It’s the UK’s favourite supermini and has been for the best part of 42 years.

For the past eight years it’s been the best-selling car in Britain. Saying you’ve never heard of the Ford Fiesta would be like saying you’ve never heard of fish and chips or the Queen.

It is, in short, a British institution. Which makes this latest version about as close as a sure thing to being a success as it’s possible to be.

People will buy this car, just as they will get out of bed in the morning. It’s often the default choice. 

Of course, whether it deserves that position is another matter. The previous generation Fiesta certainly did; although there was no doubt that it outstayed its welcome by a couple of years.

No, this baby Ford’s biggest issue will be just how much the competition has moved on in the meantime. There are those old stalwarts – like the Renault Clio, Peugeot 208 and the very latest Volkswagen Polo – but now a host of other rivals are coming up fast.

From the Kia Rio and Hyundai i20 to the Citroen C3 and, most notably, the current Nissan Micra’s transformation, there’s no longer a clear winner in the supermini sector.

Instead, there’s a lot of talent with little more than a cigarette paper between them.

So where does that leave this sixth-generation Ford Fiesta?

It will be available in a host of different versions depending on whether you want more luxury, sporty style or more equipment (our test car was the highspec Titanium), but few will have looks on their side.

We’ve become used to Ford products of late featuring sharp edges and often decent styling, but this Fiesta isn’t much of a step forward to our eyes.

The front is OK but, to a casual observer, is barely changed while the rear could be anything from a Toyota Yaris downwards on a scale of blandness.

Thankfully though, that’s not the case with what’s under the bonnet. 

Here there’s Ford’s 1.0-litre, three-cylinder turbo Eco-boost engine that in this mid-range model produces a healthy 125bhp (there are also 100 and 140bhp versions).

That’s enough to power it from 0 to 60mph in 9.9 seconds and on to a 121mph top speed while also returning 65.7mpg average fuel economy and with 98g/km emissions.

Those are pretty good figures but tell you nothing about how the Fiesta behaves on the road.

It’s here, thankfully, that the baby Ford saves the day after its disappointing looks.

For starters, it’s far more refined than predecessors. Engine, road and wind noise are creditably insulated from the cabin and the ride quality and overall feel are probably higher than you might expect of a supermini.

What you will be expecting from a car that wears that Fiesta badge, though, is a supermini that handles well when you point it down your favourite B road.

And that’s exactly what you get. The Fiesta still feels light on its feet and nimble turning into bends, with a general feeling of being connected with the driver.

The steering is sharp enough with a good level of grip and little body roll. There’s a lot here to like. Even better, work that three-cylinder engine hard and there’s a lovely off-beat engine note as a soundtrack, too. 

We also love the slick six-speed manual gearbox. Not that it’s all good news.

While there’s no question about the new Fiesta’s involved feel compared to some rivals, there’s a slight disconnect to the driver compared to its predecessor.

The Ford still feels good, but it’s probably not the obvious head-and-shoulders-above-the-rest driver’s car that it once was. Even in its lowest position we didn’t feel the driver’s seat went low enough, which doesn’t help that disconnected sensation.

It’s a similar story with the interior, which is a great improvement on what went before but has no sense of design or flair.

The prominent touch-screen works well but often requires taking your eyes off the road to operate the finer controls, especially zooming in and out of the sat nav map. 

While the other controls are easy enough to operate, the quality of the cabin’s plastic interior could be better, particularly lower down.

But the front has a decent amount of room and the rear is good, even if foot space can be an issue if the front seats are at their lowest.

As we said at the start, there’s no doubt that this latest incarnation of the Ford Fiesta will be a huge sales success.

The blue oval is too big a player in the market and the Fiesta’s track record makes that a foregone conclusion.

The only problem is that with so much talent in the supermini sector, such as the new VW Polo and latest Nissan Micra, the Fiesta isn’t perhaps the over-riding obvious choice that it once was.

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LOGBOOK LOWDOWN

Price: £17,795

Engine: Petrol – 1.0-litre turbo

Power: 0 to 60mph in 9.9 seconds, 121mph top speed

Fuel economy: 65.7mpg CO2 emissions: 99g/km

Rivals: Citroën C3, Kia Rio, Hyundai i20, VW Polo, Nissan Micra

Rating: 8/10