CAR OF THE WEEK Ford Fiesta ST

IWISH Noah could instantly be 18 (as opposed to nine and a half) for a day or two every now and again so he could start testing these ever more naked, ever more raw, powerful and pesky hot hatches Ford keeps churning out.

It’s a young man’s job, for heaven’s sake, not that of a slightly creaky, secretly balding 52-year-old with a growing reluctance for unnecessary discomfort and a brace of hipreplacement operations on the horizon. Even my fearless mechanic pal Tim looked a little bit trepidatious at the prospect of throwing this new ST – the hot version of Britain’s best-selling car – around the twisty roads of Berkshire.

‘I can’t believe the power they can create nowadays,’ he said. ‘I had a Ford Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth when I was 22 that had one more cylinder than this Fiesta and 500ccs more under the bonnet, not to mention a bigger turbo.

‘If you’d told me that in two decades’ time my precious Cosie’s spoiler would be whipped into submission by a new Fiesta, I’d have laughed you out of town. Well, I’m not laughing now.’ More of which in a moment. Visually, for a brand-new threedoor hot hatch, this Fiesta ST is surprisingly on the tame side. A little too tame we – that is me, my wife Tash, Tim, my nephew Mark, his fiancée Tania, and my sons Noah and Eli – all thought at first.

This could be down to the rather grown-up Performance Blue paint job (a £745 option), which seems to smooth out the more sporty features. On closer inspection, things are more exciting than they first appear, with a refreshing lack of fakery for the sake of it.

All frills, grilles, air intakes etc seem to be there for an actual reason this time around, as opposed to merely acting as cosmetic façades covering blanked-off panels, with exhaust outlets leading to nowhere.

We were most taken with the uncluttered, honeycombed front and the classy, fun-packed rear end with its twin tail pipes, under-valance diffuser and rooftop spoiler. In profile, the offset double swage on the lower and upper doors also comes across as effortlessly elegant and classy for such a small car.

Once you have clambered your way over the cumbersome, clumsy, stubborn (but uber-cool) Recaro front sports seats, it’s all a bit tight, dark and stark in the back – not that my kids minded. They loved every second, in fact, whereas I think I’d have been screaming to be let out after about five minutes. Either that or throwing up over the frontseat passenger and whoever was driving. Talking of which, the whole of the front of the cabin is awesome to look at, and those troublesome front seats are a godsend when it comes to holding you in place.

Once you’re belted in, a youthful, energetic vibe immediately takes