FOR decades Ford's fiesty Fiesta has been top of the tree and once again it was first choice among private buyers with sales leaping an amazing 24 per cent to 103,856.

Of particular note are the Zetec and Zetec S versions.

These priced from £10,195 to £12,495 and available with three or five doors and selection of petrol and diesel engines for petrol economy of 45mpg combined, and diesel frugality of more than 60mpg on the combined cycle.

Still on the economy front, insurance groups are low for these models, starting at Group 3, and there is the reassurance of three years'/60,000 miles warranty.

They all come with air conditioning, alloy wheels, anti-lock brakes, front airbags, power steering, electric front windows and CD/RDS stereo.

The Fiesta Zetec Climate is now significantly enhanced to improve its appearance inside and out and appeal to the image-conscious Fiesta driver.

Additional features include body-coloured power/heated door mirrors, body colour side mouldings, door and tailgate handles, silver dashboard bezel, leather steering wheel with aluminium trim and a chrome front grille.

The new Zetec Climate is on sale now with all engine options from £10,195.

Fiesta Zetec Climate customers have an additional option of a sport pack with 16in seven-spoke sport alloy wheels and privacy glass available at £300, a saving of £150.

There is also a technology pack which consists of automatic-headlights and wipers, power-fold door mirrors, stereo/radio remote controls and a second remote key.

Ideal for customers who like to drive small cars with big car features, this is available on Fiesta Zetec Climate, Zetec S and ST models, priced at £200.

The Fiesta Zetec S has been devised to be a value-for-money and fun-to-drive warm hatch'.

It provides sporty looks, enjoyable handling and peppy performance while at the same time being economical to buy, to run and to insure.

Based on the three-door Fiesta body, the new Zetec S model features the same roof spoiler and deep front and rear bumper mouldings as Fiesta ST, as well as versions of its grippy sports seats.

It runs on distinctive 16in alloy wheels with ultra-low profile 195/45 R16 tyres.

The Fiesta Zetec S customer has two very different engine options in the form of the 1.6 litre, 16-valve 100hp Duratec petrol engine or Fiesta's newly introduced 90hp 1.6 litre Duratorq 16-valve TDCi turbo-diesel.

The new diesel is one of the latest engines to come from the cooperative agreement between Ford Motor Company and PSA Peugeot Citroen and is capable of 112mph and 0-60mph in just 11.2 seconds.

Use of the latest common rail diesel injection technology and its associated engine management systems enable the 1.6 TDCi to return first class consumption figures of 62.8mpg in the combined cycle and 52.3mpg in the Urban cycle tests.

CO2 emission levels for the new engine are 119g/km.

The 1.6 litre petrol engine of Fiesta Zetec S gives a maximum speed of 114mph and 0-60mph takes 9.9 secs.

The Fiesta Zetec S has been lowered by ten millimetres compared with the standard car and has stiffened and recalibrated suspension, with spring and damper settings tuned to suit each engine variant. Front springs are approximately ten per cent stiffer than the standard 1.6L TDCi model, and the rear springs are same around seven per cent stiffer.

The Fiesta Zetec S cabin also borrows from the Fiesta ST, using that model's highly supportive front sports seats, upholstered in cloth or optional part leather and in its own range of trim colours.