There are something like a dozen new micro and nano breweries popping up in the Vancouver area this coming year, a burgeoning phenomenon back East as well, and down into the US. Here’s how it works: you take your own glass jug to the brewery (usual sizes are 1L or 2L), and they’ll fill it for you for just over ten bucks, straight from the source. This used to be done with lidded pails, and the name “growler” comes from the noise that the escaping CO2 would make as it burbled past the lid.

The ST is a growler of a different sort, some from its own escaping carbon dioxide, some from the on-board sound “symposer” (mechanical, not through the stereo), and some from the delighted chuckling of the driver. I’ll say it again: this thing is fun, just a lovable little scamp that hits the mark between genuinely quick and not-that-illegal to run to redline.

Bombing around Vancouver in a car with stripes, red paint, and Ontario plates is an unholy Trinity for people not letting you merge. Deploy The Wave – you know the one: sorry, I merged late! *wave* Sorry, I zipped past you there! *wave* Sorry, I ran over your grandmother! *two waves*

We hit five breweries in total, stopping off at Bridge Brewing on the North Shore just as traffic goes absolutely ape. Later that weekend, there’ll be a barbeque, kids running around the backyard screaming their heads off, parents happy to sit back and let the tykes blow off some steam.

I’m completely smitten with this thing. I know at least one person at every major enthusiast magazine who bought one personally. If it was just a teensy bit bigger, I’d buy one myself to replace the WRX – it’s raw fun when it needs to be, livable when you tone it down a bit. I’d even go so far as to say that, as a parent, the Fiesta ST is more fun than the ND Miata because it provides an experience you can share with your kids when they’re still too young for front-seat airbags.

Warranty:
3 years/60,000 km; 5 years/100,000 km powertrain; 5 years/unlimited distance corrosion perforation; 5 years/100,000 km roadside assistance

Competitors:
Fiat 500 Abarth
Hyundai Veloster Turbo
Mini Cooper S
Subaru BRZ
Volkswagen Super Beetle
Two cylinders of laughing gas

Official fuel ratings are 6.8 L/100 km highway and 8.9 L/100 km in the city. I hit over 9 through the week, due to a leaden right foot.

In a sea of grey traffic, this car’s an oxygen-charged corpuscle on a mission to energize your heart. It might even be the best new performance car for sale this side of a Corvette. Raise a glass to the Blue Oval on this one – it’s a home run.

Pricing: 2015 Ford Fiesta ST
Base Price: $24,949
Options: $1795 (racing stripes – $495; navigation – $800; 17″ painted alloys – $500
Destination: $1565
A/C Tax: $100
Price as Tested: $28,409

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