Among the mainstream manufacturers who build small hot hatchbacks, there has been a recent tendency to tone them down quite considerably. Both the Clio Renaultsport 200 Turbo EDC and the Peugeot 208 GTi are considerably softer and fluffier than their ancestors, despite also being quite a bit quicker.So where is a fan of this kind of car to go if he or she wants a more uncompromising, more in-your-face driving experience than the French manufacturers offer? Well, there's always MINI, though that's a bit of a left-field choice, and in any case MINIs ain't cheap.Or there's Ford, which earlier this year brought out the latest Fiesta ST. It's built for speed, not comfort, and its suspension is stiff enough to purse the lips of a disapproving aunt, which may be exactly what you want.Previous Fiesta STs have been noticeably behind the opposition in terms of power output, and on paper this one is too. The quoted maximum figure is 180bhp, well south of what the Clio and the 208 offer.But there's an overboost facility in the 1.6-litre EcoBoost turbo petrol engine. It comes into play when you floor the throttle, raising the output to 197bhp for fifteen seconds. There won't be many occasions when you can keep your foot planted for fifteen seconds, but if you need more you can just back off briefly, whereupon the system will reset itself and give you another fifteen seconds. And so on.That said, on an interestingly twisty road, the sort of thing I devoted a considerable proportion of this test to driving on, you may not be able to use full throttle very often. That would explain why I don't think the Ford feels as quick as the Peugeot or the Renault, even though the rest of its character suggests that it should be.That character is defined by the suspension set-up, which as suggested earlier is pretty firm, especially at the rear. However, as with many German high-performance cars (and we should never forget that the ST is optimised for use on German roads), it's underdamped at the front for UK use. One result of this is that, driven normally on British tarmac, the front end is bouncy while the rear is harsh.Another is that the car's cornering ability is ultimately limited by understeer as the front starts to wobble uncertainly. In dry conditions this isn't a problem until you're on a race track, where it can be quickly and amusingly sorted by backing off the throttle and thereby kicking the tail out. In the wet it's apparent on the public highway, leading to the possibility of torque steer (something Ford seems to have a bit of a problem with these days), understeer and the near-certainty of the traction control system having to intervene.The underdamping isn't apparent at very low speeds, of course, and that's one reason why the ST is surprisingly comfortable in town - there is nothing there to spoil the fact that the car responds extremely well to movements of the steering wheel. The clutch, too, is incredibly easy to use by any standard, which is a bonus in all driving conditions, and the shift quality in the six-speed close-ratio manual gearbox is excellent. I never once beat the synchromesh, which is all too easy to do in some of the ST's rivals.The ST is very good, and a lot of fun, but I prefer being able to work with a car rather than having to fight against it, and for that reason it's not my favourite hot hatch. If you think the things I've criticised make it "engaging" or "involving", it will probably be yours.It has certainly proved popular. Ford expressed surprise a couple of months ago (whether genuinely or not I'm not sure) at how many people wanted to buy the ST, and said it was having to boost production to keep up. Take-up for the higher-spec ST2 model was reported as being nowhere near the 80% originally predicted, but that's still the car that the majority of customers are interested in.It costs £17,995, or £1000 more than the regular ST. For that you get part-leather upholstery, privacy glass, a starter button, LED daytime running lights and a Sony radio. Both versions come as standard with very supportive Recaro seats, manual air-conditioning, front foglights, DAB digital radio and Ford's SYNC connectivity system, which offers emergency assistance contact if you've created a Bluetooth connection between it and your phone. Engine 1596cc, 4 cylinders Power 180bhp (but see text) Transmission 6-speed manual Fuel/CO2 47.9mpg / 138g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 6.9 seconds Top speed 139mph Price £17,995 Details correct at publication date
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