Ford Fiesta 1.0T St-line X
New supermini arrives with its sights set on upmarket rivals
High-spec supermini
This, Ford assures us, is the ‘all-new’ Fiesta. The skin is completely new, as is the interior, and Ford says it has much improved the overall quality and in-cabin refinement and further polished the ride and handling.
The cockpit is something of a revelation, at least compared with that of the old car. There’s a lot more storage space in the centre console and the quality is notably better. This St-line X model also gets an impressive 8.0in screen, mounted high up in the driver’s eyeline.
Equally impressive is the 138bhp version of Ford’s excellent 1.0-litre turbo triple that this model receives. It remains surprisingly civilised even when wrung out, and while it’s hardly quick, it is capable of propelling the Fiesta through some impressive overtaking manoeuvres.
Top marks, too, for the newly honed shift action of the six-speed gearbox. Short of throw, swift and clean, it helps enormously where rapid downshifts are needed when, say, entering a bend and the engine needs to be kept on the boil.
Fiesta chassis engineers say the St-line has been tuned to sit halfway between the Vignale model’s downsized luxury and the hardcore appeal of the upcoming ST. And that’s exactly how it feels. The St-line feels briskly capable but rides with impressive fluidity, soaking up poor surfaces while staying on the comfortable side of sporting.
On a practical level, rear cabin space is tight and the boot isn’t the biggest in this class. But the driving position is impressive (especially the range of seat height adjustment) and the interior is a major leap forwards. The car has more of a quality feel.
This £18,945 St-line X test car had the addition of the superb and hard-to-resist B&O high-power audio system (£300), as well as heated seats and a heated steering wheel (£225). Its final price is steep for a warm supermini, even one as satisfying as this. As good as it is, this highspec Fiesta has some very strong competition, as do more humble variants, as you can read on p40.