RE: Ford Fiesta ST: UK Drive
Discussion
, won't make that mistake again... 
IanJ9375 said:
I'd expect it will be the last version available with 3dr even as an option.
I don't mind the looks at all, I suspect a lot of the hatred is from current or previous Fiesta ST owners - which happens whenever a newer model arrives, then in 12-24months they seem to come round to it and buy one lol
Exactly... the mk7 was a very hard act to follow and whatever the new model was people would moan because the mk7 was so damn goodI don't mind the looks at all, I suspect a lot of the hatred is from current or previous Fiesta ST owners - which happens whenever a newer model arrives, then in 12-24months they seem to come round to it and buy one lol
Shiv_P said:
Exactly... the mk7 was a very hard act to follow and whatever the new model was people would moan because the mk7 was so damn good
Generally happens at every generational change of car, more so when the previous was highly regarded.Carfection regard it highly enough it could have come with an RS badge - without yet driving one that's good enough for me to consider it a success.
I’ve been for two test drives in one now and the engine is an absolute peach. Pulls really well and the quaife diff makes itself known through the steering rack nicely. The gain in size and weight is noticeable but the extra grunt and the engine noise more than counteract that.
Genuinely considering selling my Elise and getting one of these. Finance/lease looks strong too- 3k down, 2.9 interest and about 275 per month.
Genuinely considering selling my Elise and getting one of these. Finance/lease looks strong too- 3k down, 2.9 interest and about 275 per month.
They drive OK, still not 100% convinced by the handling but there you go. But I found the new Fiesta had some fundamental annoyances.
- The cabin looks OK in pictures but the ergonomics are s
t when you come to use it. Really st. Visibility, alignment and position of controls is all wrong from the drivers seat. It's nice and tidy to look at in a review picture from the back seat but not much good when you want to use it in anger.
- Interior materials aren't exactly an improvement either. It might look better at a glance (maybe) but to me on contact it felt cost engineered compared to what came out 5 years ago from the same team.
- The instrument cluster is from a 90s Japanese Christmas cracker, all flat black featureless plastic. Putting a screen into it doesn't make up for the rest. Nasty.
- Rear visibility is utter crap, first car I've used that really demanded a reversing camera. And I've tried a few. I have better memories of a long wheelbase Sprinter than I do of the Fiesta.
- Forward visibility is crap too; really noticeably bad when you're on a roundabout and realise you have no real clue where the kerb is.
- The controls for the infotainment etc on the dash and steering wheel are illogical and prioritise the wrong things. They also don't match the slightly older layouts for the same systems (Sync3) or indeed any other flow or feature set from anyone else.
Kit isn't too bad if you have the right options, but miss one or two off and certain features don't make much sense. Like still having steering wheel controls for cruise features when only the limiter is actually there so you have all the buttons except the enable.
I was seriously disappointed. The way it drives isn't good enough to make up for the endless annoyances of using it.
And the worst part is that the new Focus seems to be just a big version of the Fiesta in many ways so no escape if you go for that.
Usability was basic basic stuff at Ford for the past 25 years but someone has utterly lost their grip on it.
- The cabin looks OK in pictures but the ergonomics are s
t when you come to use it. Really st. Visibility, alignment and position of controls is all wrong from the drivers seat. It's nice and tidy to look at in a review picture from the back seat but not much good when you want to use it in anger.- Interior materials aren't exactly an improvement either. It might look better at a glance (maybe) but to me on contact it felt cost engineered compared to what came out 5 years ago from the same team.
- The instrument cluster is from a 90s Japanese Christmas cracker, all flat black featureless plastic. Putting a screen into it doesn't make up for the rest. Nasty.
- Rear visibility is utter crap, first car I've used that really demanded a reversing camera. And I've tried a few. I have better memories of a long wheelbase Sprinter than I do of the Fiesta.
- Forward visibility is crap too; really noticeably bad when you're on a roundabout and realise you have no real clue where the kerb is.
- The controls for the infotainment etc on the dash and steering wheel are illogical and prioritise the wrong things. They also don't match the slightly older layouts for the same systems (Sync3) or indeed any other flow or feature set from anyone else.
Kit isn't too bad if you have the right options, but miss one or two off and certain features don't make much sense. Like still having steering wheel controls for cruise features when only the limiter is actually there so you have all the buttons except the enable.
I was seriously disappointed. The way it drives isn't good enough to make up for the endless annoyances of using it.
And the worst part is that the new Focus seems to be just a big version of the Fiesta in many ways so no escape if you go for that.
Usability was basic basic stuff at Ford for the past 25 years but someone has utterly lost their grip on it.
IanJ9375 said:
I don't mind the looks at all, I suspect a lot of the hatred is from current or previous Fiesta ST owners - which happens whenever a newer model arrives, then in 12-24months they seem to come round to it and buy one lol
Not always. I didn't like the styling of the Focus MK3 or the S550 Mustang and still don't but would still buy a Focus ST as it has its own identity. Safety regs mean many new cars look far worse than their predecessor, Honda Civic being a perfect example.Edited by LuS1fer on Saturday 14th July 15:12
Jonesy23 said:
- Rear visibility is utter crap, first car I've used that really demanded a reversing camera..
Or some driving lessons?It's a Fiesta for godsake, not a Wnnebago.
