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It's getting crowded in the small, affordable hot hatch segment
we've driven a lot of them
and today, we have the Fiesta ST
They seem to all have the same problem
they don't really love to rev a lot
and because of that it doesn't feel like they have 200BHP
and the sound, both inside and outside, is disappointing
we haven't driven one yet that had a decent sound from the exhaust
and I hope that will be different this time
the sound in here is much better
I finally hear at how much rpm's the engine is
and that means the experience is a lot more intense
it is fitted with a 'soundbox' like the one Peugeot uses
when you rev the engine, it produces kind of a artificial growl
but it does sound good
it means that I want to rev this engine
and use every horse under the bonnet
as I said, the usual recipe is a 1.6 turbo with around 200 BHP
this one 'only' has 182 BHP
but there is a 15 second overboost on the turbo
which pushes it to 200 BHP and 290 Nm
especially the torque is quite a bit higher than the competition
they all have around 250 Nm
and the difference is noticable
So I think it is faster than the competition
I think we should show you a video of the Fiesta ST VS the Peugeot 208 GTi
when you come across some corners
it has a lot more steering feel than the competition as well
I think this is one of the best electronic power steering systems yet
there is one drawback though
it has kind of a 'sport button'
when you are driving and shifting gears
you always hit this center console
so you need to 'push this button' and lift it up
and now you have all the space you need
I think they should've noticed this when they were building this ST
but it is a small error
We always film these kinds of cars on this road
especially the Corsa OPC really convinced on this road
It was really glued to the road
and this one doesn't really give in
it has the torque vectoring system from Ford
and it's kind of an electronic limited-slip diff
but it works properly
you don't feel like it's slowing you down like in the Golf VI GTI
but more like it's correcting lightly a few times
which means you can take a corner at a higher speed
it works really well
the ESP can also be switched into sport mode
then, it allows quite a bit of sliding
and only when it gets out of control, it starts correcting
It's a very clever system
it doesn't cut the power altogether
but it deactivates the ignition for a brief moment
so it has a bit less power but immediately gets the grip back
After driving the Fiesta ST for the past week
I have to say it has become my favorite small hot hatch
it gives me one thing that the others didn't
even the Corsa OPC
even though it was so good
which is driving pleasure
I really want to throw this car into a corner and the car feels like it wants that too
and that is why this car is so much fun
I get in with a smile every time
and when you want a Clio RS or a 208 GTi
because you had an old RenaultSport or a 205 GTi
I would not be to prejudiced and look at this Ford
because I think it's fantastic
Peugeot may say they have build the new 205 GTi with their 208 GTi
But I think Ford has built it with this Fiesta ST