Ford Fiesta XR4 baby torque

The Fiesta XR4 has taken the winning philosophy from the Focus XR5 and downsized. There is no turbo on this little hot hatch and it won't light the wick in performance terms, but it has been purpose-built to do its job.

“The XR4 will be the benchmark in the light car hot-hatch segment,” says Ford Australia president Tom Gorman.

“It is a vehicle designed with the passionate driving enthusiast in mind boasting a specially modified 2.0-litre engine, many safety and sports enhancements and eye-catching appearance.”

The XR4 three-door hatch will launch at $24,990. The company, however, can only guarantee supply of 40 a month.

“Obviously demand for this car is still very strong in European markets and 40 a month is what we have available for now,” says Ford Australia's Ed Finn.

“The XR5 is going extremely well and comfortably meeting sales predictions of 50 a month and obviously we are confident the XR4 will also meet expectations.”

The XR4 will come standard with a specifically-tuned dynamic stability control program, dual front, side curtain and side thorax airbags, traction control, ABS, electronic brake force distribution and, for the first time on a Fiesta, four-wheel disc brakes.

There is a body kit with strong cues to the Focus XR5, sports suspension, leather and cloth sports seats and twin overhead racing stripes — a $300 option.

Where the XR5 is a genuine performance offering with its 166kW and 320Nm from the forced 2.5-litre engine, the naturally aspirated baby brother XR4 is a little less aggressive, although out of the same TeamRS race development stable responsible for the XR5. The 2.0-litre Duratec four-cylinder, borrowed from the garden variety Focus, has been tweaked to produce 110kw of power, up a meagre 3kW on the Focus engine, but with a much flatter and broader torque profile.

The XR4's peak 190Nm is reached at 4500rpm, but with 80 per cent on tap at 1500rpm and 90 per cent available from 2200rpm through to 6150rpm, the flexibility of the engine is impressive.

“The 2.0-litre Duratec engine characteristics are ideally suited to the performance Fiesta as it combines free-revving performance and impressive low-end torque for excellent all-round drivability,” says TeamRS director Jost Capito.

There has also been considerable input into the tuning of the suspension and chassis to provide a more stable platform but without the need for architectural modifications, Capito says. An exceptionally rigid body structure with ultra-stiff mounting points for the suspension and steering on the basic Fiesta was the starting point foundation for the team's work, he says.

A front sub-frame carries the MacPherson-strut front suspension and steering system, while the Fiesta's rear suspension is a twist-beam providing strong lateral stiffness to aid handling and good longitudinal compliance for ride comfort.

“The latest-generation Fiesta is solid as a rock,” says Capito. “It was the ideal basis for a performance derivative. What I am particularly proud of is that we have achieved its high standards of handling and grip while keeping a really good ride quality.”

The XR4 front springs have been stiffened from 16.5N/mm on the standard car to 24N/mm with the dampers recalibrated. A revised design for the front suspension knuckle provides more negative camber to the suspension to generate more front-end grip.

The rear springs also have been stiffened, from 15N/mm to 17N/mm, and the dampers modified. The twist beam axle has also been stiffened by almost 50 per cent to 720Nm/deg.

The steering rack ratio has been shortened by 10 per cent and the toe-in reduced, to make the steering more agile while maintaining high speed stability and controllability.

The Fiesta XR4 will be on sale from today.