Space in a car this little is relatively well managed, with a forward-facing child seat leaving just enough room for a near-three-year-old to swing her legs. The trunk is very compact at 285 L, although there’s quite a lot of room in the area where the spare tire (and you get one) is kept. Ford has two clever little nubs on each side of the trunk at parcel-shelf level to hold the sub-floor up if you lift it, so you can make use of this extra space on the regular. Strollers for young kids are umbrella-style-only. I bought a new Weber Q grille and managed to squeeze it in. As a second car for a small family, it’s certainly workable.

It’s also the kind of car you want to make work. Power comes from a turbo’d 1.6L four making 197 hp at 6,000 rpm and 202 lb-ft of torque at 4,200 rpm. You’ve got 90 percent of that torque coming on at just 1,600 rpm, and it’ll overboost to 214 lb-ft by 3,500 rpm, giving the ST a freindly, flexible, scooty powertrain. A VW GTI is a far more sensible size, but the Fiesta ST is just so much more fun you find yourself ready to compromise.

A friend once described the comparison between the cars as if the VeeDub had been slow-roasted to perfection, yet all the pan-drippings of joy escaped. These drippings were then poured into the Fiesta’s tiny form. Thus, the ST: a driver-focused gravy boat par excellence.

To test this theory, I decided to hit up five of Vancouver’s newest and/or best breweries in a cross-town bootlegger’s dash at the theoretically worst time to travel in the city. Any vehicle of sporting intent can be fun when the mountain road is clear and winding, but it takes a special sort of machine to put a grin on your face with gridlock menacing.

Our first section involves getting on the Upper Levels Highway, and joining a relatively quick-moving flow of traffic. Density levels are high, but it’s still a bit early for rush hour. My co-pilot, having skipped her nap, is soon asleep.

For a short-wheelbase car with big wheels and a stiff suspension, the ST is quite comfortable. Slot the manual-only transmission in sixth, let the 1.6L turbo’s torque pull you up the hills, and just putter along happily. Really, it’s the seats here that could be a problem for a commuter, but noise and jounce aren’t turnoffs. It’s far quieter and more tractable at speed than, for instance, a Scion FR-S.

The off-ramp beckons, and I tiptoe the little ST into it so’s not to wake the kid. While there’s a sort of darty instability to the car, a refreshing fizz like it’s an excited puppy, it’s still possible to be smooth. Our first stop is Powell Street Brewing, where we fill a growler with their award-winning Old Jalopy pale ale.

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