The Ford Fiesta Zetec S Red Edition proves that cheap is not necessarily worse. Source: Supplied

We have somehow got it into our heads that a $400 set of kitchen knives will last longer and do more cutting than a $200 set. We think a $4 million house will suit us better than a $250,000 house. We assume the food in a restaurant with big numbers on the menu is bound to be better and tastier and nicer than a Big Mac.

Well, it’s probably not true with the McMeal and it’s definitely not true for cars. I know this because I have spent another week with the Volkswagen Golf GTI, and it’s perfect. You can spend 10 times more on a car and it will be worse. This is a fact. There is no room for debate.

You may think Volkswagen puts its brightest and its best engineers into the boutique, high-profile companies it owns: Bugatti, Lamborghini and Bentley. But it doesn’t. It uses its absolute geniuses on the Golf, because that’s the bread and butter of its operations. The Golf has to be right.

And it is right. I drive a lot of cars and every single one does at least one thing that is annoying. The Golf doesn’t. The way the seats slide about, the feel of the buttons, the weight of the steering, everything: it’s all absolutely spot-on.

And then, sitting on top of this nest of perfection, we have the GTI, which comes with more power than you were expecting — a lot more — and an amusing gearknob in the shape of a golf ball. Das ist fun, ja?

I drove a Porsche 911 GTS the other day and I thought it was pretty damn good. I was also very taken with the Bentley Continental GT V8 S. But the Yorkshireman in me says, “What’s the point?” Because neither of those cars is better in any way than the GTI.

Sure, they have more power, but, come on, be realistic. When does that do anything apart from use more fuel? Most GTI versions will average 7-litres/100km or better and you’d have to be extremely committed in your Porsche or Bentley to get away from one on anything other than a road through Monument Valley.

On a Welsh mountain road, in the rain, the VW would be faster. Much faster. So the conclusion is this. No matter what you can afford, buy a Golf GTI. It’s that simple.

Or is it? Because for about £9000 less than a Golf GTI you could have a Ford Fiesta ST, which, if anything, is even more fun to drive. It’s more fun to drive, in fact, than almost anything that’s been fitted with four wheels. It’s a little gem, that car.

Of course it’s a little smaller than a Golf, but how often does that matter? Do you really go everywhere with a couple of prop forwards in the back? No. For most of the time a small, unpretentious car such as this is handier than a bigger, flashier one.

If you have a Bentley, the day will come when you say, “If only this damn thing were a bit smaller, I’d be able to fit into that parking space, but now I’ve got to waste a further hour of my life looking for another.”

It’s the same story with the Porsche 911. There will come a day when you come out of a meeting to find some worthless layabout has keyed the flanks and carved rude words into the roof. Then you will think, “If only I’d bought something a bit less showy.”

I cannot think of a single thing, however, that would cause the owner of a Ford Fiesta ST to say “if only”. Unless, of course, he or she happens to try out the Fiesta Zetec S Red Edition I took for a spin last week. Then he or she is going to say, “If only I had one of these.”

On the face of it, it’s a ridiculous car. It’s called Red because it’s red. There’s a black one called the Black Edition. I know. Mad.

And it gets sillier because it costs only £1250 less than the super-fast ST but comes with a three-cylinder 1-litre engine that’s so small it could easily be mistaken for a pencil sharpener. The block — and this is a fact — would sit comfortably on a piece of A4 paper.

Do not imagine, however, that because it’s physically small it is weedy. Because as any flyweight boxer will tell you, that’s a mistake. In fact this little engine produces 103kW. That’s not a misprint. Ford has managed to extract it from an engine with the same capacity as two cans of beer.

You might imagine that it’s a mass of turbo lag and torque holes and strange noises. But no. It makes a sort of “brrrrr” noise and is like having a west highland terrier under the bonnet. I completely loved it. I loved the speed as well. It gets from 0 to 100km in nine seconds and will eventually reach 200km/h. Yet, because it’s a 1.0-litre car, insurance is cheap and it is said you’ll get more than 4.5 litres/100km.

I haven’t even got to the best bit yet: it’s a Fiesta, which means it has an absolutely stupendous chassis.

It absorbs bumps as though they’re not there, it has a tenaciously grippy front and a waggly tail, and above all it makes you feel — even at half-speed — very happy.

Maybe the controls are fiddly, and if you specify some of the electronic extras you will find them extremely complicated.

The only real problem is where you live. Because if you sell your Audi or Bentley or Ferrari to buy one — which, if you had any sense, you would — all your friends and neighbours would assume that things were going badly in your life and not talk to you any more. That’s because we live in the First World. And we’re all mad.

Jeremy Clarkson’s comments are expressed in the context of the British vehicle market.

Ford Fiesta Zetec S Red Edition: Hot hatch

Engine: 1.0-litre, three-cylinders, turbo

Power: 103kW at 6000rpm and 210Nm at 1400rpm

Transmission: Five-speed manual

Fuel: 4.5 litres/100km

Price: £16,145 (range starts at $15,825 plus on-road costs)

Rating: 5 out of 5