I paid my local Ford dealer a visit today just killing time really but had a look at the Fiesta ST and took it for a spin. It was an ST-2.

I really liked it. It was refined and well put together. Less road noise than the Fabia vRS but a much harder ride. Ford have obviously but a great deal of effort in with build quality. It certainly wasn't as comfortable as the Fabia and I'm not sure how it would be for driving long distances. The leather Recaro seats looked the part but in reality were quite uncomfortable IMO. I am about 5ft 11 and weigh 13 stone but found the seat far to tight on my back and legs. I understand the concept is to hold you in but the seats had little if any give unlike the vRS seats.

The equipment levels were good and it had the Sony stereo system but no cruise control on this particular one.

The drive was great. It was very responsive and in gear pace was good. I've got to say I wasn't keen on the gearbox, it seemed like it had been taken from a standard Fiesta (apart from being 6 speed). Despite what the figures say it DID NOT feel as quick as the Fabia vRS. It was dry and the car handled well and felt more grounded than the Fabia as it seems to fit lower. I can't say that the handling was much if any better though, it still managed to slip a few times even when not pushed too hard.

I know my review isn't very thorough but I left there still preferring my Fabia.

Maybe I expected too much but I did expect more for the Fiesta ST especially with its price tag, just shy of £20,000, they offered £18,300 with relative employee discount. If they were sub £15,000 I would seriously consider one, maybe when there are a few more 2nd hand ones available and appropriately priced.

I've got to say that Ford's do seem excessively priced. There was a Kuga in the showroom, 2.0TDCi powershift which was marked at £37000!!!

Edited 26 April, 201412 yr by austenw90

Just to add... Part exchange offer on my 62 plate with 11,200 miles was £9000 so not great! But assuming they mark up by £1500 - £2000 if reselling then I assume a true value of about £10,500.

I paid £11k but ended up paying only £10,300 some how when I paid finance balance early.

Edited 26 April, 201412 yr by austenw90

I also test drove one but as above, the price put me off massively.

 

The car itself was brilliant though IMO

You can pick up the ST from £14400 which to me makes it the one of the best value cars currently on sale. Stick the Mountune upgrade on there for £600 and it gets better still. Amazed you felt it was slower and didnt handle as well as a Fabia VRS though! In terms of handling (neutral balance and superb traction), fun factor and value for money its simply the best hot hatch the market has seen in quite a few years IMO.

Blimey! I was looking at one just before Christmas and without too much haggling was a little less than £15k for a ST2 with some options. I think the dealer you went to was taking the ****! And a Kuga for £37K???

 

I suspect the noise had something to do with it not 'feeling' as quick; personally I loved the little Fiesta.

We have a small fleet of basic model Fiesta's and Focus's at work and I'm not a fan of them at all; particularly the cabin's which feel very cramped and uncomfortable.

 

The Fabia may be long in the tooth but I still prefer it to about all small cars out there.

 

 

TP

I suspect the noise had something to do with it not 'feeling' as quick; personally I loved the little Fiesta.

Noise does play a big part in how fast something feels. IMO

The Fiesta sounded very good and when I say not as quick...The Fabia feels quicker as in acceleration force probably added by DSG. I don't find road noise an issue with the Fabia as some do, it is no different to the Fiat Bravo I had before. I just noticed that the Fiesta was a bit quieter.

The gearbox was a let down IMO. Needs to be shorter shift. I'm a big fan of the DSG in the Fabia.

Having driven both I conclude my vRS feels quicker and more responsive but the Fiesta is a proper modern hot hatch I think. Both have pros and cons.

The Fiesta sounded very good and when I say not as quick...The Fabia feels quicker as in acceleration force probably added by DSG. I don't find road noise an issue with the Fabia as some do, it is no different to the Fiat Bravo I had before. I just noticed that the Fiesta was a bit quieter.

The gearbox was a let down IMO. Needs to be shorter shift. I'm a big fan of the DSG in the Fabia.

Having driven both I conclude my vRS feels quicker and more responsive but the Fiesta is a proper modern hot hatch I think. Both have pros and cons.

Edit: I didn't enjoy the test drive in the same way as when I first drove my Fabia.

All personal opinion of course.

Edited 26 April, 201412 yr by austenw90

I havent looked at the specs, does the fabia have more torque?

