The Fiesta ST, Ford's latest hot hatch, tested on British roads for the first time. Can it be as enjoyable away from the test track?
A long time coming. We’ve already driven the ST abroad, but it’s impossible not to count down the years between its appearance in the UK (in early left-hand drive format) and the original launch of this much-lauded generation of Fiesta. Half a decade is far too long to have to wait for a model which seemed only a bigger engine output and chassis tweak away when it first appeared.The effect of this incredibly lengthy build-up is a slow-boil raising of expectations. Ford has had plenty of time to get this right, and nothing short of very good indeed will do. On paper, as we already know, it looks the part. The 1.6-litre EcoBoost engine at last provides the Fiesta with a meaningful output – 179bhp at 5700rpm – and with it comes a hot-hatch-worthy 0-62mph time of 6.9sec.Such performance could probably have been injected into the lowly Zetec S without detriment, but Ford has been busy underneath, too. As you might expect from the ST badge, the model gets unique springs and dampers, a modified front steering knuckle (to go with a slightly quicker steering ratio) and the rear torsion beam has been adapted for better roll stiffness.The car also gets Ford’s Torque Vectoring Control system in place of a legitimate mechanical differential, and a three-stage traction control system, which in its Sport mode offers considerably more slip than standard (the third ‘setting’ is, happily, completely off). In the cabin the front seats are swapped out for Recaro replacements, but otherwise the Blue Oval has remained remarkably restrained. Likewise the ST wears bigger wheels, a protruding spoiler and brawnier exhaust, yet manages to appear rather understated on the usually garish hot hatch barometer.
The Fiesta ST, Ford's latest hot hatch, tested on British roads for the first time. Can it be as enjoyable away from the test track?
A long time coming. We’ve already driven the ST abroad, but it’s impossible not to count down the years between its appearance in the UK (in early left-hand drive format) and the original launch of this much-lauded generation of Fiesta. Half a decade is far too long to have to wait for a model which seemed only a bigger engine output and chassis tweak away when it first appeared.The effect of this incredibly lengthy build-up is a slow-boil raising of expectations. Ford has had plenty of time to get this right, and nothing short of very good indeed will do. On paper, as we already know, it looks the part. The 1.6-litre EcoBoost engine at last provides the Fiesta with a meaningful output – 179bhp at 5700rpm – and with it comes a hot-hatch-worthy 0-62mph time of 6.9sec.Such performance could probably have been injected into the lowly Zetec S without detriment, but Ford has been busy underneath, too. As you might expect from the ST badge, the model gets unique springs and dampers, a modified front steering knuckle (to go with a slightly quicker steering ratio) and the rear torsion beam has been adapted for better roll stiffness.The car also gets Ford’s Torque Vectoring Control system in place of a legitimate mechanical differential, and a three-stage traction control system, which in its Sport mode offers considerably more slip than standard (the third ‘setting’ is, happily, completely off). In the cabin the front seats are swapped out for Recaro replacements, but otherwise the Blue Oval has remained remarkably restrained. Likewise the ST wears bigger wheels, a protruding spoiler and brawnier exhaust, yet manages to appear rather understated on the usually garish hot hatch barometer.