IN THIS FEATURE Successor to the XR2i Do the dynamics live up to the promise? The real revelation

So do the dynamics live up to the promise? Well, the Ford men claim that a Fiesta ST 150 lapped the company's tough test circuit at Lommel in exactly the same time as the more powerful Focus ST 170. Indeed, the basic Fiesta has one of the best chassis in the business, so the starting point is a good one. But Ford is also claiming that the Fiesta ST will 'protect the novice while rewarding the enthusiast'. Privately, Ford insiders say that safe handling was the absolute priority. And with a powerful front-wheel drive car, that usually means plenty of understeer as you approach the limit, which is one of the first characteristics you notice when pressing on in the Fiesta ST.

2.0-litre engine delivers 150bhp

That's not necessarily a bad thing if you're getting loads of communication through the seat of your trousers, but driving the ST 150 quickly delivers a strangely detached experience. There is a huge amount of grip via those Pirelli P-Zero tyres, and the quick steering rack allows very swift direction changes, but the car's responses feel a bit wooden and uninvolving. And while it feels objectively quick, the engine delivers its performance with a coarse blare that doesn't inspire and becomes unpleasantly intrusive as you punt toward the redline.

As per the Ford brief, though, you'd have to do something spectacularly stupid to get into serious trouble in the Fiesta ST. If you do manage to completely overcook it, there is an electronic stability programme that'll step in to help out once you've run out of ideas. And as a sop to us enthusiast drivers, you can turn the ESP off. Which, frankly, doesn't seem to make much difference. And, oddly given Ford's safety crusade, ESP is an optional extra.

Sports seats are colour co-ordinated with exterior finish

Inside, the Fiesta ST continues to deliver the 'sport' message with massively supportive, deeply bolstered front seats that are colour co-ordinated with the exterior, a polished 'piano' finished console and a thick rimmed steering wheel. Like the exterior, it isn't over the top, and as with all Fiestas, this is a spacious cabin that works well.