Ford Fiesta ST

High-performance hatchbacks have been around for the best part of half a century, and we've picked our list of the five hottest ever built. With so many classic to choose from however, let us know your own top five in the comments below. Launched in 1984, the Peugeot 205 GTI was an early pioneer in the hot-hatch segment. The sporty three-door – based on the standard 205 hatchback – initially featured a 77kW 1.6-litre engine, however 1987 saw the introduction of a 94kW 1.9-litre variant.

The hotly-anticipated Ford Fiesta ST has been delayed for Australia, now scheduled for a "late 2019" arrival Down Under. Despite announcing a second quarter 2019 launch 12 months ago, Ford Australia has pushed back the introduction of its three-cylinder pint-sized hot hatch, with no official reasoning as yet.

The new Ford Fiesta ST is one of the most hotly-anticipated hot hatches of recent times, with a sterling pedigree and promising early reviews. But how does it stack up against its pint-sized competitors? Matt Watson and CarWow clearly asking the same question, and lined it up with a Toyota Yaris GRMN, a Mini Cooper JCW, a Volkswagen Polo GTI and Peugeot 208 GTi to find out. We're not going to spoil the results, but the winner came as a bit of a shock to us. Enough said.