Affordable and fast motoring is always on our mind, and we have to admit that the arrival of the new Ford Fiesta ST is one of the most eagerly anticipated events for us. The previous generation that came in 2005 had a very limited life and with only 150 PS at its disposal, it always played second fiddle to the Clio RS versions of the time, the 172 and 182.
But times have changed, and Ford seems to be bang up to date with this one. Even though the Fiesta architecture is just an update, and will probably only last for four more years, that’s a very welcomed four years of hot Ford supermini.
The old Fiesta ST would have been a rival for the current Twingo RS. But the 2013 model has all the right moves. It offers a 1.6-liter turbo engine, just like the new Clio RS. And even though it’s only got 182 PS, compared to the 200 of the French car, power only counts on paper.
Right, that’s enough of an introduction. Time to tell you what’s what in Britain, where the regular Fiesta is a best-seller. In March, the first examples of the 2013 Fiesta ST will arrive at dealerships, caring a price of £16,995.
For that you get the ST1 trim that carries 17-inch alloy wheels, front fog lights, Ford DAB radio and cloth Recaro sport seats. It’s all you need really, but if you want more, you can get pay £17,995 for the Fiesta ST2 that gets LED daytime runners, privacy glass, partial leather for the same seats, the improved DUB Sony Radio, keyless entry and a starter button.
Honestly, only the power button sounds interesting, but you’ll have the final say in what hot Fiesta you want. Also, remember that Ford, in their excitement, have forgotten to mention what the cooler paint options costs.
We’ve saved the best till last: the final confirmation of the official performance figures for a 2013 Ford Fiesta ST, the production car, not the concepts we’ve been teased with. It has a 1.6-liter Ford EcoBoost engine with an all-aluminum block, direct injection, low inertia turbocharging and twin independent variable cam timing.
The engine delivers 182 PS at… we still don’t know how many revs and 290 Nm of torque. Ford says this is enough to sprint from 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 6.9 seconds. Needless to say, that’s in line or better than its competitors. Top speed is 137 mph (220 km/h), which is also in line with its rivals.
Unique suspension and steering tuning and enhanced Torque Vectoring Control (eTVC) combines with a 15mm lower ride-height to deliver significant dynamic improvements.
We’re huge fans of the Clio RS, but even we have to take note that unlike the VW trio (Polo GTI, Fabia vRS and Ibiza Cupra), and the next-gen Clio RS 200 EDC, the Fiesta has a manual gearbox. The only real downside we can see on paper is that the Fiesta ST is only available in Britain as a three-door. But considering that, you’d have to be crazy to buy a MINI Cooper for the same sort of money.
News Source: autoevolution
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