I feel I have known the new Ford Fiesta for a much longer time than it has been around. Maybe because I was one of just three Irish journalists to get a preview of it before its official debut at Frankfurt Motor Show more than a year ago. Maybe because I got to drive it abroad earlier this year. Maybe because I saw it in my local Ford dealer’s showroom before it was officially launched here. And maybe because it is already settling itself in the buying public’s psyche in the same comfortable way as did its predecessor.

But it IS a new car. Through and through, with some reflection from the old guard in the form of the entry-level 1.3-litre engine, which I have yet to drive. And it has so many things better than the long-lived essentiality of its predecessor.

I kind of think they should have done the same as the shift from Escort to Focus, and changed the name. But it IS Fiesta still and will be for many years to come.

You know the looks by now, and if you don’t you can see the pictures here. Taller it is, and more square, and the real thing is that there is room for real people like me in the back. Fiesta took a long time to grow up to the competition, but that happens with people too, and suddenly a short teenager can spurt up and even overtake playmates.

OK, so the Fiesta is not as pretty a metamorphosis as has happened to the SEAT Ibiza, for instance. But it IS more dramatic. And the new Ford supermini has its own particular charms. Sex kitten is not one of those attributes, so Ibiza has that particular end of the segment to itself.

Soundproofing isn’t a Fiesta charm, either. For the more sensitive, there’s too much road noise and too much engine noise. Though I wonder how many real buyers even notice? But Ford engineers should have.

Duh-uh ... around 1,000 new owners since the car was quietly slipped into the summer showrooms, without even full specification or format availability (the 3-door only comes in January next, for instance), seem to have been comfortably captivated by the new car.

And listen, some 13 per cent of them have opted for the 1.4-litre TDCi diesel engine, which is well over the oil-burner odds for the segment.

They’ve got sense. You want the best Fiesta? Spend the little extra on the TDCi. The first time I drove it, I said it was THE engine for the car. It still is. And it has all the advantages of diesel without any of the disadvantages except more money up front. I’ll wager - it will hold its value best in the long term, and keep your investment safe.

Truth to tell, the 1.4 petrol is a little on the harsh side for my taste, requiring more pedal to get it to its best performance too. I do suspect that the 1.3-litre entry version is smoother for the ordinary driver. Old engine, 8v, and easy driving.

For the rest, the new Fiesta handles well up to the class best, the slight body roll from the taller body will never be a problem for 99.9 per cent of buyers. Controls are what we’ve come to expect from Ford in its small cars, as good as they get and never tiring. More feel, even, than the best Japanese competition. You know you’re doing what you want to do.

Ford has been following the demographics, and knows more than many just how many older people will be making up a big share of its future customer base. To the point that they invented a special ‘suit’ for its designers so they could experience the movement problems an older populace will have.

So this young-at-heart writer with his own arthritic twinges can well appreciate the straight-up and high seating position of the 5-door Fiestas I’ve so far driven (like Honda and its Civic, and Fiat and its Stilo, 3-door designs are aimed at a much younger profile).

Have I been a bit ambiguous in my judgement? On the one hand ... and on the other?

Hmm. What I think doesn’t matter. The Fiesta is carefully thought out for the people it is aimed at. There may well be a hot hatch version coming, to capitalise on the recent decision to world rally the Fiesta. The vast bulk of buyers won’t be swayed by that.

And I’ll still prefer the TDCi, a joint venture engine with PSA Peugeot-Citroen, which IS the engine for the car.