RE: New Ford Fiesta ST - official!

RE: New Ford Fiesta ST - official!

Wednesday 8th March 2017

New Ford Fiesta ST - official!

Three cylinders, three drive modes and three doors - if you want them - for the latest fast Ford (Geneva pics added)



Of the many compliments that can be paid to the current Fiesta ST, perhaps the car's most endearing trait is its simplicity. Nothing needs to be configured, adjusted or set to have an absolutely brilliant time. Alright, maybe the traction control if you're feeling especially silly. But against cars like the Clio R.S. (with its menu of engine noises for the speakers), it was the ST's old school approach that won so many over.

Revealed: New Ford Fiesta ST Driven

Five doors on offer for more practical types
Five doors on offer for more practical types
That's changed for this new car. Quite a bit. The ST now has three drive modes - Normal, Sport and Track - which adjust the usual parameters of steering weight, throttle response and ESC threshold. Here though they also adjust the Electronic Sound Enhancement (ESE) feature, a system in place to "amplify the naturally sporty sound of the new 1.5-litre Ecoboost engine", alongside an active exhaust. Hmm.

That 1.5-litre turbo is an all-aluminium three-cylinder lump, the first time a Ford Performance car has had just three pistons. It's rated at 200hp and 214lb ft (there's no mention of overboost just yet), sufficient for a 6.7-second 0-62mph sprint. More interestingly though, this engine will have cylinder deactivation. Yep, cylinder deactivation on a three-cylinder engine. When full performance isn't needed, fuel delivery and valve operation is closed and it runs on two cylinders. The process takes just 14 milliseconds to both close off a cylinder and bring the engine back to three, contributing to projected CO2 emissions of 114g/km.

Chassis-wise it could be argued very little needed to change for the ST. Despite that, Ford has tweaked the Torque Vectoring Control (the system that brakes an inside wheel for better traction) plus the ESC now has three modes: on, "wide-slip mode with limited intervention" and fully off. Beyond that nothing additional has yet been confirmed.

What's a fast car without a flat-bottomed wheel?
What's a fast car without a flat-bottomed wheel?
Following the strategy brought in for the standard Fiesta, this new ST will offer buyers a wider range of personalisation. There are "a range of trim elements" for the gearstick, wheel, door pulls and "decorative dashboard spear"; additional styling packs will also be offered, alongside a new Liquid Blue paint option. And praise be, the ST has new infotainment. SYNC3 has voice control and an eight-inch touchscreen as well as CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. There's a B&O Play optional stereo too.

It's a pretty comprehensive overhaul for the fastest Fiesta then, without even mentioning the "bold and distinctive exterior styling". Following a Geneva debut the new ST will be launched as a three- and five-door in early 2018. Time to bag a great deal on the outgoing one now!

Watch the launch video here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author
Discussion

Andy665

Original Poster:

3,599 posts

227 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
Liking this a lot - love he offbeat nature of 3 pots so hope the sound enhancement is not there to mask the natural sound

WCZ

10,492 posts

193 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
can't think of the last time a hot hatch didn't actually have a power upgrade from it preceding model

no thanks

seiben

2,343 posts

133 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
Big fan. Sounds like a lot of fun!

MikeGoodwin

3,323 posts

116 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
Sound Symposer aside I rekon itll be quite good actually.....

No LSD I assume - too old school.

Heathwood

2,524 posts

201 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
No thank you, I'll pass thanks Ford. Although I wouldn't mind picking up a lightly used current gen ST 5dr in a year or two.

JMF894

5,478 posts

154 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
WCZ said:
can't think of the last time a hot hatch didn't actually have a power upgrade from it preceding model

no thanks
It has hasn't it? The standard ST was 180bhp and only the ltd ST200 had, err, 200bhp. As mentioned in the write up no mention yet of an overboost function. May have one. Let's wait and see.

Onehp

1,617 posts

282 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
It looks good, and for all of the 125 ponies, I really liked the 1.0 ecoboost, so if they made an effort with the sound, this could be the have it all car: fun, light, economy and sound.