I havent looked at the specs, does the fabia have more torque?

Good point... Just looked up.

Fiesta - 290Nm / 214 lb-ft. weight 1163kg

Fabia - 250Nm / 184 lb-ft. weight (hatch) 1243kg

Maybe low down pull of supercharger has something to do with it.

Could be yeah.

Its torque that throws you back isnt it .

Could be yeah.

Its torque that throws you back isnt it .

The diesel factor.

The torque in the vRS is there 2,000 -4,500 rpm and you push the pedal and go thanks to the Dual chargers & DSG.

 

the ST has torque but very low down,

Max Torque @ 1,600 rpm,

 Max Power 182 PS @ 5,700 rpm

i have had a play with a few,  & i think someone never told them they might might need to drop a gear or 2 and give it some.

It is manual and not the fastest of Hot Hatches unless you drive it as such.

Getting around corners safely and fast is nice, but if you are behind, thats not much cope really.

 

Starting Prices for a ST3 is now higher,

What is the least anyone knows you can get one of them for.?

 

Bossfox's  looks good in Blue, & at least thars one owner that will know how to drive it.

 

george

The Fiesta is pulling 220NM @ 2000rpm and 290NM by 2500rpm (320NM Mountune)

 

Fabia has a maximum of 250NM @ 2000rpm so will have a small advantage below around 2250rpm.

 

I've had several test drives in both, I found the ride completely opposite. The Fabia has quite a bit of travel and roll but crashes and thuds over rode imperfections and potholes. The Fiesta is firmer, it rides much flatter through corners, feels more direct but feels more supple over poor road surfaces. You don't get the crashyness.

There are two more big differences, the first is the steering feel, the Fabia's is numb, it's direct but there's little feedback. The Fiesta's steering feels alive, you know exactly how much grip you have left. And that brings us onto the second big difference, get on the power to early in the Fabia and you get wheel spin and/or understeer, the Fiesta you can get on the power so much earlier. 

 

Performance wise on a drag strip there probably wouldn't be much in it unless the Fiesta has Mountune (And you'd be daft not too). For fun and feel the Fiesta wins hands down, for practicality the Fabia.

 

I was was quoted under £15k for the ST2 but decided we couldn't live with three door.

 

On one point the Fiesta is the better motorway cruiser, it's far more refined.

 

Cheers

Lee

The one the salesman was keen to push on me today was something orange. A beautiful colour. The demo car was white.

Interesting comment above. I just can't believe the gearbox. That and the seats are the only big let downs for me.

Edited 26 April, 201412 yr by austenw90

We have a small fleet of basic model Fiesta's and Focus's at work and I'm not a fan of them at all; particularly the cabin's which feel very cramped and uncomfortable.

The Fabia may be long in the tooth but I still prefer it to about all small cars out there.

TP

I also drive a Fiesta and I agree with your comment about the cabin - the Fabia feels much roomier. I think the Fiesta having less glass space has something to do with it.

The dash.

It might only be a small thing, but as a driver, its the thing you spend most your time lookin at and i really dont like it in the fiesta.

The fabia is much nicer inside IMO.

My opinion is that the Fabia is better built, more practical and easier to drive quickly.

But not as much fun with less handling feel.

The Fiesta is a lot of fun if you like to achieve the performance by waggling a stick about and extract the performance, very eager to attack apexes and well specced. I rate the handling over a lot of other cars.

But the central dash is an over buttoned mess (although when driving it I find myself not looking at the dash much) it has a gaping fish mouth stuck on the front and the seats do take a little getting used to.

Plus it's not as "solid" feeling as it just isn't as well made as any modern Skoda I've had.

For info, pre-Mountune upgrade my ST-3 was £18k.

When you consider that it has Sat-Nav, Bluetooth, heated bucket seats, auto lights and wipers, keyless entry and go (I do like that), power fold Mirrors, climate control and DAB it's actually not a bad price.

The ST-3 is so well kitted I only added rear parking sensors and a space saver spare wheel.

Being an ST-3 with a higher list price you don't have to add much extra kit, which does a little to help resale value.

If you kitted a Fabia to a similar level (although there are a few things there the Fabia can't get) the Skoda would not be much different in price, but due to thousands of extras the initial depreciation would be worse.

