Ford Fiesta från 2017

Ford breddar sitt modellprogram med flera designversioner av först och främst modellerna Fiesta och Focus. Active blir en Sverigefavorit – även i lilla Fiesta. För bakom ratten är Fiesta en riktigt stor bil.

Ford’s Fiesta ST has grown up, but it’s still a vibrant, exhilarating hot hatch to drive

The new Ford Fiesta ST combines all that was good about the outgoing ST200 with a much better interior and a suprisingly brilliant new engine. If you think the exterior has made the new version perhaps a touch less characterful, don’t worry – from the driver’s seat, it has as big a personality as ever. Read on for our review of the regular Ford Fiesta ST without the Performance Pack The above impressions of the Ford Fiesta ST aren’t based on the standard car. In fact, Ford sent us a higher-spec model with the £850 Performance Pack and this doesn’t drive in quite the same way as the feisty Fezza with no options boxes ticked. We have had a chance to sample the ST in both guises, though – back-to-back on the same roads in the mountains above Nice in France. And there’s a massive difference in the fun factor, make no mistake. The Performance Pack comprises a trio of go-faster additions: a Quaife limited-slip differential on the front axle, a launch control system to torture the clutch and front tyres (track use only, kids…) and shift lights to tell you when you’re getting close to the redline in case you’ve got the stereo turned up too loud. But being perfectly honest, we only need a third of this combo to make the ST into the car our testers have fallen so deeply in love with. It’s that slippy diff, and how the Fiesta’s handling responds to it. When directly compared two things stuck out – first, the fact that the diff is extremely smooth in how it measures out its torque, far more so than that on a Corsa VXR’s Performance Pack, for example. This helps prevent the feeling that the steering wheel is constantly at odds with your intended course, tugging either way insistently. It’s a problem inherent in many front-drive hatchbacks, but Ford’s engineers have pulled off some magic here. There’s a slight nibble at the ‘wheel when you plant the throttle in a straight line, but if you’ve ever driven anything else of this ilk you’ll be amazed how nicely this ST’s set up. And mid bend you’ve got huge traction, of course, the diff doing the hard work and sending torque to either wheel according to the under-tyre adhesion. Driven without the LSD you’ll notice immediately it isn’t as adjustable on the throttle because the front end won’t bite in quite the same way, instead washing frustratingly wide. You can still get that twist-beam rear end to cock a wheel, but it’s more difficult and requires quite a lot more commitment. That brings us onto the next frustration with the cheapest STs – you’ll work those brakes incredibly hard because the traction and stability control have a lot more to do to keep that 1.5 three-pot’s performance under control. The diff mitigates this, though we still managed to get them rather ‘warm’ on both cars during our test. Rude not to, right? We could take or leave the shift lights and launch control, though. They both do things we’re prefer to be doing ourselves – a nailed upshift is a joy in the ST, with the associated pops and bangs from astern, and there’s a lot more skill involved in the optimum launch from a standstill unaided. Besides, launch control on a manual car offends this tester’s mechanical sensibilities. That poor transmission! By Gareth Evans

With a strong driving experience and trendy SUV styling, the Fiesta Active has a lot to recommend it – but the standard car is cheaper

Vad nytt? Motor, bakaxel och design. För vem? Alla, men främst för den som vill ha Porsche-känsla i småbilsklassen.