Ford’s Fiesta ST packs a mighty punch

How is it on the road? The same low curb weight that contributes to the ST’s great fuel economy also makes it a blast to drive. It’s hard to get into trouble throwing the ST into tight curves, because you don’t have a lot of mass with which to contend.

The ST weighs 2,742 pounds, which is light by today’s standards. That weight certainly poses no challenge for the turbocharged, 1.6-liter engine, which effortlessly propels the car to 60 mph in under seven seconds. The engine is rated at 197 horsepower and 202 pound-feet of torque.

Early reports from the motoring press listed the European ST’s torque rating at 214 pound-feet. When asked whether the American version had lost 12 pound-feet of twisting ability to more restrictive U.S. emissions controls, Ford Car Communications Manager Dan Mazei said this was not the case. According to Mazei, the United States and European Union use different procedures for determining torque, and there’s no difference in actual output between the U.S. and European versions of the car.

The ST is only available with a six-speed manual transmission, and the car features a sophisticated torque vectoring system that virtually eliminates torque steer.

As part of its “EcoBoost Challenge” traveling road show, Ford recently invited car enthusiasts to come to an autocross course in Berkeley and flog the Fiesta ST, along with its big brother, the Focus ST. Autocrossing is one of the safest forms of racing, because drivers are typically on the track one at a time, racing against the clock instead of each other.

Participants received a crash course in race driving from a veteran autocrosser. He explained that it was best to brake before entering turns, thus shifting the weight of these front-wheel-drive cars forward, so they’d have maximum traction with which to pull themselves through the turns.

Racing the Fiesta ST on an autocross course is an exhilarating, addictive experience. The ST’s excellent grip quickly emboldens the amateur driver. There’s very little body roll or understeer, and the car simply goes where you point it, with minimal drama.

Abruptly get on the gas in the middle of a tight turn, and you’ll discover that you can use the throttle to rotate the car around the turn. This is a capability traditionally associated with rear-wheel-drive cars with big engines. Being able to do it in a tiny, front-wheel-drive Fiesta is something of a revelation.

Comparisons to the bigger, heavier, more powerful Focus ST are inevitable. That model has been on the market since 2012, and it has legions of admirers. When a Ford staffer was asked which car was good for the best track time, he said that after watching many drivers of varying skill levels drive both cars, he felt they were roughly equivalent.

One area where the Focus ST trumps its new sibling is on the straight-aways. Mash the Fiesta ST’s gas pedal into the floor when you’re in second gear, and you’ll be rewarded with eager, delightful acceleration. Do the same thing in a Focus ST, and you’ll experience a much stronger surge of speed that is brutal and alarming.

The Fiesta also gives up a lot of cargo hauling capacity to the Focus. Even with the rear seatback folded forward, the Fiesta simply cannot do a convincing imitation of a box van the way larger hatchbacks can. Rear seat passengers won’t enjoy much in the way of legroom, but they’ll have no problem entering or exiting the ST, because it’s only available as a five-door hatchback.

The situation up front is much better. Although the Fiesta is almost a foot shorter than the Focus, it’s only four inches narrower, and its roof is only 1.2 inches closer to the ground. Consequently, it doesn’t feel like such a small car when you’re sitting in the driver’s seat.

The Fiesta also feels like a bigger car in terms of its solidness. There are no squeaks or rattles, the doors are satisfying to open and close, and you never feel like something’s going to break if you aren’t gentle with it. The ride is firm, but never jarring, and the car refuses to lose its composure when it encounters potholes or freeway expansion joints.

Mazei couldn’t give an exact on-sale date for the ST, but he said it should be in showrooms by the end of the summer.