I'll probably get crucified by some for bringing this up and some of the things I'm going to say. However....

Yesterday I was in my local Ford dealership getting my Ka (Yeah, I know, it's our second car!) serviced when I happened to see the new Fiesta ST.

Now I was thinking of getting a new Fabia vRS in late spring / early summer but seeing the ST got me thinking. :confused:

One thing that didn't inspire me about the vRS was the bland and, in places, cheap looking interior. Sitting in the ST was a world away. Great design, materials etc - really inspiring and sporty. There are pros and cons for both cars:

vRS

Five doors, more economical, cheaper insurance and tax.

There was an interesting tets on 5th Gear where the fiesta went around the track faster than the Fabia. Following on from that there was a thread here that upset lots of Fabia owners.

Understandable really as its natural to defend the decision you made to buy a given vehicle.

At the end of it all it came down to the things you have mentioned. Insurance and MPG.

Some die-hard Skoda lovers will question the Ford's reliability but personally I dont think you'll have any problems with the ST - especially with that low mileage.

If you're only doing 7000miles a year then MPG shouldnt' be a factor in my opinion.

Get the Fiesta if you want a sporty, fun car.

Get the Fabia if you want better MPG and a good all-rounder

Don't think you'll upset anyone with that, seems pretty balanced. The vRS resale is 51% at 3yrs apparently (someone posted that today ), I'd imagine the ST is much lower.

Although the Fiesta has more power it's NA so needs working to get it out - the vRS is the opposite in that you get plenty of oomph under normal driving.

Have a go in both and buy whichever appeals the most

The clincher might be if you fancied remapping or more. On the Fabia it will give 180bhp, and the ST Fiesta will get sod all more.

Would you consider yourself a fan of forced induction? On that mileage the economy wouldn't matter. It does for me as I tend to exceed 20,000 p.a.

What about the new Focus ST?

Focus ST 5dr comes in at about £17k though

There was an interesting tets on 5th Gear where the fiesta went around the track faster than the Fabia. Following on from that there was a thread here that upset lots of Fabia owners.

Understandable really as its natural to defend the decision you made to buy a given vehicle.

At the end of it all it came down to the things you have mentioned. Insurance and MPG.

Some die-hard Skoda lovers will question the Ford's reliability but personally I dont think you'll have any problems with the ST - especially with that low mileage.

If you're only doing 7000miles a year then MPG shouldnt' be a factor in my opinion.

Get the Fiesta if you want a sporty' date=' fun car.

Get the Fabia if you want better MPG and a good all-rounder[/quote']Think that sums it up pretty well tbh.

Personally I like the Fiesta ST, need to get me a test drive - minus the dealer though

Focus ST 5dr comes in at about

Focus ST 5dr comes in at about

Ahhh' date=' yeah, there is that.

I guess also higher insurance, etc too.

Just trying to think how you can get 180hp out of the Fiesta ST engine? Is it a 1.8 16v engine? 2 litre? I guess someonw probably does turbo / supercharger kits for a couple of grand or more?[/quote']

Not everyone here wants to play "bodge and scarper" with their cars you know.

Some people actually think a car should be good, as it comes "out of the box"

Some people actually think a car should be good, as it comes "out of the box"

Every day I leanr about how much my dealer rips me off - mine didn't even come in a box - must be second hand

Think id go for the ST over the fabia....sorry guys...

Joel

I'd go for the ST over it as well.

Agree with Goochie, not everyone feels like they want to spend £3k into making a car something it should already have been.

FWIW though, I believe the ST is actually quite tunable.

And, if you wish, you can get uprated suspension fited as an option on the Fiesta.

Personally, as a dad, I think you would be mad to consider a 3dr car over a 5dr car ... particularly if the 2 choices are reasonably close on desireability (whatever your preference). We have two 5 dr cars and they can still be a pain at times with the two kids - with a 3dr I reckon I would be kicking anything in the vincinity on a regular basis .

And, if you wish, you can get uprated suspension fited as an option on the Fiesta.

Only on the non-ST versions I think.... wonder if they already have the Eibach kit fitted as standard?

Chris

Where's Liam when you need him?? The ST is very tunable and will go past 200Bhp(don't hold me on that though lol) I am sure cosworth are releasing some tinkered bit s for it. It has the 2.0i engine and is going to be my next motor It feels better put together than the fabia and is a whole nicer place to be IMHO (waits for the over protective furby bunch lol). Plus a standard one can be had for £10.900 new Stick in some climate control £11,300ish ta muchly

And, if you wish, you can get uprated suspension fited as an option on the Fiesta.

Yup non-standard fiestas ony (I have the brochure )

OK, my two pence worth....

I like the ST, but my only experiance with Fords has been with three brand new focus zetecs. and the first two broke. one at just 4,000 miles (terminally! had to go back!) the second at 12,000 miles felt like 120,000 miles, with so many things wrong! (like knocking suspention ect,ect) I would seriously question their reliability.

my vRS is now at 22,000 miles, and still feels and drives like new

with my experiance, I will never buy a Ford. (or a bloody citroen!) Skoda all the way! I'm an official convert.

right its a great car handles very well if you want a good testdrive try polar york he was egging me on to keep it in gear into the red and always trying to get me to go well over whats permitted on the uk road. i have never had a test drive like it they smell of rubber was wafting around the car when i had finished

cosworth and janspeed are doing kits for them and they should be covered by ford warranty too.

the my06 st is much nicer inside i think

you can get a white st with full blue stripes privacy glass, full heated leather, folding mirrors, second key, climate control for less than 13k new

when i have saved the deposit for the house im buying one

Ford make great handling cars, I've had and driven a lot of them. I've not driven the ST Fiesta, but I'd expect it to be very good and with a 2.0 Duratec engine it will be fast and responsive, if thirsty. If I wanted a fast, small hatch I'd try out the ST.

Badge snobbery is quite ridiculous, on the Ford forum they'll probably be slagging off Skodas!

The clincher might be if you fancied remapping or more. On the Fabia it will give 180bhp' date=' and the ST Fiesta will get sod all more.

Would you consider yourself a fan of forced induction? On that mileage the economy wouldn't matter. It does for me as I tend to exceed 20,000 p.a.

What about the new Focus ST? [/quote']

I've no intention of remapping or modding whatever I buy - don't want to invalidate the warranty.

Afraid,:thumbdwn: the Focus ST is too much money

Personally, as a dad, I think you would be mad to consider a 3dr car over a 5dr car ... particularly if the 2 choices are reasonably close on desireability (whatever your preference). We have two 5 dr cars and they can still be a pain at times with the two kids - with a 3dr I reckon I would be kicking anything in the vincinity on a regular basis .

I realise the 3 doors is a minus point but it would be used as our going to work car and wouldn't have to take the kids that often. What I need to check is that the two kiddie seats fit in there okay. My Ka is just a no go with trying to get kids in and out of the back the Fiesta has much better access and a reasonable sized rear seat.

Only on the non-ST versions I think.... wonder if they already have the Eibach kit fitted as standard?

Chris

In the brochure the Eibach kit is not available for the ST so the implication is that it's already fitted (Bearing in mind it says it's lowered further than the Zetec S model)

Do all new fiestas get this voice package?

Voice activation is an option, I believe.

the springs aint eibach but there are eibach springs out for it they are the same as teh tbi ones

oh and trust me they arnt slagging the skodas off on fiestastoc as they all complimented me on mine