Ford Fiesta

Sweet lord, this little Fiesta is loud. Blip the throttle and it sounds like Cruella de Vil gargling Space Dust. Into a bassoon. 

That’s thanks to tuning firm Mountune, roped in to bulk the Fiesta ST up to fighting weight with the Clio 197, Corsa VXR... and the Works Mini. The Fiesta and Mini might not be natural competitors in the wild, but the official aftermarket Mountune kit changes that, bumping the Fiesta’s power up to 183bhp – a jump of 35bhp over the stock ST, and within spitting distance of the Works. 

It’ll hit 60mph nigh-on as quickly as the Mini, but the way the two deliver their power is quite different. The Fiesta’s 2.0-litre engine remains naturally aspirated, which means it doesn’t have the Mini’s neck-jolting dose of turbo-induced low-end shove. However, it makes up for that above 4,000rpm, where there’s a VTEC-ish burst of manic pace. 

The extra power can’t upset the brilliantly balanced little ST, though, which never feels like it’s getting close to spitting itself off the road. Without the standard tuner jewellery of carbon-fibre splitters or ironing-board wings, the Mountune could almost pass as a Q-car – if it weren’t for the monstrous noise emanating from the new exhaust.

It might make others think you’re Mr Big’s little hash hustler, but I like the Mountune. It’s a hot hatch whittled down to the essentials, and because of that, it’s the one I’d take home. Regardless of the neighbours.