Those eagerly waiting with salivating mouths and wide eyes for Ford's next pint-sized hot hatch are, sadly, going to have to keep waiting.
It was confirmed over the ditch yesterday that the new Ford Fiesta ST would be delayed by six months, arriving in time for 'late 2019'. It had been slated for a second-quarter launch in Australia, but that's now pushed out to — at best — a late fourth quarter launch.
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Given that most of New Zealand's new-car uptake comes at the same time as Australia's, we quizzed Ford New Zealand as to whether we too would have to wait for the new Fiesta ST. And, sure enough, the Kiwi arrival has also been delayed until late 2019.
The little firecracker has already made grand waves in Europe, winning (among other things) Top Gear's 2018 Car of the Year gong. On top of being all new, the new Siesta's biggest change comes in the form of the three-pot under the bonnet — capable of delivering 147kW and 290Nm.
That's 13kW and 50Nm more than the previous model, which itself was considered hot hatch royalty at the time.
It's also been confirmed in Australia that the Ford Focus Active — the brand's raised, SUV-ish hatchback — has also been delayed, and won't be launched until June after originally being scheduled for March.
But that's unchanged for New Zealand. We were always going to get the Focus Active around June, and that hasn't been changed.
Ford New Zealand won't be too disappointed in the fact, given that they've recently rolled out a refreshed Ranger and the Ranger Raptor, plus this year's all-new Focus and revised Endura. Be on the lookout for full road tests of the latter pairing in Driven.