The back street boys
The current motoring tech boom is slowly but surely moving us towards autonomous driving, ride sharing, and electrification. It's wonderful news for many people of course, but has significant drawbacks for those that love a weekend fang.
I don't necessarily worry for the supercars of the world, nor the mudloving off-roading set nor the colourful motorsport arena. What I do worry about, however, is the entrylevel enthusiast — the buyer wanting one car that does it all.
The low cost, high fun fourwheeled chariot has been a concept on the outer for years now. True driver's cars under $40,000 are a rarity. But thankfully, there's still a few kicking around if you know where to look. Enter the new Ford Fiesta ST, set to arrive here proper early next year. New Zealand now gets the fivedoor variant instead of the threedoor, it has an all-new cabin (featuring Recaro buckets that are just a wee bit too tight), and an attractive exterior shell that wears Ford's current corporate design language much more convincingly than its Focus siblings.
The biggest changes are, not surprisingly, of the mechanical variety. While other markets get a raft of different trim levels, Kiwis get only the top spec — which means inheriting all the fancy technological fruit.
A mechanical Quaife Limited Slip Differential, brake-based torque vectoring, switchable drive modes, launch control, hand-me-down dampers from the bonza Focus RS, and Ford's trick force vectoring directionally wound springs that stabilise the rear of the car by providing a counter-pressure to adverse compression are all included in the deal. All models come with a six-speed manual and Michelin shoes.
Undoubtedly the engine bay is where the most change has taken place. Ford has replaced the punchy 1.6-litre four-banger turbo of the outgoing model with a smaller, warbling 1.5-litre turbocharged EcoBoost three-cylinder. Underlining the level of risk here is the fact that power output is technically down on the previous model; from 149kW/ 290Nm to 147kW/290Nm.
So, why the shrinkage?
This engine is Ford’s take on the “work smarter, not harder” mantra. The new three-popper might make a bit less power outright, but peak figures come along much lower in the rev range. At just 1600rpm, the driver experiences peak torque, helping give the new ST a new savagery at low revs. This low-down ability is in part down to an integrated exhaust manifold that takes less time to warm up than in the last feisty Fiesta.
Despite being down on power, the pint-sized Ford manages to complete the sprint to 100km/h in a claimed 6.5 sec — seven-tenths quicker than its dad could. But as we all know, digits on a screen tell you only so much about the fun factor. So, it seemed right to round up a last-gen Fiesta ST for a brief back-to-back skid.
They might be off the same platform and feature similarly cheeky styling, but there’s a lot of difference in how they drive. The engines, for example, are an inversion of each other. The older four-cylinder 1.6 is much more rewarding towards the top end but takes noticeably longer to get there, compared to the boosted triple that excitedly marches to 6000rpm like a trooper, but delivers less raw thrill beyond.
The most surprising difference is with their manual gearboxes. The new Fiesta’s stubby lever feels slightly longer in throw from gear to gear, and features a more notchy action. The clutch pedal is longer and lighter, with a slightly more free bite point. It’s lovely in isolation and the lighter controls make it easier to live with on a daily basis’ but it’s subsequently harder to get into a rhythm with than its predecessor.
Similarities return when it comes to handling. The overarching feel is that Ford hasn’t necessarily transformed the Fiesta’s handling characteristics — it has just taken the things that made the last one so fabulous and magnified them.
The new ST now has the fastest steering ratio of any Ford Performance creation; and that’s confirmed by the unsurprising enthusiasm it has for chasing apexes. Grip at the limit is perhaps where the improvements sit, thanks in part to the LSD and the work Ford has mustered at the rear.
What impresses more than
anything else is the engine’s versatility. Ford has produced a unit that emits a familiar, uneven characterful howl towards redline. But, it also manages to defy the traditional limitations of a threecylinder. It loudly burps into life on start-up, but once it’s warm it’s so smooth in daily commuting you’d be hard pressed to tell that you were driving a triple.
There’s little additional vibration or droning noise at idle, yet all it takes is a keen visit to 3500rpm to warmly invite those elements back in. Some of this will be down to Ford’s cylinder deactivation tech, that cuts the engine down to just two cylinders during low-stress scenarios in order to preserve fuel.
The claimed 7L/100km is, indeed, impressive for a fizzy little hot hatch.
It might be a segment shrinking in the shadow of SUVs, but cars in the compact hot hatch class are as good as they’ve ever been. The Suzuki Swift Sport is cheap, quick thrills; the VW Polo GTi is almost good enough to render the Golf equivalent a waste of time; and the new Fiesta ST is possibly the best of the bunch. The last-gen model might feel like the sharper device, but the new one is more accessible, usable, capable, and — ultimately — a better car.