Ford Fiesta ST200

YOU MIGHT THINK we concluded that the Ford Fiesta ST200 was the best driver’s car priced at less than £25,000 because when you lob it into a corner on a trailing throttle, its eagerness to go sideways is matched only by the ease with which it can be recovered. It’s a hooligan’s delight, as have been all the best fast Ford hatchbacks since the Fiesta XR2 was introduced 36 years ago. And you’d be right.

But although this is the truth and nothing but the truth, it is very far from the whole truth. Indeed, the more important truth is that to dismiss the ST as a one-skid wonder is to sell it woefully short. In fact, it’s positively misleading. The reason the Fiesta beat the Fiat 124 Spider, Renault Clio RS, DS 3 Performance and, for heaven’s sake, the Mazda MX-5 was not thanks to one outstanding talent. On the contrary, its victory came because it was actually the most complete car there.

In the end, it came to a knife-edge decision between the classically configured rear-drive Mazda with its normally aspirated engine and the front-drive Ford hatch with its turbo motor. On paper, the Fiesta shouldn’t even have got close, yet on the road the Ford was not only faster but also more fun. It offered even greater driver involvement, courtesy of an even faster turn-in and an ability to execute mid-corner instructions dispatched via the driver’s right foot that is rare at any price, let alone down here in the cheap seats. Ultimately, it was simply the car we wanted to drive most, and there is no evidence more telling than that.

But there’s more. Our Best Affordable Driver’s Car contest does not subscribe to the unlimited formula of its big sister, with its usual proliferation of supercars. These are cars that live in the real world, and that means if one is happy and capable of being used every day, that’s always going to count over another best saved as a downtime recreation. And that, perhaps, is the most astonishing thing of all about the Fiesta: it’s not just more fun to drive than the previous holder of this crown, but you could also have it as an only car, even if you had a small family. The same can’t be said of the still excellent MX-5.

Later this year, the ST’S engine will be replaced by a brand-new 1.5-litre turbo triple, expected to offer the same power but ‘zero’ turbo lag, less weight and a better noise. For those tasked with beating it, it’s possible the job is about to get harder still.