The Student Room Group

Can anyone explain the fascination with Fiesta ST?

Playing devil's advocate here. As the title says, can someone please explain what's so great about this car?

From what I can see, it's one of the slowest 'hot-hatch'-es around, has cheap interior, doesn't sound great and uses skinny tyres. I get the impression it's the dream car for young people and students simply because it's at the top of the line of cars they'd typically drive and know.
What makes it so 'fun to drive' on british roads? The Golf R or Focus RS I can understand, but the Fiesta? Can someone share their experience if they have any.

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
Dunno about the rest but the interior is truly awful.

Makes me laugh that recently Ford have been advertising the Fiesta (and indeed most of their cars I think) with the caption 'the interior you almost definitely deserve' :lol:
(edited 6 years ago)
Fast Fords have always had a sweet spot in Britain due in part that many were engineered and tuned by British engineers on British roads, that was mostly in the past obviously when Ford was a major car producer in UK, It also helped that they were fairly affordable too since they depreciated a lot and were fairly cheap to buy once it was a used car. Today much of the reason is mostly legacy and they are still cheaper to buy than an equivalent VW model.

Personally never been a fan of them though but most of them are rather well sorted cars especially the previous generation Focus RS
Reply 3
You need to drive the new one down a twisty B-road. It's very light and agile, darts into corners like an old Mini, and the engine doesn't mind a few revs. The gearbox is decent, it sounds not half bad, and is ripe for tuning - firstly the warranty-friendly way via Mountune, and then beyond if you want more.

On the flip side it easily returns 40mpg, ride is fine for day to day commuting, it is small enough to fit in any parking space, is cheap to buy, and cheap to insure and maintain.

The Golf R is ****ing boring. I had an RS3 which was along the same lines - but I've now got a BMW M2, and that shows up 300hp 4WD hatchbacks for what they are - fast, but not fun.
(edited 6 years ago)
Reply 4
Original post by FXX
You need to drive the new one down a twisty B-road. It's very light and agile, darts into corners like an old Mini, and the engine doesn't mind a few revs. The gearbox is decent, it sounds not half bad, and is ripe for tuning - firstly the warranty-friendly way via Mountune, and then beyond if you want more.

On the flip side it easily returns 40mpg, ride is fine for day to day commuting, it is small enough to fit in any parking space, is cheap to buy, and cheap to insure and maintain.

The Golf R is ****ing boring. I had an RS3 which was along the same lines - but I've now got a BMW M2, and that shows up 300hp 4WD hatchbacks for what they are - fast, but not fun.


Jealous of your M2 mate!
Original post by NX172
Playing devil's advocate here. As the title says, can someone please explain what's so great about this car?

From what I can see, it's one of the slowest 'hot-hatch'-es around, has cheap interior, doesn't sound great and uses skinny tyres. I get the impression it's the dream car for young people and students simply because it's at the top of the line of cars they'd typically drive and know.
What makes it so 'fun to drive' on british roads? The Golf R or Focus RS I can understand, but the Fiesta? Can someone share their experience if they have any.


It's affordeable to buy, run and insure and gets fuel economy. Also, the less power and grip you have, the more you can floor it and explore the limits. Just ask anyone with a Toyota GT86 or another similarly-underpowered car. If you floor it for a few seconds in a Fiesta, you're still within legal limits. Do the same in a Ferrari or McLarenand you've suddenly gone from 40mph to 90.
Well I drove one, then bought the Focus ST so I wouldn't call them the best car ever but I do think they're decent enough.

They're nice to drive and stick to the road like glue (unless its wet), are cheap to buy, reasonable insurance and can be used as a daily driver. They're also easy to upgrade, and imo drive better than say a Golf GTI, Astra VXR (too much torque steer, they're a pain) or a Honda Civic.

A lot of it is due to the depreciation, you get a lot of car for your money and it feels rapid coming as an upgrade to a standard car usually driven by a newer driver which is looking at 0-60 from 10s to I wouldn't risk it in case it falls apart - the mk2 models are about 7.8s which is reasonably quick http://www.carfolio.com/specifications/models/car/?car=126841 although the new ones are marginally quicker. The problems for me is it sounds a bit hairdryer, there is a limited amount of weight and therefore a limit to power upgrades before it becomes uncontrollable and in the rain its wheels do weird things as well as the back seats are only for show.

In short, it's decent enough for its cost and insurance category and is a clear upgrade from starter cars and unlike say an MX5 isn't trying to kill you (seriously the MX has basically no safety features).
(edited 6 years ago)
Reply 7
Original post by TheMindGarage
It's affordeable to buy, run and insure and gets fuel economy. Also, the less power and grip you have, the more you can floor it and explore the limits. Just ask anyone with a Toyota GT86 or another similarly-underpowered car. If you floor it for a few seconds in a Fiesta, you're still within legal limits. Do the same in a Ferrari or McLarenand you've suddenly gone from 40mph to 90.


