So I bunged it in and, erm, I can't feel any significant difference. The low-rev stuttering and unappealing soundtrack remain, along with the sense that it's not one of those engines that relishes spinning headily up to the red line.

Oh well. Not that these characteristics seemed to be a problem for a couple of Beeb colleagues who borrowed the ST this month and came back frothing about what fun it was and how nippy it was. In fact they were puzzled about why, whenever anyone asks me what the Fiesta is like, my answer always starts with 'Ah, well...' and ends half an hour later, after a lengthy lecture about oversized tyres, with the realisation that everyone has wandered off to get some lunch.

The ST goes back soon. Will I miss it? Evidently not as much as some of my colleagues.