Batten down the hot-hatches, Ford's back in town

It's heating up in the hot-hatch market. Ford yesterday unveiled the latest incarnation of its feisty XR2 at Geneva, the Fiesta ST.

Powered by a 148bhp 2-litre Duratec engine borrowed from the Mondeo, expect a 0-62mph time of about 8.5 seconds, two seconds quicker than the current fastest Fiesta, the 1.6-litre 98 bhp model and more powerful than the previous "fastest Fiesta", the 1990s RS Turbo, that offered 133bhp.

Opel is busy working on a turbocharged model of its Corsa, which may carry the Gsi label, and Mitsubishi is rumoured to be working on a 150 bhp turbocharged "Evo" version of its new Colt. The Japanese marque officially unveiled its long-awaited supermini at the Geneva show yesterday, but it's also working on a high-powered version of its new three-door version, currently known as the CZ3 concept, but due for release early next year. The three-door model will take a far sleeker line than the five-door version.

For all the development work underway, Ford is the first on the road, with the hot new Fiesta due on the Irish market by the end of this year. The Fiesta ST continues the blue-oval policy of branding its latest range of fast Fords under the ST lettering - which stands for Sports Technologies. A decision has also been made to drop the listing of power output from the badge in all future ST models. Currently the ST Focus is called the ST170.

The ST policy still leaves room for more extreme models under the RS and Cosworth badges, and with the Fiesta Junior World Rally Car launched alongside the new Fiesta ST, we are likely to see an RS version of the Fiesta in the foreseeable future.

The new car claims strong lineage to the original the XR2 of 1981. Unlike RS models, Ford has not given the new ST the full-blown sports treatment, instead opting for more discreet sporty extras.

Crucial to its success will be pricing and handling. Resting on 17-inch alloys and low-profile performance tyres, with all that power, engineers at Ford will have their work cut out to keep the car under control.