The Fusion’s no ball of fire, but it’s happy enough in town. Both petrol engines need working hard and the 1.4 can struggle out of town, particularly when laden. The 1.4 diesel’s low-down pull makes it the easiest engine day to day, there’s also a 1.6 diesel. The 1.4 petrol can be specified with Ford’s Durashift automatic gearbox.

The Fusion is based on the Fiesta but it isn’t as good to drive. It still handles better than many superminis and it steers fluently, but the raised ride height means there’s more lean through bends and the ride is even firmer.

Neither of the petrol engines is particularly smooth at high revs, a fact which is exaggerated because they need working so hard. The 1.4 diesel is more settled at speed, but offensively noisy and rattly around town. The Fusion’s cabin is noisy at motorway speeds – you’ll find yourself cranking up the stereo to drown out the excessive wind and road noise.

Spec for spec, the Fusion costs between £500 and £1000 more than an equivalent Fiesta – which is already rather pricey – and doesn’t give you a lot more for the money. Fuel economy suffers, but the diesel still returns a combined figure of 64mpg. Resale values are reasonable, so expect the Fusion to hold on to just under half of its original value after three years.

There have been no complaints about the new Fiesta’s reliability and the Fusion shares most of the same parts. The interior isn’t particularly classy, but it feels as if it will stand up to a hard life.

The Fusion scored four stars in Euro NCAP crash tests. All models come with front airbags; side and curtain ‘bags cost a little more. Stability control is an option throughout the range. Deadlocks and an immobiliser are provided across the board, but only the Titanium gets an alarm.

The Fusion driver sits even higher than in the Fiesta. While it’s not to all tastes, it makes getting in and out easier and the wide expanse of glass gives an excellent view out. The steering wheel adjusts for height only and there’s limited seat height travel, however. While the dash is well laid out, top-spec models have a centre console with too many fiddly pushbuttons.

There’s good space for four adults in the Fusion’s cabin, but it offers little extra practicality over the cheaper Fiesta. Admittedly the boot is bigger and easier to load, but split rear seats don’t do anything particularly clever. Oddment storage is also limited.

Basic Style+ cars comes with electric front windows, electrically-adjusting door mirrors, CD player, remote central locking, air-conditioning and a quick-clearing heated windscreen. Zetec models look sportier, replacing the black bumpers with body-coloured ones, and you also get a body kit, alloys and fogs. Titanium cars add automatic lights and wipers, heated mirrors and an upgraded stereo.