Fiesta ST punches above its weight

Big claims indeed, but when you realise that this hot Fiesta was developed by Ford Team RS, the European arm of Ford Motor Company’s global performance vehicle group, and is not just ‘add a few trim parts’ car then perhaps it is time to take this Fiesta seriously. The serious part comes courtesy of a very lively 1.6 litre EcoBoost petrol engine that produces 134 kW of power and 240 Nm of torque, and punches above its weight when it comes to on the road tested performance.

The 0-100 km/h sprint was taken care of in a very quick 7.43 seconds, the quarter mile completed in 15.33 seconds at 152.05 km/h, the longer one kilometre run done in 27.71 seconds at 190.98 km/h. The top speed came in at a whisker under 230 km/h at 228.68 km/h.

The petrolheads will get right off the bat what these numbers might mean. For others these could just be numbers, and put in context mean the Fiesta ST is quick enough to see off the more powerful Opel Corsa OPC and run almost neck and neck – and ahead in some areas – with the better out the blocks DSG driven VW Polo GTI.

Unfortunately a communications error of some sorts ensured we were not put on the list for a test of Peugeot’s just launched 208 GTI, so we couldn’t throw this car into the mix. And Renault’s Clio RS hasn’t quite reached our shores yet either so perhaps we will have a French shoot-out with these particular hot hatches in the near future.

To drive home the point of just the how quick this Fiesta ST is it just, and I mean just, loses out to its substantially more powerful and expensive big brother the Focus ST.

I would almost go so far as to say that if the Fiesta ST came in five-door and not three-door configuration, I would choose it over the Focus ST.

This is no add on bits and pieces Fiesta. Ford Team RS tuned the powertrain, suspension, steering and brakes for optimised driving dynamics and introduced features only previously found in larger performance cars – including enhanced Torque Vectoring Control (eTVC) and three-mode Electronic Stability Control (ESC), six-speed manual transmission and rear disc brakes.

This ensures that the firm little car feels alive and ready for anything on the road with the Enhanced Torque Vectoring Control (eTVC) applying brake force to the inside front wheel when cornering to improve road holding and reduce understeer without affecting speed.

And new software controls the Fiesta ST’s balance in response to steering inputs under acceleration and braking – and Electronic Stability Control (ESC) offers full system intervention, wide-slip mode with limited intervention, and full ESC de-activation.

Like other Fiesta models the ST offers substantial safety features. An Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD). Hill Launch Assist helps prevent the vehicle from rolling backwards after you have come to a stop on a slope or an incline. Safety is also enhanced with seven airbags (dual front, side, curtain airbags and driver knee airbag), earning the Fiesta ST a five-star Euro-NCAP safety rating.

Inside there is not much to set the ST apart from the rest with alloy-metal pedals and gear shifter and an ST steering wheel being left to do the job.

Where the Fiesta ST makes the decision to pick it above the others (for now, we wait for the Frenchies) is because of its price of R254 500.

It is substantially cheaper than all the other hot hatches in its segment and it is dynamically just as good, if not better.