Fiesta ST is fabulous fun

This looks rather sporty, doesn't it.

Not that the Fiesta is exactly cheap or devoid of modern cartech. On the contrary, it has lots of fancies including understeer-defeating Torque Vectoring Control, spiced up suspension, pin-sharp steering and really good brakes.

These features are wrapped around an enthusiastic 1.6-litre turbo-charged engine that kicks out a far from shabby 132kW and 250Nm which makes it powerful enough to do 0-100km/h in less than seven seconds - which helps to explain why it is such a great little fun car.

Well behaved, but...

Nice lines, from the black mesh grille to the sculpted derriere.

It is a well-behaved every day car but at the same time a sporty little number that will provide ample smiles on track days.... The sort of car that brings out the naughty little boy in all of us and makes the longer, snaking road much more attractive than the shorter straight route.

The engine is fast and responsive, the six-speed manual shift is short and positive and in spite of the electro-assisted steering, it is really sharp, quick and accurate through the corners and it all of comes together as soon as you prod the neatly drilled metal accelerator pedal.

There it goes... taking our tame motoring editor back to the days when driving was a barrel of fun.

The feedback from the Fiesta is as good if not better than cars double its price - and quite frankly, it's also a helluva lot more fun than most other cars on the road. I have always had a soft spot for cars with a growling exhaust and to add to the fun the Fiesta produces an aural exhaust symphony that is pure delight.

Fun 'n frugal

Surprisingly enough it is also quite a frugal Ford, even though it has such a playful nature, although I reckon it's going to take a lot of self-discipline to hold the horses back long and often enough to get to Ford's claimed 5.9-litres/100 km.

Fun to drive - and not short on the fun features either.

click to enlarge

In the looks and make-up department the boy-racer doesn't disappoint either, decked out as it is with sporty kit such as snazzy alloys, Recaro body-hugging seats, leather steering wheel and ST badging.

It is the season of hot hatches, with quite a few coming to the market with a price-tag of R300,000 and less and the Fiesta joins the playground brawl against the likes of the Citroen DS3 THP 155 Sport, Polo GTi, Mini Cooper S, Hyundai Veloster, Fiat 500 1.4T, Opel Carsa OPC and the pretty Toyota 86 - and beats them all with a price tag of just R254,500.

However, price aside, as a pretty, zippy fun to drive hatch, the Fiesta ST scores the highest points in my book because it takes me back to the days when driving was a barrel of fun and you didn't have to take out a second bond on your house to own one.

Ford Fiesta ST 2013 review - CarBuyer

Ford Fiesta ST First Drive - /CHRIS HARRIS ON CARS

2013 Ford Fiesta ST review - What Car?