Ford Fiesta wins Car of the Year from Daily telegraph readers poll.

The Ford Fiesta has been crowned The Telegraph's Car of the Year, beating a variety of more expensive models.

The accolade follows voting by Telegraph readers to decide their favourite cars in seven categories in the run-up to the newspaper and website‘s Festival of Motoring last week.

After reader votes had been counted, the Telegraph’s motoring experts decided which category winner deserved the Telegraph’s overall Car of the Year award.

Steve Huntingford, the Telegraph’s head of motoring, said:  “It’s easy to see why the Ford Fiesta is so popular – it’s a sensational all-rounder. 

“There is no small hatchback that you can buy that’s as enjoyable to drive as the Fiesta. It feels wonderfully sharp and agile, which is obviously great news on a winding back road. But the Fiesta is also a pleasure on the mundane journeys that most of us do every day, thanks to its beautifully weighted controls, comfortable ride and good visibility.

“Throw in a long list of standard safety kit, plus strong yet efficient petrol and diesel engines, and the Fiesta really does offer the greatest good for the greatest number of people.”

Over 120,000 new car buyers in the UK chose Ford Fiestas last year, sealing the award winner a fifth successive year as the nation’s top-selling car.

Standard features on all Ford Fiestas include Easy Fuel, which prevents filling up with the wrong type of fuel; MyKey, which enables parents to restrict speed, audio volume and other settings before loaning the car to young or inexperienced drivers, and eye-catching daytime running lights to be seen in all conditions.

The hot 139mph Ford Fiesta ST this year added a new ST3 series to its exhilarating line-up, which has seen demand running 20 per cent higher than forecast for the 182PS hot hatch.

The acclaimed 2014 Ford Fiesta range beat the VW Golf, Range Rover Evoque, Jaguar XF, Bentley Mulsanne, Toyota GT86 and Tesla Model S to take the Telegraph Car of the Year crown.

Mark Ovenden, Ford Britain chairman and managing director, said:  “The readers of the UK’s top-selling quality paper and its website, along with The Telegraph’s motoring team made a discerning choice in naming Ford Fiesta as their Car of the Year.

“They recognised the car as a sensational all rounder for the greatest number of people – achieved thanks to Fiesta’s styling, handling, styling and tech.”

JAGUAR LAND ROVER OFF TO A FAST SALES START FOR 2013

Jaguar Land Rover, the UK's leading manufacturer of premium luxury vehicles, sold 34,877 vehicles during the first month of 2013, an increase of 32% versus the same period last year.

January sales were up across every major market with sales up 74% in China, 46% in Asia Pacific, 33% in the UK, 24% in North America and 10% in Europe.

Phil Popham, Jaguar Land Rover’s Director of Group Sales Operations said, “With one of the best month’s sales performances ever, both Jaguar and Land Rover brands have had a very strong start to the year. This reflects the introduction of the all-new Range Rover as well as the 2013 Model Year Jaguar XF and XJ models.”

In January, Land Rover sold 29,118 vehicles (up 31%), with increased sales of Freelander (up 57%), Range Rover (up 52% including prior model), Range Rover Evoque (up 32%), Range Rover Sport (up 17%) and Land Rover Discovery (up 14%).  Land Rover sales were up in all major markets with record January sales in several, including the UK, USA and Germany.  

Jaguar sold 5,759 vehicles in January (up by 40%), with increased sales of the XJ (up 70%) and the XF (up 37%), reflecting strong sales of the recently introduced XF Sportbrake as well as all-wheel drive and smaller engine options. Jaguar sales were up in all major markets.