I am sure the world is either going down of dumbing down driving or just people who cannot be happy unless the car w
ks them off on every trip.w
ks them off whilst looking at the rear tail lights, which is, apparently, an Alan Partridge style deal breaker .... Mackofthejungle said:
How have they managed to put an extra 200kgs into the car compared to the mk7 3 cylinder?! Bit of fat bd.. Puts me right off.
EU weights (car fuelled + 75kg driver) declared manufacturer weight and heaviest weighed by mag tests incl. options (source Zeperfs.com):d.. Puts me right off. Previous Fiesta 1.0 140hp: 1165kg - 1222kg
Fiesta 1.6 ST 180hp: 1163kg - 1286kg
Fiesta 1.5 ST 200hp: 1262kg* - 1232kg
New ST weight remains unconclusive, see below, but difference is definitely not 200kg with thw previous gen 1.0. In fact, between existing non-ST versions of the mk7 and 8 with identical 1.0 engines, real weight is just up roughly 25kg or so.
(*) said to be EU weight, but then real weight is too low but unsure where they got that number. Anyhow, not first time media confuses DIN and EU weights, I'm pretty sure that is what happened at the ST press launch. Press pack stated weight was EU already, but media thought it was DIN just like the kerb weight on the old one was quoted. Or something like that. Anyhow, time will tell as more mags actually weight the car...
Edited by Onehp on Saturday 14th July 23:00
Jonesy23 said:
They drive OK, still not 100% convinced by the handling but there you go. But I found the new Fiesta had some fundamental annoyances.
- The cabin looks OK in pictures but the ergonomics are st when you come to use it. Really st. Visibility, alignment and position of controls is all wrong from the drivers seat. It's nice and tidy to look at in a review picture from the back seat but not much good when you want to use it in anger.
- Interior materials aren't exactly an improvement either. It might look better at a glance (maybe) but to me on contact it felt cost engineered compared to what came out 5 years ago from the same team.
- The instrument cluster is from a 90s Japanese Christmas cracker, all flat black featureless plastic. Putting a screen into it doesn't make up for the rest. Nasty.
- Rear visibility is utter crap, first car I've used that really demanded a reversing camera. And I've tried a few. I have better memories of a long wheelbase Sprinter than I do of the Fiesta.
- Forward visibility is crap too; really noticeably bad when you're on a roundabout and realise you have no real clue where the kerb is.
- The controls for the infotainment etc on the dash and steering wheel are illogical and prioritise the wrong things. They also don't match the slightly older layouts for the same systems (Sync3) or indeed any other flow or feature set from anyone else.
Kit isn't too bad if you have the right options, but miss one or two off and certain features don't make much sense. Like still having steering wheel controls for cruise features when only the limiter is actually there so you have all the buttons except the enable.
I was seriously disappointed. The way it drives isn't good enough to make up for the endless annoyances of using it.
And the worst part is that the new Focus seems to be just a big version of the Fiesta in many ways so no escape if you go for that.
Usability was basic basic stuff at Ford for the past 25 years but someone has utterly lost their grip on it.
Blimey !! After that report, it sounds like Ford needs to hire you for all their future interior car design. Just so they don't make such a dogs dinner of future cars, as they clearly have here.- The cabin looks OK in pictures but the ergonomics are s
t when you come to use it. Really st. Visibility, alignment and position of controls is all wrong from the drivers seat. It's nice and tidy to look at in a review picture from the back seat but not much good when you want to use it in anger.- Interior materials aren't exactly an improvement either. It might look better at a glance (maybe) but to me on contact it felt cost engineered compared to what came out 5 years ago from the same team.
- The instrument cluster is from a 90s Japanese Christmas cracker, all flat black featureless plastic. Putting a screen into it doesn't make up for the rest. Nasty.
- Rear visibility is utter crap, first car I've used that really demanded a reversing camera. And I've tried a few. I have better memories of a long wheelbase Sprinter than I do of the Fiesta.
- Forward visibility is crap too; really noticeably bad when you're on a roundabout and realise you have no real clue where the kerb is.
- The controls for the infotainment etc on the dash and steering wheel are illogical and prioritise the wrong things. They also don't match the slightly older layouts for the same systems (Sync3) or indeed any other flow or feature set from anyone else.
Kit isn't too bad if you have the right options, but miss one or two off and certain features don't make much sense. Like still having steering wheel controls for cruise features when only the limiter is actually there so you have all the buttons except the enable.
I was seriously disappointed. The way it drives isn't good enough to make up for the endless annoyances of using it.
And the worst part is that the new Focus seems to be just a big version of the Fiesta in many ways so no escape if you go for that.
Usability was basic basic stuff at Ford for the past 25 years but someone has utterly lost their grip on it.
I'm guessing you drive something German?
Mackofthejungle said:
How have they managed to put an extra 200kgs into the car compared to the mk7 3 cylinder?! Bit of fat bd.. Puts me right off.
No chance is it 200kg heavier. For one the 1.0 is iron block and the 1.5 is aluminium block. I suspect there will be 50kg difference as a maximum, bigger brakes, a 6 speed box and an LSD do weigh more.d.. Puts me right off. The new Polo GTI is the fat b
d of the segment.Edited by lee_erm on Sunday 15th July 11:29
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