Here's another example of tons of fun in a tiny package. Ford's Team RS in Europe helped its homegrown SVT division to build the 197-hp pocket rocket in much the same vein as the awe-some Focus ST. They honed its footwork substantially with a modified front knuckle, quicker steering ratio, sharpened Torque Vectoring Control, stiffer dampers and springs, and a lowered ride height. They gave it a meaner look, model-specific 17-inch alloys, and Recaro buckets. With 177 of the total 202 lb-ft of torque made by the 1.6-liter Ecoboost inline-four available at just 1600 rpm, the front-wheel drive Fiesta ST is fun incarnate from the get-go.
Randy's Take
On the engine: It's a small, wide, front-wheel drive and the power is reasonable. Fairly -- it's got good mid-range. It'll rev a little bit. It's not a real revvy engine. Once it gets over 6000 it gets kind of lazy, and once it's over 6500, I'm kind of waiting for the redline.
On the grip: This car to the seat of my pants it didn't feel like it generated the kind of grip that the supercars do. And I sort of blame the tires, but we just looked at them and they're Potenzas -- Bridgestone Potenzas with the 140 treadwear rating sounds pretty aggressive. But it felt like there was a lot of squirm, like it was a tire that would benefit from being shaved. And that the car would definitely benefit from a tire with more grip I think.
On the steering: The steering is light. It doesn't have a ton of feel and it definitely doesn't build feel as you turn, but it's accurate enough to be predictable every lap. I had a really good feeling of being able to put the car exactly where I wanted and that I know where it's going to be by the end of the corner.
Overall: It was really easy to drive fast, a very rewarding and fun car. It reminded me of some of the front-drive cars that I grew up with only better. It's better than the Focus ST.
