Chris Harris loves a good hot-hatch. The British autoscribe par excellence has critiqued both the superb Ford Fiesta ST and its closest rival the supple Renault Clio RS individually, and has compared other pocket rockets on road and track too. In his latest Drive installment, he partakes in a straight line battle between the aforementioned Clio RS 200 and a Ford Fiesta ST with a mountune performance upgrade that, for an extra 600 quid, boosts output to 215 hp and 236 lb-ft of torque.

The Ford is now more potent yet still cheaper than its French nemesis and also packs a manual box. So is it the standout hot-hatch? Chris Harris is in no doubt.