Ford Fiesta ST-2

Ford has called up every ounce of its hot-hatch know-how to deliver a car that does exactly what a hot hatch needs to do – excite. Instant performance, a fantastic exhaust note and great agility make the Fiesta fun in town and on track, while it costs much less than rivals. We had big expectations, and the ST more than meets them.

You’ll have to wait a couple of weeks for the showdown between the Ford Fiesta ST, Peugeot 208 GTi and Renaultsport Clio, but to whet your appetite, we’ve unleashed the Fiesta ST on UK roads for the first time. Can it maintain the five-star rating it earned during our first encounter at Ford’s Belgian proving ground?

From the moment you press the Power button and hear the 179bhp EcoBoost engine pulsate into life, you get an inkling this car could be something special. Flex your right foot on the first straight you find, and you’ll be certain it’s an absolute cracker.

Car makers often say that the low-end torque from turbo engines makes their performance more accessible, but that rarely translates into thrilling power delivery. The ST is an exception, however.

With 290Nm of torque (15Nm more than in the 208 and 50Nm up on the Clio), it surges forwards with barely any lag, even from low revs. There’s also a booming engine note that builds to a rasping crescendo, courtesy of the Sound Symposer – which amplifies engine noise and pipes it directly to the cabin.

With a stiffer rear anti-roll bar, firmer dampers and 15mm lower springs than the normal car, it’s no surprise that we were bounced around a bit on typical B-roads, but the suspension never crashes against the bump stops, either.

The ST is only available with 17-inch wheels, so there’s no need to agonise over trading comfort for style – and this refreshingly simple approach can be found right through the car.

Take the steering – it has a quicker ratio and a shorter rack than the standard car’s, and there are no heavier or lighter steering modes. But you don’t need those when it’s so perfectly judged already, with instant reactions and fantastic feel.

It’s the same story with the brakes (this is the first Fiesta to get rear discs), gearshift and throttle response – all have been subtly tweaked to feel suitably sharper than the standard car’s, right out of the box.

To really appreciate the ST’s brilliance, though, you need to up the speed and increase your commitment. There are two ways to drive the ST fast: the first is smoothly, just on the limit of understeer, letting the torque vectoring system brake the inside wheel and maximise traction.

Alternatively, you can drive it how the engineers intended: take it by the scruff of the neck and fling it around like a hooligan. The car’s agility shines through when you do that, with quick direction changes requiring just a flick of the wrists. And you can trim your line and remove understeer with short lifts off the throttle in mid-corner.

The only other modern hot hatch that offers this amount of adjustability is the outgoing Renaultsport Clio, although the Renault is more of a punishing proposition to use every day.

The Fiesta is remarkable value, too. Starting at just £16,995 (or £17,995 for the ST-2 car driven here), it undercuts its key rivals by £2,000, and still comes with plenty of standard equipment.