NEVER mind the suggestion that bottles of alcohol should carry health warnings – there are cars that ought to be plastered with them.
On the face of it, Ford’s Fiesta ST-3 with its bodystyling, lowered suspension and roof-top spoiler looks for all the world like a warm hatch.
You know the sort of thing, a bit of prettying around the exterior and a tweak on the upholstery, but underneath a standard hatchback.
Forget that. The ST-3 is the hottest of hot hatches – a full-on sports car that just happens to bear more than a passing resemblance to Britain’s most popular car.
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In chilli pepper terms, this hot hatch, the fastest-ever production Fiesta, is a proper fire-breathing red naga.
Drop into the Recaro seat and you instantly feel as if you have been superglued in place.
Push the starter button and the 182 horsepower, 1.6-litre EcoBoost petrol engine burbles into life with more than a hint of the 0-62mph in 6.9 seconds acceleration and its potential 139mph top speed.
To keep the power potential uppermost in your mind, Ford has fitted a ‘Sound Symposer’ that channels the engine roar into the cabin. This growling reminder is largely unnecessary, because the sports suspension is so hard that you quickly feel as if you are on a bum-numbing fairground ride.
On billiard table-smooth road surfaces the six-speed manual transmission ST-3 is about as much fun as you can get on four wheels. New software controls the Fiesta’s balance in response to steering inputs under acceleration and braking and the electronic stability control system keeps everything firmly under control.
But in the less-than-perfect reality that is the modern, pot-holed road network, travelling long distances in the ST-3 can prove wearing.
Despite this, the car is superbly well equipped, boasting upmarket features from satellite navigation and Bluetooth phone link to cruise control. A voice-activated in-car connectivity system directly connects driver or passengers to local emergency service operators in the event of an accident.
Externally, the Fiesta ST’s headlight design incorporates LED day-time running lamp technology and a full ST body kit and the cabin features carbon fibre dashboard inserts, alloy-metal pedals and gearshifter, and an ST steering wheel.
And if the ST-3 just appears too hot for you, then you could always take a look at the much less fierce new Fiesta Zetec-S, which comes with plenty of Tabasco-style pep in an altogether more comfortable package.
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