Ford bolts a turbo on a Fiesta and turns it into a Euro-hatch killer. Let's hope it makes its way here!

For many years now, the Volkswagen Golf GTI and the Mini Cooper JCW have dominated the hot hatch segment. Being such a lucrative market, it’s no surprise that many manufacturers have decided to jump onto the bandwagon. The latest car to enter this competitive market is the Ford Fiesta ST.

The exterior of the Fiesta ST has several alterations that include a large grille (that may have been inspired by a certain British Marque) that dominates the front fascia, a new front splitter, and a rear fascia shaped to resemble a rear diffuser. To further distinguish the ST from the normal Fiesta, the ST has a dual exhaust outlets, a new rear wing and tricked out 17 inch alloy wheels. Of course, a hot hatch is meant to scream in your face, and what better way to do it then to paint it in a bright Orange specifically made for the car?

With such a ‘spicy’ exterior, Ford had to really pull out the big guns to piece together an interior that matched the exterior. They did so by putting a pair of Recaros in the front and various ST trim in the interior. To make the cabin a more pleasant place to be in, Ford has lifted a few pieces of equipment off the Fiesta’s bigger brother; the Fiesta ST has a sound symposer that enhances aural pleasure by piping sound directly into the cabin.

Power comes from a 1.6-liter EcoBoost four cylinder developing 197 bhp that is mated only to a six speed manual \'box (save the manuals! - ed.). To make the car less of a handful, Ford has fitted it with larger brakes, an electronically controlled brake-based torque-vectoring setup and a three-mode stability-control system.

The new Ford Fiesta ST looks really mean, and from all the specifications, it looks to be decent contender in the hot hatch category. Is the Ford Fiesta ST going to be a cheap way of having fun in a car? It looks like it would be, although COE prices and road taxes may kill the deal for some.