PRODUCING superminis is a growth industry literally.

One by one, the well-equipped and handy-size runabouts are getting bigger and they have been doing for the last 25 years.

It seems that makers are unable to improve on an existing model without needing to make it larger.

It is a quarter of a century ago that Ford revealed its first Fiesta, calling the little car its new 'baby'. It grew up to become the biggest-selling mini in Britain.

The original Fiesta looked incredibly like the VW Polo of the era, and the next models of each of these minis will continue to share similar styling.

By the mid-Eighties, yuppie-ism had made VW's Golf GTI the car to own, though among superminis the Peugeot 205 became the trendiest mini you could buy.

These models are still around, though they too have grown. As a result, each maker has added a smaller model Ford's Ka, VW's Lupo and Peugeot's 106.

VW's next Polo, on sale in the spring, will be more than six inches longer than the current model, nearly two inches taller and a little wider too.

With the new Fiesta, Ford sets great store by its additional space. So, of course, the car is larger over two inches longer and four inches taller.

Economy and low emissions are also part of the new car. Ford's small car boss Brendan Lyne says: "Before its first service, the new Fiesta will have saved you up to £300 in fuel costs alone."

He talks about a 10 per cent improvement in fuel economy, with a range of 650 miles on a single tank.

The new Duratorq TDCi common-rail diesel engine averages 65mpg, says Ford, and also boasts a CO2 rating of only 119g/km important under the new emissions-based tax structure which begins in April.

Other benefits include longer service intervals 12,500 miles for all models, both petrol and diesel.

Routine maintenance in the first 60,000 miles will cost 28 per cent less than for the current Fiesta, thanks to "ingenious engineering" says Ford.

For example, the new car's electical system uses 40 per cent less wiring meaning that there's less to go wrong or check.

Another saving comes from "the top 22 most common non-routine repairs" which will take over two hours less to conduct.

Other factors to save repair time and therefore cost include the front and rear bumpers, which have been strengthened to minimise damage at low speed. And front wings can be replaced more easily, and therefore more cheaply.