Mk7 Fiesta ST

[Andy665]

Always wondered whether these are as good as they say - now I know.

My 18 year old son has just bought one, his 7th car (UP. R53 Mini, Mk1 Leon Cupra, R56 Mini One, R56 Cooper D and 9n Polo GTi before).

Bought with full Collins Performance Stage 2 software and hardware (Airtec intercooler, Airtec induction, exhaust).

Very quick but very well balanced, was expecting it to be all top end but it's almost diesel like, bags of low / mid range torque means you can be lazy in your gear changes but still make really good progress.

Perhaps the "yoof" sometimes do choose well.

[TikTak]

I'm surprised they're insurable considering the amount of them about with the 'yoof' and how much work they end up having done to them. Especially staging them.

Probably the best warm/old skool type hot hatches out there which is why they got so popular.

Unfortunately they'll all end up with a lot of crap mods and money saving work done on them some of their forerunners (Saxo VTR, Golf GTIs, Pug 205, Civic Type R) with a market of ragged builds and high milers or quality examples for too much money.

[J4CKO]

Yeah, I have one, they are great out of the box but the modification bug kicks in. Mine is now about as modified as I will ever go with it.

Change the turbo for a hybrid and it loses that diesel like delivery, they then rev another 1000/1500 rpm, the small turbo runs out of puff up top where a hybrid will keep going and rev out to 7500, with a remap or any other hardware that keeps the standard turbo they car is effectively a bit of a better, quicker version of the standard car, changing the turbo changes the character of the car entirely.

They are still in the phase of cheap fast Ford, they will likely go up in price for nice, original examples as fast Fords are apt to do, people who have one now move to a BMW of some description and will later want to relive their youth.

[Andy665]

TikTak said:

I'm surprised they're insurable considering the amount of them about with the 'yoof' and how much work they end up having done to them. Especially staging them.

Probably the best warm/old skool type hot hatches out there which is why they got so popular.

Unfortunately they'll all end up with a lot of crap mods and money saving work done on them some of their forerunners (Saxo VTR, Golf GTIs, Pug 205, Civic Type R) with a market of ragged builds and high milers or quality examples for too much money.

Bizarrely he transferred car from his current Cooper D for about £40 increase.

Think the fact that he has a black box and has 4 months of very high scores from it have helped.

[Trevor555]

Andy665 said:

Always wondered whether these are as good as they say - now I know.

They impressed me every time I drove one.

So much so I bought the Puma ST for the ex wife 5 years ago.

She asked what the ST stood for?

I told her "shopping trolly"

I always was a terrible liar.

Brilliant cars, and 50's to the gallon if you're feeling carefull.

[WCZ]

really liked mine but people kept trying to steal it so I got rid

don't see as many of them on the roads as before, they used to be everywhere

[Retro_Jim]

I had one from new back in 2016 on a PCP. I loved it, the blurple looked great and I enjoyed the drive. My wife hated it as it was a stupid colour and as comfortable as falling down the stairs.

[BenEK9]

TikTak said:

I'm surprised they're insurable considering the amount of them about with the 'yoof' and how much work they end up having done to them. Especially staging them.

Probably the best warm/old skool type hot hatches out there which is why they got so popular.

Unfortunately they'll all end up with a lot of crap mods and money saving work done on them some of their forerunners (Saxo VTR, Golf GTIs, Pug 205, Civic Type R) with a market of ragged builds and high milers or quality examples for too much money.

I had one recently, a mountune one. It was excellent and I already miss it and may get another and modify it, a lot.

Weird rubbish talk there by TikTak. Modifying them almost always improves them and most of the 'forerunners' were killed by rust not mods.
The people modifying are not the people money saving.

Why would they be uninsurable because young people own then and modifying them? Totally confused.

[J4CKO]

BenEK9 said:

TikTak said:

I'm surprised they're insurable considering the amount of them about with the 'yoof' and how much work they end up having done to them. Especially staging them.

Probably the best warm/old skool type hot hatches out there which is why they got so popular.

Unfortunately they'll all end up with a lot of crap mods and money saving work done on them some of their forerunners (Saxo VTR, Golf GTIs, Pug 205, Civic Type R) with a market of ragged builds and high milers or quality examples for too much money.

I had one recently, a mountune one. It was excellent and I already miss it and may get another and modify it, a lot.

Weird rubbish talk there by TikTak. Modifying them almost always improves them and most of the 'forerunners' were killed by rust not mods.
The people modifying are not the people money saving.

Why would they be uninsurable because young people own then and modifying them? Totally confused.

They are quite difficult to insure if you are younger and have modifications, so a lot dont declare their modifications, the price comparison sites will deal with a few mods but beyond a remap, some wheels and an air filter they get a bit nervous and you need a specialist, I am 55, mine is all declared and its £600 with full NCD in a fairly low risk postcode.

I wanted to see where I could go with mine for fun and track days, need to book another. Its easy to go too far with them, really there is a point where its better to go up to another platform if you want faster, they are amazingly capable but at the end of the day its a small hatchback and keeping chasing power numbers get a bit daft, 400 plus bhp isnt unheard of but can make them very lairy, mines meant to be 315 bhp which I am happy with. Keep adding more boost it further alters the power delivery and makes it more laggy. Mines got EBC 330MM brakes, decent coilovers and an LSD.

A lot go for an S280 turbo and then dont do anything else, 340 ish bhp and they map in a lot of low down torque which just overwhelms the traction and ends up slower as you are having to back off to regain grip, in the dry in mine I can give it full throttle in second onwards and it grips and goes.

They are a good mixture of old school hot hatch feel with a bit of relative modernity like heated seats, aircon and DAB
.