5 Things you need to know about the ST200

Ford today announced that they're finally bringing 160 of their 'special-edition' Fiesta ST220 models to South Africa. These are five things you need to know about it:

1: You can have it in any colour you want as long as it's Storm Grey – yet another one of these primer-inspired shades that seem so popular with manufacturers these days. We think it looks pretty good – especially offset against those matte black alloy wheels. The rear taillights are now of the LED variety.

2: It's got more muscle than the standard ST. Peak power is up from 134kW to 149kW. Peak torque has swelled from 240Nm to 290Nm. But wait... there's more. When the car's engine management system kicks into its 20-second 'overboost' function a further 11kW and 30Nm are made available. Combined with a shorter fine drive ratio (reduced from 3.82 to 4.06) you can expect a claimed 0-100km/h sprint time of 6.7-seconds. Maximum speed is a claimed (and limited) 230km/h.

3: The car's handling has been sharpened up. The rear twistbeam now offers 27% more roll stiffness while the front anti-roll bar has grown in diameter from 19mm to 21mm. The dampers have also been modified to offer slightly better impact absorption.

4: There's a jazzed-up interior to make things feel more special. There are partial leather Recaro seats (heated), dual-tone seatbelts, illuminated door scuff plates and tinting applied to the rear windows. To make parking easier there's a reverse camera and parking sensors. So if you ever do manage to back an ST200 into a pole you're an idiot of the highest order.

5: It's actually quite well priced at R339 900. At the time of writing this is exactly R20 100 cheaper than the not-as-generously-equipped Volkswagen Polo GTI. And I can tell you that it will handle better too. Just remember that only 160 have been allocated to South Africa, so get in the queue now if you want one. – Thomas Falkiner