This week’s Autocar magazine features our countdown of the 30 greatest hot hatches of all-time. Since the magazine came out on Wednesday, more than a few of you have asked why the Ford Fiesta ST failed to make it onto our list. As the bloke who wrote the story, it falls to me to explain why.
It is either because it’s a rubbish hot hatch, I’ve never liked it, have never written anything nice about it and consider it to be overrated or… I messed up. Given that it was my happy lot to explain why it won our junior Best British Driver’s Car competition in 2016, I don’t think you really need to be told which.
Vote: Autocar Reader's Champion – what is the best hot hatch ever?
These things happen, or so my editor has been kind enough to say, but it doesn’t really make me feel much better about it because they shouldn’t. It was on the list - of course it was on the list - but the list started with every hot hatch I could think of and then got steadily trimmed back until we had our top 30. And somewhere in the process the Fiesta got inadvertently cut, probably by me accidentally highlighting two lines rather than one. Because, undoubtedly, it should have been in our top 30, an omission for while I apologise.
The good news for Fiesta ST fans is that we’ve added it to the list of cars that you can vote for in our poll to determine which hot hatch wins our Autocar Readers’ Champion prize at this year’s Autocar Awards. So if it’s your sort of car, you can click here to vote for it. Alternately, there are 30 other hot hatches you can vote for. And picking just one might be as hard as coming up with a top 30 in the first place.
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Vote: Autocar Reader's Champion – what is the best hot hatch ever?
Autocar's best sub-£25k driver's car 2016: how the Ford Fiesta ST won
2018 Ford Fiesta ST officially revealed
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Well, to be honest....
The Fiesta ST boring.....to look at!, now! yes it is!, it’s understated to the extent that your hard pushed to tell if it’s the real deal or a one litre with a body kit!, it’s rear end is just plain wimpy, not aggressive enough, something like the Rally Car body kit would help....
No mention of the Astra GTE
No mention of the Astra GTE 16v either.
I seem to recall Autocar stating it 'stole the GTi crown' in 88 from the 309GTi and Golf 16v Gti? Motor named it as 'King Hot Hatch' the same year.
Even 'CAR' picked it over the Golf Gti 16v in a head to head comparison.
Or is it a case that you can't trust what journos say? ;-)
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