Citation de autocar https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/first-ride-2018-ford-fiesta-st (First ride: 2018 Ford Fiesta ST | Autocar) :« Roeks prods at the new torsion beam rear suspension (the stiffest fitted to any Ford production car, made of 7mm-guage steel) but then directs attention to the new double-valved ‘selective’ dampers fitted on either side of it, and then to the innovative ‘force vectoring’ bent rear suspension springs just outboard of them. »
« Then, forwards we move. Our man points at structural braces attached under the floor of the car’s body-in-white which, between them, boost chassis rigidity by about 15 per cent. »
Steering box next: it’s the quickest ever fitted to a front-driven Ford, at a ratio of 12:1 and with just two turns between locks – “but its gearing is fixed and its response rate is linear,” says Roeks. Ford experimented with variable-ratio steering (quicker off-centre than on it) and even fitted it to the last-generation Focus ST, but Leo says it has now concluded “a changing rate of response tires the driver very quickly.”
He adds: “You probably wouldn’t notice it at the time, but a fixed-rate steering system is so much more natural and intuitive that it’s a lot easier to use. You never have to second-guess it.”
« Outboard of the steering box, the new Fiesta ST has a front axle track that’s 10mm wider than that of the standard Fiesta and 48mm wider than the old car’s. »
“We know how firm-riding the last ST was, and we loved it,” says Put, “but we wanted a more rounded, supple tune for this one. Last time out, we focussed squarely on the damping to create most of the car’s sporting character; this time, we’ve leant more on the steering and rear axle response. At times I think it’s too soft, but most of the time I’m really happy with it. And it works great on the road.”
“We’re pretty much the only manufacturer willing to run with firmer settings on the rear axle than the front,” he says.
“which is why this car is firmer at the rear than the front, and the current Focus RS is too. Because you can’t tune out oversteer completely; sooner or later, you have to confront it – and we like to use it, to make it controllable. I also think, if you don’t to do that, you end up with a really f*cking boring driver’s car.”