The Week in Cars #9 and also #10

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The new Ford Fiesta ST is put to the test on Britain's B-roads and the A8-copycat Audi A6 cruises, via the inevitable Autobahn, onto the roads. I also managed to miss out on last week's TWiC. Sorry.

Ford Fiesta ST

As four-wheeled machines, Fiesta STs tend to prefer being on three (see cornering shot for evidence). This is one of the many reasons (as part of its infectious childishness) that petrolheads adore it, and also one of the many reasons that the new one has particularly huge shoes to fill. And, with only three cylinders and a more complicated (we like simple things) mode setup, it is looking like it has some rather small feet to fill said huge shoes.
ST prefers three wheels, not four. I.C: Autocar

So can you cock the rear wheel? Of course you can. It was actually on the agenda from the drawing board, because Ford knows its customer base extremely well. What about shifting without the clutch? Surprise surprise, that was also on the priority list, but sadly, it feels unsympathetic and really a bit of a gimmick. The gearbox, although not quite as good as the last one's is great though in normal use, so we're not complaining.

Let's talk engines. The new ST has a 1.5l 3cyl turbo with 197bhp and 214lb ft of torque. The best thing about it, however, is the awesome noise; it sounds like a baby BMW straight-six. It does enough to shove the little thing to 62mph in just 6.7s, and on to a top speed of 155mph. The power all comes in a nicely linear pull; there's not much turbo lag, and it is remarkably predictable.

Overall, the new ST, although it isn't perfect, is a great little car, and casts an unshakeable shadow over the new Suzuki Swift Sport. 85% from me.

Audi A6

 - The new A6 is meant to be sportier.
- Luckily, they haven't stiffened the suspension to oblivion, but they haven't made it much better to drive, either. Oh.
- The now-familiar Blade Runner cabin comes down from the A8/A7, but will see its first implementation in an estate later.
- The A6 is amazingly refined, and isn't slow, either, but expect more from a (speculation alert) 730bhp, perhaps V6 hybrid RS6. Hopefully it'll have a V8, though.
75%

[insert normal TWiC outro here]
Enjoy your Sunday!

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