Tuesday 29th March 2016

Ford Fiesta ST MR200: Spotted

The car the old Fiesta ST was meant to be, now available for just £6K

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The Mountune MP215 kit for the Fiesta ST is an upgrade that's been widely discussed on PistonHeads since its introduction, and with good reason. Not only does it make a fun car even more entertaining, it can be fitted for less than the price of metallic paint. A real no-brainer, in other words.

Looks a whole lot better with lower springs

But what people are less clued up on are the Mountune parts for the old Fiesta ST. By all accounts they really were the making of that car, as it wasn't as good as it should have been out of the box. Like its packages for the Focus RS, the Mountune upgrades for Fiestas were split into 'Performance' and 'Racing'; this Fiesta is one of the latter, and therefore a very exciting little car.

The Mini Cooper S and the Audi S1 are the only small hot hatches with 2.0-litre engines still in them, and they are of course both turbocharged. Just a few years ago cars like this Fiesta and the Renaultsport Clio thrived on capacity and revs for power rather than forced induction. With the onslaught of turbo engines, this Fiesta's tuned atmospheric engine becomes all the more interesting. To get the 2.0-litre Duratec from 150hp to 200hp, Mountune's tweaks included (but weren't limited to) new cams and valve springs, an uprated exhaust manifold, cast inlet plenum, larger throttle body and a recalibrated ECU. Don't forget the badge as well; that's at least 5hp. The result was 200hp at 7,000rpm - the heady heights of 7,000rpm - with torque rated at 158lb ft. Behind a new Fiesta ST of course, but there's something to be said in revving a car and going a bit slower, isn't there?

The reviews of the ST185 version of this car were very positive, declaring it "faultlessly engineered and finely executed" as well as "a bit of a giant killer". Funnily enough they came back clamouring for Mountune extras sooner in the life of the next Fiesta ST...

200hp at 7,000rpm - sounds good to us!

This particular car has Eibach Pro springs fitted as well, aiding the stance and hopefully sharpening the dynamics too. It's had two new tyres 500 miles ago, an MOT until June (but has only covered 900 miles since the last one) as well as low mileage for a 2005 car, at just 50,000. All the receipts are there for the Mountune work - the 200 pack was only added 4,000 miles ago - as well as a full service history.

So what would stop you buying this Fiesta MR200? Well some will persist with their fast Ford prejudice, but the bigger issue is that Renaultsport Clio mentioned earlier. For £6K a very nice 197 Cup could be yours, and the later 200 is almost within reach too. Both would provide very tempting alternatives. But as a pleasant reminder of old school hot hatches, as something a little different and pretty rare, the Fiesta MR200 could be just the ticket.

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FORD FIESTA ST MR200
Engine: 1,999cc, inline-4
Transmission: 5-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 200@7,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 159@5,750rpm
MPG: 38.2 (standard car)
CO2: 177g/km (standard car)
First registered: 2005
Recorded mileage: 49,000
Price new: £13,795 (standard car)
Price now:£6,000

See the original advert here.

[Crunchy Nutter]

I'd love a go in this, but I just can't picture buying one over a pre-turbo Clio 200. Maybe a drive would change my mind!

[Krikkit]

Some pretty fancy engine work going on there to give it 25% more power reliably... Should make it a pretty interesting car.

[framerateuk]

I had an MT185 Fiesta ST with their suspension fitted too (KW Variant 1).

The car was great on track, but was far too hard on the road.

The engine was an absolute peach with 185hp though. It popped on the over-run, banged on gearshifts and the howl at 7000rpm was fantastic.

However, the car badly needed a 6th gear - with 5th being too short on motorway journeys. They also fell victim to thieves who stole the bumpers and spoilers - mine lost it's front bumper overnight and they're not cheap to replace.

[Patch888]

Im going to be so gutted when this goes, nice to have a little article though.

[BeMo]

I've owned one of these for a few years amongst other cars and I love it, I don't think I'll ever sell it. Currently SORN whilst I decide whether or not to make it into a track car. It's a good power/weight ratio for the road and as the article mentions it's all at the top end so loves to be revved. The the engine note is quite raw, the inlet plenum makes some nice sounds and debadged the lumpy idle raises a few eyebrows. I did around 18k over 18 months in it, including a 3000 mile Europe jaunt over 6 days and it's never missed a beat.

Again, as in the article, I've ridden in but not driven a 197 although it felt to me like a later generation of hot hatch, part of the reason I like the old ST is that it feels more old school, it's not perfect but there's something about them.

Can echo the 6th gear comments above, but I live in the Lake District so it didn't spend much time sitting on the motorway.

[Bencolem]

One the one hand, I love this, it must be a fantastic drive in such a discreet package, on the other hand, 6k gives you a fair few options to choose from.

[JackP1]

Having owned a mk6 ST for 6 years, going out on several occasions in an MR200 and a Clio 197, the MR200 won it for me all day ( Sorry, ford purist )

The MR200 drives completely different to the standard/ modified mk6st, the inlet really does make the engine for what it should be. The noise alone is a seller!
Cosworth also manufacture an Inlet for this, but in this guise the Mountune inlet just worked better, you can't buy the inlets anymore unless you manage to get one second hand, they go for well over £1k a piece these days.

I was tempted by mountune for time a long but alternatively went for individual mods, although mt is expensive to do as a kits, its only on the rare occasion that they don't make the power as promised, if anything the majority are bang on or make more.

If this doesn't do it for anyone, the mt165 kit provides great day to day driving, the mt185 is better for the high flying revs

[kambites]

Lovely thing but I'm not sure I could part with £6k for one.

[WolvesWill]

I had one of these...



Here is it on the dyno too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcI-bhlk2DY

Mine had H&R coilovers, whiteline ARB, 300mm big brake conversion (ST170 discs and carriers), quiafe diff, 16 inch (smaller) wheels, short shifter...loads of other mods as well as the MR200 engine modifications.

Was excellent to drive, perhaps a bit hardcore for road use with the suspension I had on it, the engine sound is amazing for a 4 pot with the mountune inlet, sounds almost like a throttle bodied car at times, and the pops and bangs like an old rally car! Find me a hot hatch available brand new today with an engine note like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZuZs4D6_UY

Regret selling it, especially as the next 2 cars I had were written off (two crashes within 9 months), in hindsight I should have kept it, just put a factory clutch back in it as the helix clutch I had put in was awful on the road, and change to some more supple suspension...would have been brilliant then.

[Gandi69]

I wondered if this was your old one Will. The mods really altered the car for the better

[Patch888]

Looks a cracking car that will. Well it sold within 24hrs. It's really going to be missed.