[MUSIC PLAYING]
The small hot hatch market is all about two cars right now--
the Clio RS, and this, the new Ford Fiesta ST. The Fiesta is
cheaper, less powerful, less snazzy, and it has a proper
manual gearbox.
Ford is very good at these cars, so this
should be pretty special.
Fiesta has been positioned, quite cleverly, at 16,995
pounds, a few grand beneath the Clio.
It offers 182 horsepower from a tweaked version of the
turbocharged 1.6-liter EcoBoost motor.
But the 215 foot-pounds of torque is very impressive and
actually shaves the Clio's figure.
You can see where the money has been
spent, or rather, saved.
You get a standard Fiesta cabin with some massive Recaro
seats, a fancy gear nob, and a decent wheel.
But that's your lot, really.
The cash has been spent on the lower chassis, some new
suspension components, and all-around disc brakes.
Oh, and a couple of tailpipes.
The question on everyone's lips, on Twitter, on YouTube
on PistonHeads is, would you have the Clio RS, or would you
have the new Fiesta ST?
Well, I'm in the new Fiesta ST right now.
And I can't give you a definitive answer right away,
because I need to drive both of them at the same time.
So I want to tell you about this little Fiesta, because
it's a cracking little car.
A little turbocharged, 4-cylinder motor, 182
horsepower, 214 foot-pounds of torque, it's the latter figure
that dominates the driving experience, I have to say.
You just get this thing anywhere above 2,500 RPM, and
it really pulls, fee;s like a fast car.
Ford claims 0 to 62 in under 7 seconds.
For my money, that makes it quite
fast for a small hatchback.
But, of course, it's not that small.
Inside, quite basic.
You get a fancy Recaro seat, which is massively supportive
and has the fastest bum warmers in the galaxy.
You get a nice, little ST-embossed steering wheel,
and you get a nice gear lead.
But the rest is Fiesta.
This is back-to-basics Ford.
They're not spending money on stuff that's a frippery.
They're spending money on the chassis.
They're spending money on the motor, on the performance, and
on the few small things that you touch.
Does it feel special enough?
Yeah, just about, for me.
But it has got so much performance.
And it's really quite nimble as well.
Downsides--
the low speed ride is busy.
Once you get it up and flowing, and the dampers get a
chance to work, it's got a nice feel to it.
But I have to say, at low speed, it's a bit busier than
I thought it would be.
Electric steering is quite light, and obviously, it
doesn't really give me much of a
connection to the road surface.
But within a few minutes, I'm just cutting
apexes as I want them.
So I'll give it the accuracy count.
I think it's good like that.
Gear change is nice, and short, and quick.
Congratulations, Ford, on the three pedals.
I really do think it's a crucial factor.
In the Clio versus Ford debate, if you want to be more
involved, personally, I want to have a manual gearbox.
And sitting here, right now, that might
just sway it for me.
But I don't want to be definitive on that, as I said,
until I've driven both of them together.
One thing I love about hot hatchbacks is that balance,
performance, and grip is just so well attuned to public
roads, isn't it?
You feel the acceleration on the turn when I brake quite
hard, tip it in, and really enjoy the car through the
turn, without being too silly.
The front of the car is just It turns beautifully, and most
impressively, coming out of turns, wow!
You just get the right lock on, pin the throttle, and it
drags itself out.
The way these guys have got front axles to work in the
last five years is so impressive, so impressive.
So all in all, it's another very good, fast Ford.
I think it's lacking some of the things
the Clio's got, obviously.
If you want paddles, that's the way forward.
Because that what Renault offers and nothing else.
And there are some benefits to the Clio.
It's a bit quicker, I will give you that, but not that
much quicker.
I have to say, this has got so much torque to spare.
And if you want a manual gearbox, well, you don't have
a choice, do you?
You have to take the Ford.
How do you feel about the exterior of the car?
I think it's a little bit disappointing.
I think there's a lot of volume above the rear wheel.
It looks quite tall.
It doesn't have that kind of sat-down stance that I quite
want in a hot hatchback.
But once you're behind the wheel, there's no denying how
effective it is.
I also don't care about the fact that it's mostly standard
Fiesta in here, because as far as I'm concerned, the standard
Fiesta is very nice.
And what about the quality of that gearshift?
Well, it's good.
No point in having a manual shifter if you don't make
something of it.
It's quite short, very, very slick.
Gear nob--
could be a bit better, I suppose.
But who am I to complain about the design of a gear nob?
Look at my beard.
[CAR ENGINE]
Of course, we needed to go to a track to see how the ST
responds to some serious abuse.
Well, the brakes resisted fade well, grip was good, and you
could tweak the line with the throttle, all
of which was nice.
But even with the ESP switched off, the car still tried to
trim the line with small amounts of breaking.
I think off should mean off.
It doesn't in the ST, but it does in the Clio.
But anyone who buys one of these will be thrilled with
the package.
It could look a little tastier.
But for the money, not much can compete The ST really
shines on the road despite the harsh low-speed ride.
It just makes you wonder how quick it will be when Mountune
get hold of it.
Does it beat the Clio?
Mm, I can't tell you.
We need to do that test pretty soon.
But for me, right now, it's currently a dead heat.