From the December 2013 issue of Car and Driver
Since its reintroduction to the American market a few years ago, the Ford Fiesta has been less of the party-on-wheels that its name promises and more of an office budget meeting. Sensible? Absolutely. Fun? Not exactly. Well, break out the tequila, because, with the ST variant of its Mexico-built, jalapeño-sized hatch, Ford has finally produced a Fiesta worthy of its name.
The transformation from boring-office Fiesta to Vegas-weekend Fiesta starts where any hot-rodding should—with the powertrain. Ford dropped a 197-hp, 1.6-liter turbocharged inline-four mated to a six-speed manual in the little five-door. It’s basically the same engine that’s in the Escape and Fusion but tweaked for a bit more power.
To boost midrange power in gears three through six, the 1.6 will enter overboost between 2500 and 4000 rpm where, for up to 20 seconds at a time, the turbo produces 21.0 psi versus the standard 18.9. To further muddle the power figures, the 1.6 only makes full power when drinking high octane. The ST will run on regular, just don’t expect full performance. To ensure our testing got the most out of this Fiesta, we pumped 93 octane and got 25 mpg, below the EPA’s city and highway estimates of 26 and 35 mpg.
At nearly one inch lower than a stock Fiesta and fitted with sportier-looking fascias, the ST looks ready to party. Chassis engineers fitted slightly changed front suspension knuckles, a quicker steering rack, a reworked ST-only rear torsion beam, as well as firmer springs and disc brakes in the rear. The ride is firm but there’s some give, so it’s not quite like riding a rock polisher. The young buyers this car aims to capture should love every quick jounce and abrupt rebound as much as they’ll appreciate the suckerfish front end.
The theme continues inside with optional two-tone Recaro seats that, as fitted here, run $1995. They’re worth every penny. Deep thigh bolsters eliminate every smidgen of sliding.
Starting at $22,195, the ST is priced right on top of the Mini Cooper S and Fiat 500 Abarth. But with two extra doors, it offers more practicality than either of those three-doors. A 7.0-second zero-to-60-mph dash and a quarter-mile of 15.2 seconds at 93 mph slots the ST just ahead of the Fiat and just behind the Mini. The 60-mph trot would be quicker if it didn’t require two shifts. Fortunately, this shifter is one of the best out there. The gates are as well defined as an inmate’s schedule, and the frequent throws you have to make aren’t contested.
It’s noteworthy that the Fiesta outperforms big-brother Focus ST in 70-to-zero braking by five feet and averages 0.92 g on the skidpad, just shy of the Focus’s 0.93. Both performance figures are attributable to the Fiesta’s feathery 2745-pound curb weight and sticky Bridgestone rubber. The steering and brake feel are well above average for the class.
Maximizing fun in the Fiesta is a game of inertia. Scrub too much speed before an apex and the ST feels like it’s sitting still. Building up to and finding the absolute limit includes trail-braking yaw and some patient trial and error with the steering wheel. But it’s the most entertaining 197-hp fiesta you’ll ever attend. Under full throttle, a little bit of torque-steer pokes through despite the front brakes acting as a pseudo limited-slip differential. Brave and talented partiers will navigate fast sweepers with the help of progressive lift-throttle oversteer, which rotates the rear axle as softly as a Florida shuffleboarder sending the biscuit.
As in so many other contemporary performance cars, a membrane Ford calls a “sound symposer” amplifies the engine’s voice. However, the effect here is totally natural, seemingly the work of a free-flowing intake and exhaust. Unfortunately, the ST also joins a growing group of cars with an indicated redline above the fuel cutoff (here at 6700 and 6400 rpm, respectively). In an automatic, this wouldn’t merit a mention, but this is a manual and the tachometer is a critical gauge. We’re not sure what Ford was thinking here, because the rest of this car is about as much fun as you can have for $25,000 without heading south for a real Mexican fiesta.
Specifications
K.C. Colwell is Car and Driver's executive editor, who covers new cars and technology with a keen eye for automotive nonsense and with what he considers to be great car sense, which is a humblebrag. On his first day at C/D in 2004, he was given the keys to a Porsche 911 by someone who didn't even know if he had a driver's license. He also is one of the drivers who set fast laps at C/D's annual Lightning Lap track test.