That's true. Reminds me of the C-class I used to have. Whereas with my current car it's a constant battle for traction and being gentle on the throttle which makes it ok for a weekend car but less so as a daily driver in London.
Reply 8
Original post by Alfissti
Fast Fords have always had a sweet spot in Britain
...
Today much of the reason is mostly legacy and they are still cheaper to buy than an equivalent VW model.


Original post by FXX
. The gearbox is decent, it sounds not half bad, and is ripe for tuning - firstly the warranty-friendly way via Mountune, and then beyond if you want more.

On the flip side it easily returns 40mpg, ride is fine for day to day commuting, it is small enough to fit in any parking space, is cheap to buy, and cheap to insure and maintain.


Original post by GonvilleBromhead

In short, it's decent enough for its cost and insurance category and is a clear upgrade from starter cars and unlike say an MX5 isn't trying to kill you (seriously the MX has basically no safety features).


Great reasons. Cheap to run, cheap to insure, handles well, easy to park and plenty value. Great young person's car, it seems.

Original post by FXX

The Golf R is ****ing boring. I had an RS3 which was along the same lines - but I've now got a BMW M2, and that shows up 300hp 4WD hatchbacks for what they are - fast, but not fun.

In what way is the RS3 boring, may I ask? ;O
I was thinking of shortlisting the RS3 as a daily driver.
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by NX172
Great reasons. Cheap to run, cheap to insure, handles well, easy to park and plenty value. Great young person's car, it seems.

.


Not necessarily, insurance will be a killer and most hot hatches will use some form of specialized components to it, think along the lines of suspension and brake parts, then there would most likely be higher pressure turbos, all these things do add up and on top of that tyres for these cars are rarely ever the cheapest you could get.
Reply 10
Original post by NX172
In what way is the RS3 boring, may I ask? ;O
I was thinking of shortlisting the RS3 as a daily driver.


The RS3 doesn't cut it as a fun car. It's great for big miles - I used to do a 65 mile daily commute in it - and its overtaking power comes very handy. The engine sounds lovely and is very torquey. But at the weekend, when you want to hoon it, it doesn't like going round corners, and the traction off the line means you never feel like you're exploring it. Great for impressing your mates but on your own you never really get that sense of satisfaction from pushing it. t's a case of bombing it between corners and slowing right down to get around them. The engine hangs transversely over the front wheels and it doesn't work. My commute is now 8 miles a day and so something more hardcore was in order.

If you are considering the RS3 just bear in mind some of the servicing costs. I had the front discs and pads replaced on mine at a main dealer and it cost me £1300. This was at under 30k miles. Pretty eye watering for a hatchback.
Original post by NX172
Playing devil's advocate here. As the title says, can someone please explain what's so great about this car?

From what I can see, it's one of the slowest 'hot-hatch'-es around, has cheap interior, doesn't sound great and uses skinny tyres. I get the impression it's the dream car for young people and students simply because it's at the top of the line of cars they'd typically drive and know.
What makes it so 'fun to drive' on british roads? The Golf R or Focus RS I can understand, but the Fiesta? Can someone share their experience if they have any.


Im not a fan of the fiesta ST either.
I can think of other cars id rather have.
Original post by NX172
Playing devil's advocate here. As the title says, can someone please explain what's so great about this car?

From what I can see, it's one of the slowest 'hot-hatch'-es around, has cheap interior, doesn't sound great and uses skinny tyres. I get the impression it's the dream car for young people and students simply because it's at the top of the line of cars they'd typically drive and know.
What makes it so 'fun to drive' on british roads? The Golf R or Focus RS I can understand, but the Fiesta? Can someone share their experience if they have any.


fastest in the range, looks awesome, handles well, cheap to run, cheap to buy and maintain. no wonder why it is the best selling car in the UK at the moment. only bad thing is that rubbish interior.
St seriously doesnt have rubbish interior. Infact its really good. Very modern radio. Heated recaros?
St seriously doesnt have rubbish interior. Infact its really good. Very modern radio. Heated recaros?
Reply 15
Original post by DannyBee2310
St seriously doesnt have rubbish interior. Infact its really good. Very modern radio. Heated recaros?


All Ford interiors I've seen in the UK are cheap and tacky :laugh:
NGL, if you pick the fiesta ST over say the Golf R... GTFO. Seriously, nothing is "great" about the fiestas really, the civics are better (actually honda is the most reliable don't hate) and the hud is hella nice.
Original post by IWMTom
All Ford interiors I've seen in the UK are cheap and tacky :laugh:


I've also noticed the same. Their "leather" seats feel fake.

Fords are overpriced IMO.
Reply 18
Fords are very reasonably priced for what you get.

The tactile areas aren't the best and everything else is very budget, but handling, reliability, features, servicing and running costs etc are decent. Ford still make decent manual gearboxes which is more than can be said for any of the Germans.
Original post by DannyBee2310
St seriously doesnt have rubbish interior. Infact its really good. Very modern radio. Heated recaros?

I'm sorry but Fiesta STs DO NOT have very good interiors :lol: :lol:

Quick Reply

Latest

Trending

Trending