Ford Fiesta ST Mountune
Posted by Sam Philip at 11:15AM on Thursday 24 January, 2008 1 Comment
Late night on a quiet residential street in South London. I'm inching towards a parking space, trying desperately not to wake my sleeping neighbours with The Loudest Car In Southwark, the Fiesta ST Mountune.
I brush, barely touch, the accelerator. The Fiesta makes a noise like Cruella De Vil gargling Space Dust. Into a bassoon. Though a stack of amps.
Lights go on up and down the street. Dogs bark. Babies cry. This Fiesta is loud.
That's because this Fiesta has been Mountuned - an aftermarket engine and exhaust upgrade for the Fiesta ST from your local Ford dealer. It won't invalidate your warranty, but it will cost you the best part of two grand on top of your ST. For your cash, you get a tweaked ECU, new camshafts and valve springs, a fresh induction kit. Oh, and an exhaust loud enough to start avalanches.
It's not a cultured sound, mind - in fact, it reminds me of the noise my ancient VW Polo made when half the silencer rusted away - but there's no way anyone will miss you coming.
Incongruous, really, because unlike most aftermarket tuning kits, there's almost nothing to visually distinguish the Mountune from the standard Fiesta ST. If it wasn't for the noise, you could almost call it a Q-car. Almost.
It's interesting to compare the Mountune ST with the John Cooper Works Mini Cooper S (which Jamie Hibbard blogged about just a couple of days ago). OK, they might not strike you as natural competitors, but the performance figures are near-identical: the Fiesta develops 183bhp to the Mini's 189bhp, and will hit 60mph in just under seven seconds - the same as the JCW.
The way the two deliver their power is quite different, though. The Fiesta's two-litre engine remains naturally aspirated which means that it doesn't have that neck-jolted dose of turbo-induced low-end shove of the Mini. However, it makes up for that above 4000rpm, where there's a VTEC-ish burst of manic power.
The chassis has no problem dealing with all that power, either. True, it's not difficult to get the traction control light blinking, but even on greasy, cambered tarmac, the Mountune never feels like it's getting close to spitting itself off the road.
The interior is, admittedly, pretty Spartan compared to the plush, boudoir-like Mini, but I rather like that - the Fiesta feels like a hot hatch whittled down to the bare essentials of driving. It's a sensation amplified by the brilliant Recaro bucket seats, but at £1950 a pop, they're not a cheap option.
Even if you were to opt for the Recaros, though, the Mountune still comes in two grand cheaper than the JCW Mini. For that reason, and because the Fiesta feels so undiluted, so simple and so fun, it's the one that I'd go for.
Not sure my neighbours would approve, though.
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Would it be fair to suggest that this is the Fiesta ST that Ford should have made in the first place?
When I was in the market for a hot hatch, I discounted the ST immediately because the amount of power on offer couldn't compete with a Clio 182/197 or even the old Mini Cooper S with 163 horses...
I appreciate that this makes me sound a bit power crazy, but I'm honestly not - I just think that for all that money you want the best you can afford, and 150bhp isn't that much these days!