Usget

5,426 posts

210 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
First configuration... turn off the stupid fake sound thing

rb26

783 posts

185 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
JMF894 said:
It has hasn't it? The standard ST was 180bhp and only the ltd ST200 had, err, 200bhp. As mentioned in the write up no mention yet of an overboost function. May have one. Let's wait and see.
Yes, but the very lightly breathed on MP215 kit gives it 215hp and 230lbs/ft of torque. I am interested in the 3 cylinder motor though, sounds like a mini 911. biggrin

WCZ

10,492 posts

193 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
JMF894 said:
It has hasn't it? The standard ST was 180bhp and only the ltd ST200 had, err, 200bhp. As mentioned in the write up no mention yet of an overboost function. May have one. Let's wait and see.
the ST has 200bhp with overboost, there's no way of actually driving the car with 180bhp though because the boost lasts for ~20 seconds maximum and will be reactivated when you ease off the throttle / change gear.

in America it was marketed as 200bhp.

imo if the new car had overboost then it'd be mentioned in the press release, same with any significant weight savings.

could be wrong though.

I have a mp215 st3 in my fleet and it's one of my fave cars to drive, pretty disappointed as I was hoping the mk8 would some how move things on as much as it did from the mk7.

markwm

144 posts

219 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
I sooo wish car manufacturers would just stop putting single sided exhauss on their cars. I can forgive it on entry levels models but on a performance model like this is just looks so st having exhaust pipes only on one side.

E36Ross

501 posts

111 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
What is it with the latest trends of stickung a stupid screen onto the dash rather than build it in properly.

Looks like a retrofit done in Halfords.


Other than that I like it! Wheels are ste buy easily changed. smile

Hitch

6,100 posts

193 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
Heathwood said:
No thank you, I'll pass thanks Ford. Although I wouldn't mind picking up a lightly used current gen ST 5dr in a year or two.
So you won't pass...you'll just wait because you're tight?!

JonJon2015

303 posts

96 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
The promo video suggests that it's only just faster than a middle-aged man on a child's bicycle, which is a curious way to showcase a performance model.

cib24

1,115 posts

152 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
This looks like a worse car than the previous one.

All aluminum engine means it won't be able to take big power.

The rear looks like a Golf GTI which is the most bland car in existence.

The interior dash and central console are looks horrible.

It also looks heavier by 50-100kg.

The only thing that looks okay are the wheels.

Adz The Rat

13,945 posts

208 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
Hmmm I had a 1.0 ecoboost 125 and that felt like the engine was being stressed a bit too much. I don't think I would fancy a 1.5 3-cylinder.

Heathwood

2,524 posts

201 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
Hitch said:
Heathwood said:
No thank you, I'll pass thanks Ford. Although I wouldn't mind picking up a lightly used current gen ST 5dr in a year or two.
So you won't pass...you'll just wait because you're tight?!
Yes, I will pass thank you very much. That latest offering doesn't interest me at all. However, I do like the current gen so may pick up one of those in a couple of years.

And no I'm not tight. I'm due to pick up a brand new car early March. Don't be so judgemental (or maybe include a smilie 😀)

IanCress

4,409 posts

165 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
Adz The Rat said:
Hmmm I had a 1.0 ecoboost 125 and that felt like the engine was being stressed a bit too much. I don't think I would fancy a 1.5 3-cylinder.
laugh In what way does it feel stressed?

Krikkit

26,500 posts

180 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
Andy665 said:
Liking this a lot - love he offbeat nature of 3 pots so hope the sound enhancement is not there to mask the natural sound
Agree completely - drove a 120hp not so long ago and it sounded fantastic. I imagine it's dropped some weight out of the nose as well, never a bad thing.

markwm said:
I sooo wish car manufacturers would just stop putting single sided exhauss on their cars. I can forgive it on entry levels models but on a performance model like this is just looks so st having exhaust pipes only on one side.
Can't tell you how strongly I disagree! Over-exhausting is one of the biggest stupidities of car design these days, particularly with all the fakery going on.

ayman82

1,465 posts

180 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
The blue they are showcasing makes it look like an entry level car, the grey/white one that is being driven in the launch video actually looks like a performance model.