ONE of the motoring world’s most simple pleasures is barrelling down a tricky stretch of road in a car that’s fizzing with feel, feedback and involvement. It’s why I’ve always preferred hot hatchbacks to any other type of car - they’re simple, affordable and blindingly quick point-to-point, meaning they have the ability of slaying cars worth three times as much on roads which dominate our countryside.
Would you really want to be behind the wheel of a low-slung supercar that’s worth more than your house on a twisty, narrow B-road? I’d be a nervous wreck, constantly worrying about ripping off a costly carbon fibre splitter or the closeness of oncoming traffic. That’s where hot hatches - which belie their humble origins and turn into crazed, corner-loving terriers at the first glimpse of a B-road - come into the equation and show just why they’re loved by the UK market.
Cars of today are very different to what they were a decade or so ago. We were blessed with a series of naturally aspirated, manual Clios and Civic Type Rs which were affordable to most people, but now a German-led power battle has ensued and simple cars are a thing of the past. Twin-clutch gearboxes, 350bhp and sub-four-second sprints to 60mph are commonplace - unthinkable a handful of years ago and once reserved for cars with six-figure price tags.
Ford Performance, the sporty arm of the famous manufacturer renowned for hot hatches, has given us something distinctly modern in the new £22,000 Fiesta ST as it’s powered by a three-cylinder, 1.5-litre turbocharged engine. It’s a clever one, too, and can run on just two of its three to boost economy when it’s cruising. However, they’ve also managed to instil a traditional feel in how it drives, and it’s an absolute revelation.
Now in its eighth generation, the Fiesta has always been a perfect little car to benefit from beefed-up arches, more power and stiffer suspension and after the previous model’s undeniable success, the new version has a lot to live up to in a market dominated by smaller hatches such as Peugeot Sport’s brilliant 208 GTI. The ST has all the usual go-faster addenda: twin-exit exhaust pipes, look-at-me badging, deeper grilles and bigger wheels which hide meatier brakes. It looks great - particularly from the front - and now has a much-improved interior which features a pair of rib-clasping Recaro seats, a thick-rimmed steering wheel and a clever touchscreen infotainment system.
Get settled, prod the starter button and your ears pick up the ST’s distinctive three-cylinder sound which is loud, somewhat rough but full of sporting intent. The manual gearbox immediately shines - Ford know how to make transmissions and its six-speeder is a peach. The steering weight is heavy at low speeds, perhaps feeling a tad on the artificial side at times when you’re manoeuvring, but it comes into its own when you make quicker progress.
What’s apparent when you throw it into a corner is the beautifully judged partnership between the steering and how the car actually handles; it’s alert to your response and the pin-sharp front end dives in keenly, conveying messages back through the wheel to the driver. It’s a grin-inducing experience.
The three-cylinder engine, which produces 197bhp, is a great match for the Fiesta as it’s more than powerful enough for its dinky dimensions. Zero to 60mph takes 6.5 seconds and the ST has a 208 GTI-matching 144mph top speed, although Ford’s insistence on using ‘sound generation’, which effectively means some of the noise is fake, can be slightly irritating in the top reaches of the rev range. As with most three-cylinder units, it’s strong from low revs and maintains that performance in its mid-range, although it can feel breathless if you hold on to the limiter, making the last 1,000rpm largely pointless as its best work has been delivered earlier on.
There are three driving modes to plump for - Normal, Sport and Track - which sees each up the ante with regards to throttle response, damping and stability control. Normal, as you’d expect, is its default and performs well in all areas, although the inner child in you soon opts for the racier two options. In truth there’s little difference between Sport and Track; you’ll immediately notice the engine being keener to push on and the steering’s weight become heavier, but the only stand-out to separate the two is the traction control being switched off in Track as the throttle response is sharp in both guises.
The ride can feel on the harsh side on motorway commutes as its suspension is stiff, but it comes into its own when you’re on a challenging road. It excels in smoothening out undulations at speed, never failing to impress no matter how much you appear to be asking too much of it, helped in part by its limited-slip differential which keeps the ST true to its line.
The brakes, despite not being huge, have tremendous stopping power but most impressive about them is how they act through the pedal and your command. The travel is judged perfectly and there’s no confidence-sapping sponginess which ultimately builds your trust in the car’s ability. You lean on them later, knowing fully that they’re up to the job.
Its tenacity, its pace and its phenomenal handling make it a better car than its main rival. Its character shines and despite its clever, ultra-modern engine, you feel like you’re driving a hot hatch from what I’d call the golden era which gave us innumerable hot Clios. That’s the biggest compliment you can pay the new Fiesta ST: it’s full of new technology but the way it goes about its business is refreshing as it invokes memories of special cars from days gone by - it possesses a lot of the characteristics they have.
It’s brilliant, a real driver pleaser, which is not only quick but brimming with that ingenious hot hatch magic.
