Ford Fiesta ST200: time to revisit one of the all-time hot hatch greats

For the English leg of this four part roadtrip designed to celebrate 400 issues of TopGear magazine, we could have planned a picturesque route through the Peak District or across the North York Moors. We could have crossed both the Lake District and the Pennines in one fell swoop, even with the 100-mile limit. Instead, photographer Olgun and I are in deepest, darkest east London on a Tuesday night. Ah.

There is method in the madness. We’re dodging the drunks and running on sustainably sourced £9 flat whites because I wanted to begin our celebratory adventure in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Issue 201 of TG mag arrived in February 2010, and at the start of the decade London was gearing up to host what would be a memorable Olympics. And anyway, it’s the summer holidays, so I’d only have been dodging caravans and TentBoxed crossovers up north.

Those first few years of the 2010s were pretty remarkable in the motoring world, too. After 987 years in development, the Lexus LFA finally reached production. Aston Martin bookended its range with the fabulous One-77 and the strange Cygnet. Tesla introduced the world to the Model S. Lamborghini unveiled the Aventador. Pagani gave us the Huayra (although in 2025 it still can’t stop fiddling with the Zonda). BMW turbocharged its M5 for the very first time, and McLaren returned with the MP4-12C before following up with one third of the Holy Trinity.

Photography: Olgun Kordal

And yet, I’m not sure there’s a car better suited to this night time nip around the capital than the dinky Fiesta ST. Ford first pulled the covers off this generation of the hatch – based on the MkVI supermini – at the Geneva Motor Show in 2012. And yes, some would refer to this as a MkVII Fiesta, but that’s only if you consider the facelifted MkVI to be a whole new gen. Anyway, this ST used a 1.6-litre turbocharged four pot that drove the front wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox. And the chassis. Oh, the chassis. 

We begin our quest to escape London and find some roads on which to properly enjoy this tearaway, though not before a quick photo stop at the old Ford factory at Dagenham. The first Ford AA truck rolled off the production line here in 1931, and the plant put together almost 11 million vehicles before the last UK built Fiesta was completed in 2002. Since then, it has mostly been reduced to diesel engine building, but the site did also play host to clandestine rehearsals for Danny Boyle’s majestic 2012 opening ceremony.

Unfortunately, despite arrangements being made for access, the private security company tasked with supervising the gates isn’t having any of my misty-eyed Team GB mystery tour. Rocking up late in a Fiesta and being told “not tonight, lads”? It’s like my teenage years in the 2010s all over again, although at that time most of my mates could only stretch to a used 1.25 MkV in lowly Finesse trim.

The M25 is closed, which isn’t terrible news considering this is supposed to be a dream roadtrip, but it does mean a detour through Hornchurch and Upminster. This is mostly spent avoiding the boy racers of east London and Essex, but a fast Ford doesn’t hold quite the cachet in these parts that it used to. Cheap lease deals mean they’re now all in M4s, RS3s and even AMG spec G-Wagens. 

Driving standards leave a lot to be desired, but we slip through relatively unnoticed and on to an enforced section of A12. The late start has paid off so it’s mercifully empty as we head towards an overnight stop, although Olgun has been snapping away in a studio all day and catches 40 winks in the Recaro passenger seat. Despite the ST’s firm ride and the fact it sits at 3,000rpm at motorway speeds.

It’s the next morning, and by now both the eagle eyed and the short sighted will have spotted that this is in fact a special Fiesta ST200. Built to celebrate the end of the MkVI line it was given a shorter final drive (hence the lack of cruising composure), a stiffer rear torsion beam but softer springs, and a revised front suspension setup to match. It also received a handy little power boost, taking its output to 212bhp with the full throttle overboost. Its £22,745 price tag included the Storm Grey paint, black wheels and some extra badging, but meant it was pricey in 2016. Just a fiver less than a Focus ST at the time.

We first drove the ST200 in August 2016, and it now occurs to me that I’m not just fleeing Greater London in search of twisty country roads, but also to avoid having to make any other visual references to world events that occurred later on in this century of TG mag issues. Dieselgate, Brexit and Steakgate all shook their varying corners of the world in 2015 and ’16. Perhaps it’s time to focus on the Fiesta’s supremely tactile steering feel and playful, cocked wheel rear end as we take the B1022 up to Colchester followed by the back roads to Ipswich. 

This generation of ST arrived in an era full of competition and blew all that challenged it out of the water

The direct dual carriageway would have made this journey quicker, but it’s on winding roads where the Fiesta shines, flicking through its short throw gearbox and punching hard in second and third for a littl’un. Was this peak hot hatch? The three cylinder Fiesta ST that followed and the current FL5 Civic Type R might have something to say about that, but this generation of ST arrived in an era full of competition and blew all that challenged it out of the water.

The only real issue is that it’s a scorcher of a day and the aircon in this particular car (still owned by Ford as part of its excellent heritage collection) is somehow working less well than the blowers in Jason’s Ferrari. We stop for fuel and the most nostalgic refreshments that I can find – an original Lucozade and a Yorkie, the latter minus its ‘not for girls’ slogan since 2012.

Leaving Ipswich, we pick up a neat little Suffolk route that passes through the excellently named Helmingham, Framlingham and Saxmundham. Can thank the Anglo-Saxons for those. A road closure means we tick slightly over the self imposed 100 mile limit, but eventually the tarmac runs out and the North Sea begins. Time for one more quick photo before making the return journey. Think I’ll take the long way home...

Ford Fiesta ST200

Price new/now: £22,745/£12,000 
Powertrain: 1596cc turbocharged 4cyl, 212bhp, 236lb ft
Transmission: 6spd manual, FWD
Performance: 0–62mph in 6.7secs, 143mph
Economy: 46.3mpg, 140g/km CO2
Weight: 1,163kg