The New Fiesta ST is an impressive bit of kit. There are plenty of technology at work under the hood to support you while go that little bit faster, all while saving more fuel. Inside the cabin of this hot hatch, you’ll find great features that set the ST apart from the rest.
Taking a look at the engine, the Fiesta ST has four cylinder 1.6L turbo charged engine which develops 134KW and 240Nm of torque while retaining economy figures of 6.2L/100km. This is delivered to the front wheels via a six speed manual transmission.
Eco Boost is the recipe of technologies involved in producing these impressive figures, they aren’t exclusive to Ford but it’s they way they’ve engineered and calibrated it in their vehicles is what ford says makes their system different. The system can “overboost” which can up the power output to 147KW and 290Nm of torque for up to 20 seconds.
The Ford Fiesta ST has a new torque vectoring system called eTVC (electronic torque vectoring control) which is different from the improved DSC system that is also in the ST. eTVC is a system which helps reduce understeer and improve handling. It works by monitoring various aspects of the car such as steering input angle, G force and wheel speed, when the system detects understeer it can apply breaking to the inner wheel to the corner which helps more torque go to the outter wheel and turn the vehicle. The DSC system has been reworked for the Fiesta ST, offering you three modes, normal, sport and off. When the DSC system is off the eTVC system still works.
Other mechanic changes unique to the Fiesta ST are rear disc breaks, a first for the Fiesta, increased roll-stiffness, adjusted front, rear spring and damper settings as well as the chassis sitting 15mm lower. These changes improve handling and create a sportier a feel. Ford carefully developed these changes find the balance between a sporty feel but also retaining road comfort.
Inside the cabin the changes don’t stop, with the ST you receive a fully kitted out Ford, with upgraded Sync, Recaro seats, keyless go and other design touches unique to the ST. SYNC hasn’t changed much in the Fiesta ST, we are still greeted by a screen that doesn’t quite seem large enough and we have the upgraded Sony branded system, which in my opinion looks a bit cluttered but the sound quality out weights this.
The system has many features you expect from a modern car such as voice recognition, Bluetooth streaming USB and aux, these features can be controlled through well laid out steering wheel controls. The SYNC system also includes the emergency assist system which calls “000” in the event of a crash automatically speaks to the operator in the SYNC voice telling your GPS position and information such as if the airbags have been deployed and if fuel cut-off has been activated. Also part of interior features is MyKey, MyKey allows you to program a key which can limit top speed, prevention of deactivation of DSC, audio level and audio warnings of predetermined speed limits. At the moment the system requires more time to mature but should become a must have option for younger drives as the system is rolled out over Ford’s fleet.
Yesterday I spent with the Fiesta and experienced many of it’s strengths, it has a great nimble and sport feel and the SYNC system continues to mature. With a great blend of technology and performance It’s everything a small hot hatch should be. Priced competitively at $25,990 the Fiesta has placed it’s self strongly in the market.