To me the whole attraction of the Fiesta ST is that it just wants to be driven enthusiastically and you can fully turn off the ESP.

The clever idea on it is the Mountune upgrade, because paying an extra £600 to go from 180bhp to 215bhp in an 1,150kg car should make a noticeable difference.

Officially it knocks the 0-60mph time down from 6.9 to 6.4 seconds, but once rolling I think the difference will be more noticeable.

My Mountune kit is going on in two weeks.

It'll be interesting to see the difference.

I just wish they did a five door, which is available in America.

Be sure to report back here on how you find the mountune upgrade.

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk

Bossfox a favour please if you get the chance or the inclination,

 can you go down to the Public Weigh Bridge and ask to drive on, (or you maybe know someone with Corner Scales)

i am interested in the Actual Weight of a Fiesta ST as they drive on the road with a driver and tank full.

(when i do that in a vRS, no weights, 2 spares, tools, 10 litres & 50 Litres, it is just over 1,440 kg,

depends if i have pigged out recently.)

 

Ford seem to be a bit like the Volkswagen Group,  BMW & Others,

Kerb/Unladen weights even with another 100 kg added for real weight are somehow not resembling the car as driven by people.

They chase the EU Emission Test figures. 

Or with The VW Group, give the more Expensive Models better Figures, VED Class & Emissions,

even if the car is actually heavier and no more efficient.

They even publish figures and people have that Tax Band and later they Revise the correct weight,

& do not change anything else, The VED stays at it was, eg the first Polo GTI's in 2010.

 

I was reading the Autocar article on the Seat Leon Cupra 280 DSG,

& they seemed surprise that when weighed it was less than the Official Figures.

They said,

"How much lighter, rather than heavier,

The Leon was on our scales compared with the claim, Remarkably unusual. 41 kg"

 

cheers 

George

No problem George, I have my own set of corner scales.

Will do Mon/Tues.

I haven't weighed the Fabia but my two other cars.

 

VW Passat 2.0TDi DSG, (Parking sensors and audio upgrade only options) Brochure for standard car said 1530kg, Mass in Service on V5 1495kg. Weight of car with full tank but no people 1590kg.

 

BMW 1 Series 1.6 Turbo Petrol 8 speed auto. (Options multi adjustable sports electric seats with lumber, sports multi function wheel, audio upgrade with amps and bigger under seat subs, Comfort pack, front and rear pdc and servotronic adjustable steering) Brochure for standard car says 1385kg, Mass in Service on V5 1385kg, Weight of car with full tank but no people 1360kg.

 

I'd expected the BMW to be heavier than it's claimed weight especially with the options fitted, the Passat has only parking sensors and a head unit change but is nearly 100kg more than the declared weight on the V5.

It is a shame that they do not Weigh actual,  they say 90 % tank & 75kg driver.

 

If you were to want a Full tank, they would say that can be different amounts actually in.

So are they saying Official 45 or 55 litre tank, so 90% of that.

 

No need to give Kerb Weight/Unladen with a 75 kg Driver and 9 kg of luggage.

Weigh real cars,

not one real Basic Bog Standard with No Spare wheel etc.

Cloth not Leather etc

 

If the car is Given as Proper Model, full of petrol,  

then anyone knows what they weigh and if they are carrying Golf Clubs .

23 kg Luggage etc.

 

I expect the Fiesta will be near the Official weights, and BMW's.

 

BMW MINI's are often far from the Official Kerb Weights.

George, have you weighed your vRS with just a full tank in normal road going mode to get a comparison with the ST?

No extra bits inside and no people.

 

Bossfox a favour please if you get the chance or the inclination,

 can you go down to the Public Weigh Bridge and ask to drive on, (or you maybe know someone with Corner Scales)

i am interested in the Actual Weight of a Fiesta ST as they drive on the road with a driver and tank full.

(when i do that in a vRS, no weights, 2 spares, tools, 10 litres & 50 Litres, it is just over 1,440 kg,

depends if i have pigged out recently.)

No, because i never drive a car like that.  It means nothing to me.

I have a lightened vRS, it is back to the near 1,243 kg with various bits and pieces,

but full of petrol and me in it,

and an almost standard showroom weight one, which is over 1,400 kg as it is with me in.

 

george