I have just got in from driving my friend's brand new Ford Fiesta ST. I'm actually still grinning. Ok, it's not as fast as it "should be" but, it doesn't leave you feeling cheated of power. Handling is it's forte, without a doubt. Over the bumps of some local B roads, it felt stable, and balanced, although some of the bigger bumps unsettled the front, but I put that down to lack of weight, the ST feeling quite light on it's feet. On tight bends and roundabouts, playing with the throttle shows some intention to oversteer in a predictable manner, providing no end of grins. The car is very balanced and agile, with bags of grip, nicely wieghted steering, and a pleasant engine note. All in all a suprise to me, as we all know I'm not a Ford enthusiast. Well built too, and looks fantastic in white.

Wouldn't buy one though.

Why wouldnt you buy one?

Probably the funny blue oval thingy on the front.

Why wouldnt you buy one?

does seem odd...:confused: the only "gripe" was that it wasn't as fast as it should be - a full milltek manifold and a bluefin would probably see around 180bhp.

but i'd assume it wouldn't have anywhere near the mid range grunt of either the remapped Fabia/Octavia vRS he's used to

Looks quite funky though - if a little girly.

reckon the pre-facelift version looks loads better though

reckon the pre-facelift version looks loads better though

:iagree:

The new headlights look like they've changed them for the sake of change.

I wouldn't buy one simply because for that money, there are other cars I would prefer. It's not simply because it is a Ford. The remapped and fettled Fabia makes me grin much more for a start, and as someone pointed out, mid range grunt is something i am now accustomed to from both of my cars. For my friend though, who has upgraded from a 1.25 Fiesta, it's everything he wants, and thats what matters.

I found the ST engine a little rough sounding to be honest, alomost comparable to an ageing Ford KA sound, until you get over 5000rpm, at which point it starts to sound good. Shame really as it totally runs out of steam at 6k.

I agree with the facelift comments too, pre facelift was much more attractive.

After XR2,XR2i,RS Turbo you would think Ford would be the masters of this warm hatch thing for the shopping car segment.

Looks ok though

The remapped and fettled Fabia makes me grin much more for a start

Surely you're not comparing like for like :P:rofl:

Chris

Surely you're not comparing like for like :P:rofl:

Chris

Ok, a standard Fabia, for less money, doesn't handle as well, but is every bit as much fun to drive, except on the motorway, it p1sses on the ST hands down.

Thanks for doing my review for me Dave. That's saved me a job...