Aimed at the likes of the superb MINI Cooper S and Peugeot 206 180 buyer, the 150bhp offering from Ford has its work cut out.
I spent a full day testing the chunky looking pocket rocket recently on a mountainous test route in Northern Italy and enjoyed the sharp steering and short throw gearshift in particular.
150 bhp isn’t an outrageous amount of power in a hatch these days so the Fiesta needs deliberate provocation to really shift. When you do hit the higher reaches of the rev range there is a lovely little induction roar and a decent turn of speed. 0 to 62 Mph comes up in under eight seconds and the ST’s top speed is 129 Mph.
The ST has been developed by the new ‘Ford RS’ design team and apart from the meaty 16 valve petrol engine features lowered and stiffened suspension and for the first time in a Fiesta disc brakes all round.
The steering rack has been sharpened (so it takes fewer turns from lock to lock) and is very responsive. The gearshift throw has been shortened also, so it now moves with as little wrist movement as a Mazda MX5.
Mt test car featured a racing RS stripe that simply looks terrific and is a must have from the options list. You would have to win the Lotto to get a Ford with a similar looking stripe as it is found on the GT40 super car.
Other ST modifications include nice big alloys with specially designed P Zero tyres, a beefed up body and large rear spoiler. Inside there are a few nods to sportiness but it could do with a few more boy racer bits.
The ride is firm but not bone jarring. The ST feels secure and routed to the ground at pace but can feel a little loose at the rear when cornering hard. All small front wheel drive hatches have this problem as short wheel-base cars load up their rear suspension very quickly.
The ST continues on from where the old 80’s XR2 left off. It could do a bit more power and rear suspension similar to the set up in the Ford Focus (Semperit Irish Car of the Year 2005) to make it a complete package, but then the fun sized Fiesta would have to be a bigger car!
The price will be announced in the New Year. Don’t think that because it is a Fiesta it will be cheap, oh no! Because of its two-litre engine and the effect our stupid VRT tax has on it, expect the price to be close to thirty grand!
The Fiesta ST is a nice chunky little hot hatch but I’d have a fantastic Copper S before it.
Michael Sheridan
