Discussion
A few more STOC members seem to be appearing on here recently:
After reading this thread I had to blag a quick ride in my mate's ST. It's mechanically standard apart from a Powerflow exhaust, which is mint when it's popping and banging on a closing throttle but it does drone at higher revs!
I wouldn't say it's a wildly fast car, more in the "quick" realm of things, but impressive nontheless. Linear all the way up to a ton (on a private road, obviously) but there was not so much left after that. Still, quick enough for some fast overtakes, though it lacks the surging power you get in a turbo car. Not a bad little car though, the interior was a bit plasticky (no change there from Ford!) but it was still a nice car to sit in.
I now understand what people mean about the high Ford driving position, the seat was bottomed out and still felt quite high. The gear stick was similarly high - I suppose to match the high seat, but it had a short throw and felt quite smooth and satisfying to use. At 40,000 miles, I suppose it's just run in! My mate's opinion is that the front end of the car is too heavy and makes it feel slightly unbalanced. It certainly seemed to corner flat at high speeds without suggesting it was going to slip away, though he reckons it's a bit leaden on the way into a turn. I have not driven one so I cannot comment, just his opinion.
I like the way the blue mesh on the seats and the "ST" badging on the seats and door sill rails, little touches like that, remind you that you are in the (old) top line Fiesta. I know it's not a particularly cheap car to run, but if you are in the top of the line model it's good to be reminded of it!
Overall quite a nice little car, if the fuel consumption was better it would be a stronger proposition to me. I'm sure Ford could have squeezed a little more power from it to challenge the Clio 182 and 197 it competed with without it using any more fuel, and it now lags far behind the 200bhp Clios we get these days. I'm sure in the new generation, Ford will make a Fiesta RS (with a turbo!) which will no doubt be a fantastic car, I'm sure if they made it as light as possible and gave it 190bhp from a 1.6L turbo or something it would be an excellent drive. Then, it would not step on the toes of the Focus ST, and it would stand well in the crowd of current hot hatches.
I wouldn't say it's a wildly fast car, more in the "quick" realm of things, but impressive nontheless. Linear all the way up to a ton (on a private road, obviously) but there was not so much left after that. Still, quick enough for some fast overtakes, though it lacks the surging power you get in a turbo car. Not a bad little car though, the interior was a bit plasticky (no change there from Ford!) but it was still a nice car to sit in.
I now understand what people mean about the high Ford driving position, the seat was bottomed out and still felt quite high. The gear stick was similarly high - I suppose to match the high seat, but it had a short throw and felt quite smooth and satisfying to use. At 40,000 miles, I suppose it's just run in! My mate's opinion is that the front end of the car is too heavy and makes it feel slightly unbalanced. It certainly seemed to corner flat at high speeds without suggesting it was going to slip away, though he reckons it's a bit leaden on the way into a turn. I have not driven one so I cannot comment, just his opinion.
I like the way the blue mesh on the seats and the "ST" badging on the seats and door sill rails, little touches like that, remind you that you are in the (old) top line Fiesta. I know it's not a particularly cheap car to run, but if you are in the top of the line model it's good to be reminded of it!
Overall quite a nice little car, if the fuel consumption was better it would be a stronger proposition to me. I'm sure Ford could have squeezed a little more power from it to challenge the Clio 182 and 197 it competed with without it using any more fuel, and it now lags far behind the 200bhp Clios we get these days. I'm sure in the new generation, Ford will make a Fiesta RS (with a turbo!) which will no doubt be a fantastic car, I'm sure if they made it as light as possible and gave it 190bhp from a 1.6L turbo or something it would be an excellent drive. Then, it would not step on the toes of the Focus ST, and it would stand well in the crowd of current hot hatches.
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