Centurion
Apex Apex Predator
Head and tail lights could be have been a touch bolder. I don't miss the old interior though.
Cashmere
RPM Ruler
The Ford Fiesta ST is a blue-collar performance hero that Top Gear has always loved and celebrated. The last-generation ST was our car of the year in 2013, beating the McLaren P1 to the title, which gives you some idea how highly we rated it. But the next gen ST, which lands in the UK later this year, has had a heart transplant. So has the icon lost its soul, or is this new breed a welcome piece of fresh thinking?
Top Gear was invited to join the development team at Ford’s top-secret test facility in Lommel to experience the ST on a freezing cold day in early March. Spoiler alert: this is one little car that punches way above its weight.
There’s magic going on under the bonnet
Using witchcraft and fairy dust, the ST’s 1.5-litre three cylinder turbocharged engine delivers 197bhp and 214lb ft of torque, firing the ST from 0-62mph in 6.7 seconds and on to a top speed of 144mph. Lighter and more efficient than its predecessor, the new engine should pay dividends when it comes to the handling.
It’s mated to a six-speed manual with a nice meaty weighting and short throw, plus there’s an optional Quaife limited slip diff’. The downsized motor also features cylinder deactivation which, under light loads, shuts off one cylinder and adds frugality to the list of ST attributes. Fortunately, the shift from three cylinders to two is pretty much imperceptible.
It's clever, has a nice interior and a massive stereo
The ST also gets bespoke bi-compound Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres, with stickier rubber on the outside edge to optimise cornering and a more durable one across the main section of the tread. To further help turn in there’s torque vectoring, by braking the inside front wheel. At the rear the ST has twist beam rear suspension.
Inside the ST features optional Recaro bucket seats which, in contrast to its big brother the RS, allow full adjustment down to a lovely low seating position. There’s a chunky steering wheel and nicely finished metal and rubber pedals. For those of you wanting to really shake your neighbour’s windows, there’s B&O speakers. In a Fiesta.
We’ve been for a ride in it… and it’s hilarious
To give us the full display of the ST’s dynamic capabilities I was inserted into the passenger seat of a fully-specced racing blue ST. Options includes the LSD and a handy test pilot called Koen Bex who set off round Track 7 with a point to prove. Talk about commitment. Track 7 is a ribbon of tarmac designed to replicate the kind of surface and undulations you’d find on your perfect B-road. Home turf for the ST, then.
As Koen got airborne over a particularly tricky series of yumps, the first thing that struck me, beyond a sense of my own mortality, was that the ST sounds great. The warble is similar to a V6 and way better than any turbocharged four-cylinder could manage. While some of the engine noise is enhanced through the speakers using Fords ESE (electronic sound enhancement) technology, it’s still convincing and characterful.
It will slide and you don’t need to lift to shift
The second thing that struck me from the passenger seat is how adjustable the ST is. Ford have kept the settings simple, as there are just three: Normal, Sport and Track. Sport increases throttle response, steering weight, allows more slip angle and adds more pops and bangs from the exhaust by opening the valve. Track disables the traction control further and allows even wider slip angles.
You can disable the traction control entirely by pressing and holding the button in any of the settings. We’re in Track as we crest another rise and Koen lifts off allowing the tail to step out before burying the throttle and allowing the LSD and its torque vectoring assistants to work their magic, tuck the nose in and fire us onto the next long corner. The ST’s pace is impressive. I suspect it could keep a supercar honest on a tight B-road, while adjustability on the throttle is extraordinary for a front wheel drive car. Koen rifles through the gears without lifting off the throttle, another ST trick that allows you to keep it pinned and flat shift.
It’s good away from the circuit and on the daily commute as well
When not having its neck wrung by a test pilot the ST has greater strength and depth than its predecessor, too. Ford have worked hard on NVH and ride comfort and it shows, the all new “frequency selective dampers” isolate the worst a broken surface can throw at you making it a far more relaxing car to cover distance in, but push the car harder and the dampers tense up to keep the body roll in check and hard wire the connection from road to the driver.
Oh, and it has launch control…
As part of the optional ‘Performance Pack” which features the LSD and a shift light, launch control is accessed through the steering wheel controls, and manages the power and torque delivery to ensure you leave the opposition standing at the lights. It remains activated until you deactivate it, or turn the car off and on again, so you can repeatedly launch to your heart’s content, safe in the knowledge it’s covered by the warranty.
