Ford confirms new hot hatch to launch in Australia early next year.
Ford has confirmed availability and pricing for the new Fiesta ST hot hatch, set to launch Q1 2020 in Australia and priced from $31,990 plus on-road costs.
The popular Fiesta ST has been on sale since 2013 locally, and the new-gen model due next year brings significant changes. Namely, it will gain two doors and drop one cylinder, with a bevy of mechanical and engineering enhancements underneath.
Australia is late to receive the new Fiesta ST which is already on sale in Europe, but Ford claims there is ‘significant interest’ for the newest Ford Performance vehicle and the local arm has equipped the model, which will land in only one spec, with the best equipment available.
That includes the Performance Pack, with a Quaife limited-slip differential, launch control and unique force vectoring springs developed for the twist-beam rear-end suspension setup. Further standard equipment includes 18-inch alloy wheels with 205/40 Michelin Pilot Super Sport rubber, LED headlights, Recaro sports seats with segment-unique angle and tilt adjustment, ST sports steering wheel, 4.2-inch Ford Performance digital dash screen, 8.0-inch infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, B&O PLAY 10-speaker audio with sub-woofer and a reversing camera.
But on to the fun stuff.
Upfront is Ford Performance’s first three-pot engine, a 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol engine producing 147kW of power at 6000rpm and 290Nm of torque from 1600-4000rpm. It’s mated exclusively to a six-speed manual transmission driving the front wheels through a Quaife LSD.
The dedicated launch control system included in Australian-spec vehicles brings a unique graphic overlay to the dash. Ford describes the system in use:
“Holding the throttle fully open will instruct the system to build engine rpm and automatically hold at the rev limit – filling an on-screen gauge that indicates when the car is prepared for launch.
“Releasing the clutch fully then enables an optimised standing start with ESC, traction control, Torque Vectoring Control and Torque Steer Compensation systems managing power and torque delivery.”
The ESC is also switchable, from wide-slip mode with limited intervention to full system de-activation. Three driving modes – Normal, Sport and Track, change engine mapping, traction control, ESC, active exhaust valve position and power electric steering settings to deliver different response and feel.
While the new Fiesta ST continues to use a torsion-beam rear over multi-link setup, Ford claims the system is 10kg lighter and its Ford-patented directionally-wound springs “apply vectoring forces to the rear suspension and enables cornering forces to travel directly into the spring, for increased lateral stiffness.” It also uses Tenneco twin-tube front and mono-tube rear dampers with RC1 valves, as seen in the latest Focus RS.
If it all sounds like the hot hatch you’ve been waiting for, unfortunately, you could be waiting a little longer. Ford Australia boss Kay Hart says there is already considerable interest for the incoming five-door hatch.
“The previous Fiesta ST was highly regarded, and we’ve had considerable interest from enthusiasts on the details of the new model’s arrival,” Hart said.
“We’re pleased to confirm the most comprehensively equipped, capable and technology-laden Fiesta ST as the latest model to add to our local Ford Performance portfolio – the first five-door for Australia and New Zealand.”
Available early next year, the Fiesta ST will come in seven different colours; Performance Blue, Frozen White, Magnetic, Moondust Silver, Race Red, Shadow Black and Silver Foxi. Options are prestige paint and a panoramic sunroof.
Ford Performance Fiesta ST pricing Australia:
Fiesta ST five-door – $31,990
Ford Performance Fiesta ST options pricing:
Prestige Paint – $650
Panoramic sunroof – $2500
Read our Ford Fiesta ST first drive review:
