@wheelsaustralia 57
Next year, the Fiesta ST
will be the only Fiesta
you’ll be able to buy
brand-new from an
Australian Ford dealer.
Why? Because with
production of the
new-gen car now
centralised in Europe,
there’s no longer a fat
enough profit margin inlower-grade Fiestas to
enable a business case
on our shores. However
with a $25K-plus price
tag, the Fiesta ST
has enough meat on
the bone to make it
economically worthwhile
for Ford Australia and the
dealerships that will
sell them.the brake-based virtual LSDs used by every other
B-segment hottie, and while it’s optional in Europe,
Wheelsunderstands it’s likely to be standard-issue in
Australia. Helping it out is brake torque vectoring,
which varies braking force between the left and right
wheels to aid turn-in response and mitigate understeer.
MEANWHILE, back to the Route Napoleon. It’s
Ascension Day, a public holiday in France, and
everyone with a fast car or motorcycle seems to have
gravitated toward this road. Little wonder, considering
the exceptional mix of fast sweepers and tight corners
that can be found on the route around the town of
Castellane. Prime hot-hatch territory. We’re in a three-
door ST equipped with the LSD and 18s – the lightest,
most focused configuration – and it feels eager to attack.
The rubbery shifter isn’t especially precise, but the
vague friction point that plagued the old car’s clutch
pedal has been banished for good. Tipping in the
throttle, the first impression is that the engine is far
gutsier than expected of a 1.5-litre, and the swell of
torque from just off idle endows it with outstanding
tractability. In sport mode with the muffler flaps
flipped open, the three-cylinder has a meaty burble –
and surprisingly vocal crackles on the overrun.
And the more revs you give it, the better it becomes.
It’s torque-rich, yes, but it doesn’t mind chasing the
redline either. Keep the needle above 3000rpm and
response is swift up until 6000rpm, where thrust begins
to taper off ahead of a 6200rpm redline.
That straight-line go is matched by a properly tied-
down front end. The Michelin/LSD combo lays power
down beautifully, with just a smidge of torque steer
when at greater steering angles. And while the Quaife
diff is yet to be locked in for Australia, the profound
Forget the
rest, we
get the
best
EQUIPPED WITH THE
TRICKY DIFF AND STICKY
18s, THE SMALLEST
FORD STANDS TALL FOR
DRIVER INVOLVEMENT