America’s obsession with big cars and big horsepower means domestically-produced performance hatchbacks are a rare and unexpected occurrence — good ones are even less frequent. But this is an age of global commerce, and when Ford’s European arm decided to whip up one such bad little ride, the blue-oval-brass decided to produce it across the pond as well. Enter the Fiesta ST.

Designed in Ford’s engineering center in Cologne, Germany and packaged with a fiery, little engine overnighted from England, the Fiesta ST is an egg-shaped mini-sonuvabitch, gunning for much statelier pedigreed cars.

Initial reaction to the car has been encouragingly positive, but the team here at TURNology wanted to get our hands on this pint-sized pistol, ASAP, to see if it could live up to the hype.

We pointed our Ford-emblem-emblazoned spotlight toward the night sky — the official media car request procedure — and were green-lighted to spend a week’s worth of quality time with a Performance Blue, 2015 ST.

The base Fiesta ST retails for an MSRP of $20,945 but our tester came with an as-delivered price of $23,860. That included the optional Recaro front seats which tack $1,995 to the window sticker.

No doubt a pricey add-on, the heavily-bolstered, partial-leather buckets practically weld you to the chassis — a necessity with the factory-issued 140-treadwear Bridgestone summer tires.

There is an available navigation package, moonroof and a few other trinkets to further up the price; but in our opinion, the seats are the only splurge-worthy extra.

Inside and out, the car is bedazzled with “ST” badges to remind you just what you’re driving — though you’re likely to never forget this car — and Ford made a valiant effort to visually identify the exterior as something transcendent of a base Fiesta.

The front fascia is swept and aggressive and the front-mounted intercooler is clearly visible in the lower air intake. The roofline is flanked with a semi-boy-racer spoiler that says, “Yes, I have a real job. No, I’m not too old for skinny jeans.”

Overall, the exterior exudes a performance vibe without the gambit of scoops, vents, wings, and other “look-at-me” styling cues so many manufacturers fall into.

Engine 

At the core of the Fiesta ST lurks a high-strung, 1.6-liter variant of Ford’s EcoBoost engine lineup. The tiny, direct-injected inline four is heavily supplemented by a turbocharger and output is rated at 197 horsepower and 202 pound feet of torque.

To bolster engine output in gears three-six, Ford tuned the ECU to temporarily bump boost up to 21 PSI over the normal 18 PSI for a period of 20-seconds of wide open throttle. The process is dubbed Over Boost mode. Those extra three pounds of compressed air may not seem like much, but they do wonders for passing on the highway — a deed accomplished quickly and with no downshift required.

We’re sure that many enthusiast won’t like the concept of a time-limit on peak-power. We don’t much care for being told what to do either, but in full-disclosure, we were never able to max out the timer (which resets after a shift or a split-second release of the throttle).

It’s hard to imagine a situation outside of a fifth-gear-plus pull at the Bonneville salt flats where the car would be at WOT for 20 seconds or longer. The ST eats up the available road at too brisk a clip for this to be an issue.

Suspension

The articulating underpinnings of the ST aren’t simply lowered, off-the-shelf Fiesta components. The system was reconfigured as a whole to suit the ST’s newfound, thrill-seeking character.

The obvious items are stiffer springs and more aggressively valved dampers. In addition, the front knuckles received revised suspension attachment points for quicker camber gain during wheel travel and the rear twist-beam suspension carries a unique part number for the ST.

Lightweight 17 by 7-inch alloy wheels — reminiscent of the Fiesta’s more mature, ST-badged, brother in crime, the Focus ST — are shod in sticky Bridgestone Potenza RE050A rubber.

An unsung hero of the Fiesta’s handling prowess is Ford’s Torque Vectoring Control (TVC). The system brakes the inside front wheel on turn-in for sharper chassis response, and helps to mitigate torque steer by adopting the role of an electronic limited slip differential.

