this is the new Ford Fiesta ST and
there's only one question we need to
answer but a cocker wheel through
corners why yes yes it does and with
that vital piece of hot hatch research
conducting review over
okay okay I get it you need more well
here's the whole thing the new Fiesta ST
is based on the same underpinnings as
the old one but every aspect of it has
been thoroughly overhauled it's still
front-wheel drive still has a six-speed
manual gearbox but now there's torque
vectoring
there are switchable driving modes and
adaptive dampers in a Fiesta as standard
and the engine
well that's lost a cylinder the motor is
a brand new 3-cylinder 1.5 liter turbo
it's got 197 brake and 214 pounds foot a
torque there's not 62 in 6.7 seconds and
144 miles an hour at the top-end options
include a proper mechanical limited slip
differential and sportier Recaro seats
both of which this car has the gearbox
will cope with flat shifting it has
launch control and claims to be lighter
than before there's some good stuff here
so to find out what it's like we're
gonna answer some questions
here we are third gear 30 miles an hour
like you would be if you're coming out
of a village or something 2,000 rpm are
on the clock and go
it was quite a bit of lag initially but
then it goes pretty well achieve beyond
3000 ice picking up quite nicely through
the mid range yeah that feels alive
actually that feels all right and you
know if you keep it above 3000 rpm
response is much better there's less lag
and the drivetrain
that's fine I wouldn't say it's
sensational but the gear change is quick
and snappy enough but the flat shifting
thing it's a bit of a gimmick look you
can do it go down but listen the clutch
takes it but the revs Flair it just
doesn't feel very mechanically
sympathetic I'd be worried about how
long the clutch was going to last
right let's get the phone plugged in and
see how long it takes the apple carplay
to pop up well pretty quick actually so
there you go got all your apple carplay
functionality and if you go to the Ford
bit the graphics are good and the menus
are simple so you can actually use the
system pretty well and in fact the whole
car comes across as well thought-out the
designs fine it's nothing to write home
about but the quality is good and you
know what these seats are really snug
and the driving position is spot-on as a
daily driver this is fine I mean look
there's even room in the back for your
kids we've had this car for six days and
done 1,850 miles in it the vast majority
of them dump all EQ here
Ollie where the aches and pains okay
I'll spay the intimate details but
mainly they are down here in the buttock
region and it's thanks to these wicked
Bacaro bucket seats they're massively
body holding but the post is really
pinched you around the sort of posterior
area and if you've been in the saddle
for a couple of hours is slightly
cutting off the blood flow what's
refinement beam light that's been really
impressive compared to the old st which
is a bit wearing them along journey this
is not only improved on that but it's
been more quiet and more calm on the
motorway than the honda civic type-r
support car that's been chasing us all
the way down from Scotland this is the
car look people ones being on the
motorway brilliant last one what's it
been doing to the gap ah now that's been
boring Lee brilliant above as well
because this three cylinder engine can
deactivate two two cylinders when it's
just cruising on the motorway so 38 mpg
over almost 2,000 miles I think is
pretty stellar on the motorway first
going up from London to Glasgow 45 mpg
which for a car this quick I think you
can argue that so there you go if you
want to drive a lap of the UK in the new
Fiesta you too can emerge looking as
refreshed and relaxed as ollie
[Music]
well here's our supercar yes we could
have chosen something more suited to
European roads maybe but not much more
powerful and definitely not louder
this is a Hennessey Mustang and it's
supercharged v8 develops 850 horsepower
this is what 850 horsepower sounds like
it is ballistically fast but you know
what it has a chassis that can keep up
the Hennessey Mustang is based on the
gt350r which has been roundly praised
for its handling and this thing really
does handle still and it's got masses
and masses of grip it's got masses of
grip because the front tires are 305
which is wider than most super car
manufacturers stick on the rears so it
really does grip and it really does go
but it's also quite busy on the road
those tires tramline a lot they get
distracted by everything on the road and
there's a lot on the roads on export
so you're always busy in the car and
that makes it less relaxing it also
means the nose gets pulled around quite
a bit and yeah 850 horsepower you can't
use all of it around here you can't even
use much of it to be fair
so it is my team the Hennessey Mustang
but it's also quite fighting time for
the Fiesta
so how does the ps2 feel after the
Mustang well smaller and nimbler less
grippy and slower no surprise on any of
that really but those all things that
make it really good on a British biro
small nimble light agile all that good
stuff and you don't need masses of
performers because you just can't use it
you don't want lots of grip because it's
more entertaining to drive the car at
more modest speeds and the Fiesta sponge
it's got a really good flow to it the
dried still got a bit of jiggle to it
like the old one it doesn't feel quite
as light and agile but it feels a bit
more grown-up and it's got more
capability if you like around corners it
builds a flow more easily
it holds an angle it still rolls a bit
and that's not a bad thing you might be
surprised to learn there's no road flip
on the new Fiesta I was quite surprised
by that when it's got the torque
vectoring and limited slip dip sand all
the rest of it it's good that limited
slip diff when you get our back on the
power really does tuck the nose a bit
more are there any drawbacks I'm not a
massive fan of the steering it feels a
little bit stodgy but the rack itself is
quite sharp sat turning is quite precise
and the brakes the brakes do the job but
you can probably have a bit more fight
at the top end
you can't choose the cars settings for
the dampers and the exhaust noise and so
on individually you have to go through
the button down here and cycle between
normal sport and track but that button
isn't very well sited down there it's
hard to find when you're driving it goes
along the road with a good amount of
enthusiasm the Fiesta but it doesn't
quite have the same sharpness and
liveliness as the old car I don't think
but the trade-off is the balance it's
got the capability the breadth of it has
changed that's improved a lot so if you
drove an old Fiesta and found it to pogo
e to noisy to rowdy then this will
probably be the car for you
but despite the drawbacks and they are
very minor I really would rather drive
this down a good biro than the Hennessy
I really would
it's got a lovely combination this of a
nut softness to give you a bit of roll
and let you know the cars working and
then this differential which is
brilliant
I know it's optional but you need to
happen
we need to
[Music]
it's got enough of turning by and
everything it just makes me want to keep
driving so that's what I'm gonna do
you
[Music]