a little more excitement, a little more life into the driving experience. The trade-off of the sportier model of course is that it will most likely detract further from the passenger experience, given sportier setups and low profile tyres.

Trying to be too much for too many

So maybe my issue is that the Fiesta is trying to be too much for too many. A Fiesta aways used to be entry level fun with a more grown-up level of power for those who were more experienced (that’s where the ST side of things comes in). But even the entry level Fiesta now starts at around £18k and I think for this model there is a lot of competition from other marques.

Does the Vignale, comfy for the driver and incredibly well-specced, justify a further £10k investment on the entry level vehicle? This is a tricky question, and it ultimately comes down to what you value in a car. For me though, it just doesn’t quite tick the box for that elusive soul of its older sibling.