Normally we avoid passenger rides like the plague as they’re often frustrate and rarely reveal much about a car. But given the change in the ST’s engine we were keen to make sure this little hero hadn’t lost its way. Our time with it had more than allayed our fears, as this could be the best Fast Ford in a generation.
Here's what we learned riding in the new Ford Fiesta ST
Top Gear was invited to join the development team at Ford’s top-secret test facility in Lommel to experience the ST on a freezing cold day in early March. Spoiler alert: this is one little car that punches way above its weight.
There’s magic going on under the bonnet
Using witchcraft and fairy dust, the ST’s 1.5-litre three cylinder turbocharged engine delivers 197bhp and 214lb ft of torque, firing the ST from 0-62mph in 6.7 seconds and on to a top speed of 144mph. Lighter and more efficient than its predecessor, the new engine should pay dividends when it comes to the handling.
It’s mated to a six-speed manual with a nice meaty weighting and short throw, plus there’s an optional Quaife limited slip diff’. The downsized motor also features cylinder deactivation which, under light loads, shuts off one cylinder and adds frugality to the list of ST attributes. Fortunately, the shift from three cylinders to two is pretty much imperceptible.
It's clever, has a nice interior and a massive stereo
The ST also gets bespoke bi-compound Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres, with stickier rubber on the outside edge to optimise cornering and a more durable one across the main section of the tread. To further help turn in there’s torque vectoring, by braking the inside front wheel. At the rear the ST has twist beam rear suspension.
Inside the ST features optional Recaro bucket seats which, in contrast to its big brother the RS, allow full adjustment down to a lovely low seating position. There’s a chunky steering wheel and nicely finished metal and rubber pedals. For those of you wanting to really shake your neighbour’s windows, there’s B&O speakers. In a Fiesta.
We’ve been for a ride in it… and it’s hilarious
To give us the full display of the ST’s dynamic capabilities I was inserted into the passenger seat of a fully-specced racing blue ST. Options includes the LSD and a handy test pilot called Koen Bex who set off round Track 7 with a point to prove. Talk about commitment. Track 7 is a ribbon of tarmac designed to replicate the kind of surface and undulations you’d find on your perfect B-road. Home turf for the ST, then.
As Koen got airborne over a particularly tricky series of yumps, the first thing that struck me, beyond a sense of my own mortality, was that the ST sounds great. The warble is similar to a V6 and way better than any turbocharged four-cylinder could manage. While some of the engine noise is enhanced through the speakers using Fords ESE (electronic sound enhancement) technology, it’s still convincing and characterful.
It will slide and you don’t need to lift to shift
The second thing that struck me from the passenger seat is how adjustable the ST is. Ford have kept the settings simple, as there are just three: Normal, Sport and Track. Sport increases throttle response, steering weight, allows more slip angle and adds more pops and bangs from the exhaust by opening the valve. Track disables the traction control further and allows even wider slip angles.
You can disable the traction control entirely by pressing and holding the button in any of the settings. We’re in Track as we crest another rise and Koen lifts off allowing the tail to step out before burying the throttle and allowing the LSD and its torque vectoring assistants to work their magic, tuck the nose in and fire us onto the next long corner. The ST’s pace is impressive. I suspect it could keep a supercar honest on a tight B-road, while adjustability on the throttle is extraordinary for a front wheel drive car. Koen rifles through the gears without lifting off the throttle, another ST trick that allows you to keep it pinned and flat shift.
It’s good away from the circuit and on the daily commute as well
When not having its neck wrung by a test pilot the ST has greater strength and depth than its predecessor, too. Ford have worked hard on NVH and ride comfort and it shows, the all new “frequency selective dampers” isolate the worst a broken surface can throw at you making it a far more relaxing car to cover distance in, but push the car harder and the dampers tense up to keep the body roll in check and hard wire the connection from road to the driver.
Oh, and it has launch control…
As part of the optional ‘Performance Pack” which features the LSD and a shift light, launch control is accessed through the steering wheel controls, and manages the power and torque delivery to ensure you leave the opposition standing at the lights. It remains activated until you deactivate it, or turn the car off and on again, so you can repeatedly launch to your heart’s content, safe in the knowledge it’s covered by the warranty.
