@wheelsaustralia 59
impact it makes on performance ensures that it ought
to be. We had a punt in an open-diffed five-door and,
while fast, it lacked the almost effortless traction of the
LSD-equipped three-door, and was slower as a result.
Both cars feel exceptionally alert through the
steering wheel though, with a fat leather-wrapped
rim connected to an ultra-sharp and incredibly direct
steering rack, with a crisp 12:1 ratio. As with its
predecessor there’s virtually zero slack in the steering,
though now, thanks to new geometry, those force-
vectoring rear springs, frequency-selective dampers and
improved suspension bushings, there’s a level of pliancy
and fluidity to the Fiesta ST’s ride and handling that
helps it cope with choppier roads. In other words, it’s
actually comfortable.
And that marks it apart from the Frenchies. With a
chassis that’s more contained and sporty than the 208
GTi yet not as single-mindedly firm as the Clio RS, the
Fiesta ST eats up French roads with ease, displaying
peerless traction and few, if any, compromises.
Its limpet grip on the tarmac is hard to breach, but
with enough inertia, the slacker ESC of the ‘Race’ drive
mode, and a sharp lift of the throttle and flick of the
steering, the Fiesta ST’s rear end goes light and rotates
around. It’s not the flamboyant kind of pirouette that
the Clio RS excels at, but at the same time it feels far
more approachable, progressive and predictable when
driven at the limit. Quite like its big bro, the Focus ST.
It’s hard to discern a dynamic distinction between the
three-door and five-door, in case you were wondering.
With just 21 kilograms separating them and identical
length, track width and wheelbase, the two bodystyles
perform virtually identically.
Problems? Very few. The pedals are still a little
awkwardly spaced for neat heel-toe downshifts, and
there’s no downshift rev-matching – or automatic option
- to counter that. The shift gate itself could also be
tighter, and the lid for the centre console box gets in
the way when selecting second, fourth or sixth.
As with the outgoing car there’s a pair of Recaros
up front, but this time they’re mounted on rails with
plenty of height adjustment, while the steering column
has greater range of movement in both reach and rake.
Getting comfy behind the wheel of a Fiesta ST is no
longer an ergonomic challenge. And while the second-
gen ST was let down by a dated interior that boasted
Nokia aesthetics in the iPhone era, its replacement
suffers no such ailment. The new ST’s box-fresh interior
lifts the sense of cabin quality significantly while also
flaunting Ford’s latest SYNC3 infotainment system on
an 8.0-inch tombstone-style screen (6.5in on low-spec
Euro models) surrounded by much nicer plastics.
The worst part is that we’ll have to wait for it. While
it will have already launched in Europe by the time you
read this, the Fiesta ST isn’t coming to our shores until
the end of Q1, 2019. The final specifications of our cars
have yet to be locked down, too. For bodystyle, it’ll be
a hard decision for Ford Australia to make: to bring in
the more overtly sporty, better-looking and somewhat
selfish three-door, or capitulate to the demands of the
public and give them the one with better everyday
utility – the five-door. With the Fiesta ST being the
sole Fiesta to go on sale in Australia (see sidebar), it’s
unlikely that we’ll receive both. Profit margins must be
maintained, and amortising the cost of an additional
bodystyle will be a challenge for a low-volume car.
And while the excellent Quaife differential should
be a sure-fire inclusion for Australia, it’s less clear
whether we’ll get the 17-inch alloys or the slightly
sharper handling 18-inch items instead. Price is still an
unknown, but a realistic window lies between $27-30K.
With the new Polo GTI lobbing at $30,990 with an auto
transmission as standard, the fast Fiesta will have to be
priced well under that mark.
But whatever the price, be thankful that we’re
getting it at all.Model Ford Fiesta ST three-door
Engine 1497cc 3cyl, dohc, 12v, turbo
Max power 147kW @ 6000rpm
Max torque 290Nm @ 1600-4000rpm
Transmission 6-speed manual
L/W/H 4068/1735/1469mm
Wheelbase 2493mm
Weight 1262kg
0-100km/h 6.5sec (claimed)
Economy 6.0L/100km (EU)
Price $28,000 (estimated)
On sale Q1, 2019