Road test review: Ford Fiesta ST vs Volkswagen Polo GTI

Wednesday, 4 December 2019

It jumps, it skids, it cocks a rear wheel: see the Ford Fiesta ST loose on the track.

While the Volkswagen Polo had more than enough merit to grab our overall Top Car from last year, the later release the same year of a properly hot GTI version pushed it well over the top. Because it was just freakin' awesome.

Easily our favourite incarnation of the excellent Polo (followed closely by the pounding rave on wheels that is the Beats Edition), the GTI dropped a red hot 147kW turbo four into the not-so-tiny, but still decently light Polo to prove that one of the originators of the hot hatch still knew how to make a great one.

Before this latest incarnation of Polo, however, our absolute favourite baby hot hatch is the angry little Ford Fiesta ST. Guess what - our former favourite is returning in a new form next year to tackle our current favourite head-on: the new Fiesta ST has a 1.5-litre, 147kW (weird coincidence, huh?) version of Ford's brilliant (and multiple Engine of the Year award winning) three-cylinder turbo.

They compete for the same customers, but Polo GTI is very polished, while Fiesta ST keeps things raw.

Ford NZ happened to have a UK-spec Fiesta ST in the country for evaluation before it launches here next year, so we decided to see just how it will stack up against the refreshed version of our 2018 Top Car winner.

Top Car of 2018: Volkswagen Polo

* Road test review: Ford Fiesta ST

* Supreme winner: Volkswagen Polo is our Top Car of 2018

New Fiesta ST a lot more practical than the old - partly because it now comes as a five-door hatch.

* New Ford Fiesta ST baby hot hatch gets three-cylinder power**

Both are remarkably similar in terms of price, power and specification, with the 147kW/290Nm Fiesta ST costing $35,490, while the 147kW/320Nm Polo GTI costs a heftier $38,990.

Polo has a slightly detuned version of the Golf GTI 2.0-litre engine - but still can't quite drag off the three-cylinder Fiesta.

Although $3500 might seem like a big ask for 30Nm more torque, the VW also drops in a 6-speed DSG (compared with the Fiesta's 6-speed manual - the only transmission it comes with), as well as a far higher quality interior.

While the VW has more torque, it is the Ford that is quicker, dropping a 6.5 second 0-100kmh time, while the VW squeezes out a still-impressive 6.7 second run.

Ford Fiesta ST: if you believe a proper hot hatch should be manual, there's only one choice here.

While both are nicely swift for such small things, the GTI and ST are surprisingly different in their respective natures.

The VW is more mature and polished, while the ST has a nicely feral edge reminiscent of its mentally unbalanced big brother, the Focus RS.

Polo GTI has the higher quality cabin. And yes, it only has two pedals - but the gearbox is very slick.

The higher build quality of the VW is reflected in its more grown-up approach to the whole hot-hatch thing - the 6-speed DSG is a fantastically fast and slick operator that is perfectly matched to the powerful and flexible turbo four engine.

Its slick and aggressive power delivery is unsurprisingly reminiscent of its bigger brother - the Golf GTI - and the extra torque gives it an advantage in the mid range.

Fiesta is brilliant fun, but the steering and transmission don't quite achieve greatness.

That super-slick grown-up approach does round the 'proper hot hatch' edges off the Polo however, much as it has with the Golf GTI, and that is where the Fiesta ST excels.

The Fiesta feels utterly alive and brilliantly angry in its approach to life, with a fantastically aggressive three-cylinder snarl and suitably pugnacious power delivery.

Polo feels a little sanitised, but it's the quicker A-to-B car.

Where the Polo GTI has a somewhat artificial feel to its extraneous bangs, pops and bellows, the Fiesta ST is evocatively belligerent and aggressive.

While the Fiesta absolutely eclipses the Polo in terms of attitude and is slightly quicker in the 0-100 sprint, the GTI is arguably the quicker car point-to-point.

But the Fiesta is more fun, with a brilliantly agile and responsive chassis that is an utter delight to flick through a series of corners.

The ST's steering and transmission don't quite match the joyous attitude of the chassis, with a slight woolliness to the steering that holds things back from the ultimate edge of sharpness that the ST deserves.

No such problem for the GTI, however, with beautifully weighted, sharply accurate steering complimenting its mature, resolved chassis.

While you could argue that even the Polo's superbly sharp and fast DSG transmission puts it at a philosophical disadvantage to the ST - after all, a proper hot hatch should always have a manual, right? - the fact that the VW's dual clutch is so damn good and the ST's manual is just, well, okay puts a different spin on things.

Now, don't take that the wrong way - the Fiesta's 6-speed manual is perfectly good, but it lacks what the ST's superb engine deserves most of all - a super-slick, 'rifle bolt' cliche-earning Mazda MX-5-style manual equally delightful as the engine. Good is fine, but great would be way more appropriate.

So where does that leave us?

With a choice between a high-quality and super-slick, yet frustratingly sanitised performance VW that is perfect for the PlayStation generation, or a zesty small Ford with an utterly fantastic engine and thoroughly delightful chassis that is ever-so-slightly tarnished by build quality, steering and a transmission that are merely 'okay' rather than spectacular like the other bits.

The ultimate decision will come down to personal preference, but the Fiesta ST's raw attitude, agile chassis and superbly characterful engine do enough to make up for the average steering and transmission for me.

Looks like the best version of the Top Car of 2018 will have some serious competition in 2020.