Behind the Wheel

On the road, the car is pure fun. Turbo lag is present but minimal — especially considering the modest engine size. Clutch let-out is surprisingly easy for such a high-strung and displacement-challenged engine. The motor clings to life with minimal throttle and clutch slip needed on take-off. The torque curve swells, practically off idle, but really comes on strong at 3,000 rpm where it carries to its 4,200 rpm peak. Keep the engine humming in the 3,000-5,000 rpm range and it’ll be ready to pounce on unsuspecting prey.

Get aggressive with the throttle and the steering wheel shudders just enough to let you know that the front wheels are doing the brunt of the work, but the stereotypical, directional torque steer of a front wheel drive car is nowhere to be found — a credit to the TVC tuning.

The Fiesta’s acceleration is purposeful and seems to eclipse its 197-horse rating on the seat-of-the-pants-ometer. With the turbo spooled, the car pulls smoothly to redline — all the while bellowing a soulful and clearly tuned exhaust note.

Thankfully, it lacks the high-pitched, tininess of small engine. The induction noise is a mix of the subtle hiss of a spooling turbo and the muffled whoosh of the turbo’s built-in, blow-off valve.

It takes a while to get over how much fun the car is in a straight line, but once you crest that hurdle, the realization sets in that this car is even better around a curve. Lift off the throttle slightly during a corner and the back of the car rotates in a predictable and controllable manner.

Truthfully, the Fiesta ST behaves more like a rear wheel drive chassis. Turn in is exceptionally sharp and the the ST is not bashful about lifting its inside rear tire in hard cornering — much like the Volkswagen GTIs of yore.

The steering is very well weighted and was granted lightning-quick reflexes via an ST-specific quick ratio steering rack.  The dainty, 2,700-pound curb weight contributes mightily to the car’s agile and beckoningly playful demeanor.

After about 30 seconds behind the Fiesta ST’s steering wheel, one thing is clear: This is a a driver’s car. As such, it is offered with only one transmission: a six-speed manual; and, it is a very good example of the breed.

Ford does have a DSG gearbox in their parts bin, and whether its exclusion from the ST was a torque capacity issue, we don’t know. But,

Rowing through the six gears is effortless. The ratios are well spaced with no dead spots in the power band. The shifter itself is one of the better examples we’ve sampled lately with well-defined gates and butter smooth engagement.

When the time comes to pull the reigns on the ST, the binders resist fade well and offer a confidence and capability usually not reserved for B-segment cars. The front brakes, which are sourced from Ford’s Transit Van, are larger than a base Fiesta and the rears are upgraded to discs from the base car’s drums.

Stopping from 70 mph is accomplished in 159 feet. The pedal placement is good but on the tight side, making the act of heel-toe downshifting a little difficult The driver needs to be deep into the brake pedal (as we’re sure many ST driver’s will find themselves) before smoothly arcing one’s heel to blip the throttle becomes possible.

A Car for the Everyday

There’s no off button on the Fiesta’s sporting charm — you can practically feel the wheel tugging you toward any highway ramp with “canyon” in the name. But, part of the car’s beauty is that it is entirely livable as a daily driver.

The suspension is firm, but not teeth jarringly so, and the one-inch drop in ride height from the base Fiesta isn’t enough to cause cringe-inducing ground contact except on extreme road irregularities.

The driver’s quarters are comfortable and open, but rear passenger space is limited. With a car this fun, who needs friends, right? Joking aside: This is a small car, and as such, rear passenger legroom is lacking.

But, the presence of four doors makes entry/exit less violating than a Mini Cooper S or Fiat 500 Abarth — the ST’s two closest competitors. Most humans will fit, but invite only your most loathed of enemies for a back seat road trip.

Cargo capacity is respectable, thanks to a pair of fold-down, rear seats and it isn’t out of the question that four track wheels would fit — albeit snugly. We suppose you could put groceries there too, but why?

Ultimately, it’s the accessibility and performance usability of the Fiesta ST that makes it such a remarkable vehicle.

Cars like the Challenger Hellcat and Corvette Z06, with their god-among-mortals, atomic horsepower levels are marvels of modern automotive engineering, but the Fiesta ST is proof that you don’t need 600 plus ponies under the hood to have a good time. The agile chassis and willing engine deliver attainable performance that will reward driver’s of all experience levels — and at slightly-less-insane speeds.