Normally we avoid passenger rides like the plague as they’re often frustrate and rarely reveal much about a car. But given the change in the ST’s engine we were keen to make sure this little hero hadn’t lost its way. Our time with it had more than allayed our fears, as this could be the best Fast Ford in a generation.
Here's what we learned riding in the new Ford Fiesta ST
hovabongZA
Tire Trailblazer
Quite sad that the Fiesta ST will not be coming to South Africa due to our poor fuel quality.
Sorry folks: the new Ford Fiesta ST is NOT coming to SA… - CAR magazine
Sorry folks: the new Ford Fiesta ST is NOT coming to SA… - CAR magazine
Zafiro
Supreme Roadmaster
Don't know when mine is coming. There been delays l've been told.
hovabongZA
Tire Trailblazer
If you are in Europe you’ll get it just be patient. Doesn’t seem like the US will be getting it either for different reasons B segments not being popular that side.
Current Fiesta ST’s will still hold their value well here.
Centurion
Apex Apex Predator
Is that also true for your premium fuel.
If I lived in Florida or California I wouldn't get much joy out of a hatchback. The roads are long, flat, straight and broken up with traffic lights.
hovabongZA
Tire Trailblazer
Yes our premium fuel isn’t so premium. To be honest fuel quality is the least of our problems, petrol prices are sky rocketing.
Wheels24 Exclusive: All you need to know about fuel in SA
Centurion
Apex Apex Predator
Isn't oxygen content in air also a problem for cars at the high altitudes in SA?
hovabongZA
Tire Trailblazer
Yes it is, cars in low altitude cities like Cape Town perform better than high altitude places like Johannesburg . N/A cars suffer the most at high altitude. A E90 335i is faster than a E90 M3 at altitude.
Centurion
Apex Apex Predator
That's not good but underscores why car manufacturers do extensive testing in the country.
Centurion
Apex Apex Predator
This is very sad news for the car community. The Fiesta and Focus(discontinue in 2025) are brilliant cars. They tend to be the cars which people experience "good handling" for the first time. From learner and track days, they have been popular choices. Last but not least, the Fiesta ST is a super fun car and the closest that some owner will get to something like a GT3.
www.autoexpress.co.uk
This makes me want to buy a Nardo grey or Orange Fiesta ST.
Ford Fiesta axed from line-up | Auto Express
Production of the Blue Oval’s iconic supermini will end in June 2023 as Ford confirms Fiesta’s demise
www.autoexpress.co.uk
This makes me want to buy a Nardo grey or Orange Fiesta ST.
Can't share your enthusiasm for them as drivers cars, but the Fiesta is an icon of affordable motoring, it'll be shame for it to go. Ah well, there's always Dacia.
Centurion
Apex Apex Predator
Which FWD cars are more fun to drive for the same money?
Dacia is an intriguing brand and I like the direction of their design. However, they are going up in price really fast! The brand has even stopped selling the Sandero with steelies and non-colour coded bumpers.
I honestly couldn't say, the problem is the FWD bit, or even FWD based. The Fiesta could easily be the best, but the last Focus ST I drove didn't feel that far removed from most modern FWD cars I've driven, and to me that means floaty and disconnected steering with vague placement of the front wheels. I didn't used to mind FWD for hooning about in when the cars themselves were genuinely more compact, but I've not driven a modern one that I'd buy based on how it drives.
With the Fiesta gone the Sandero is going to be about half the price of what Ford's entry level will be, that's just nuts to me, but I guess the market has evolved.
Small affordable cars are dying and its evident now with this announcement by Ford. The change over to EV vehicles mean cars will become larger (due to battery size/capacity/range) and more expensive. Sad days are coming with EV taking over everything. In future no more small and medium hatches, only crossovers, SUVs and some larger saloons will be left.
KiwiRob
Autotechnik Ace
I bought a MINI Cooper SE, it's a small EV, unless you need to drive long distances as a city car it and the Honda E, Fiat 500e are enough for many people.
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Ford
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn,
Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company
sells automobiles and commercial vehicles under the Ford brand, and luxury cars under its Lincoln brand.
Official websites: Ford, Lincoln
Official websites: Ford, Lincoln
