RE: Ford Fiesta ST: PH Fleet

RE: Ford Fiesta ST: PH Fleet

Author
Discussion

blade7

11,311 posts

215 months

Friday 12th October 2018
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LuS1fer said:
Carwow and their ilk will get you an ST2 for well under £20k.
DTD got me an ST2 for £15k 4 years ago.

s m

23,164 posts

202 months

Friday 12th October 2018
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blade7 said:
Back on topic, nearly £25k for a Fiesta yikes
Seems that a lot of the little hot hatches are that money though - even the Citroen DS3 Performance is about 24-25k and you can pay 50k for a Fiat 500!


blade7

11,311 posts

215 months

Friday 12th October 2018
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s m said:
blade7 said:
Back on topic, nearly £25k for a Fiesta yikes
Seems that a lot of the little hot hatches are that money though - even the Citroen DS3 Performance is about 24-25k and you can pay 50k for a Fiat 500!
The MK7 was a relatively cheap car though. Rolling the MK8 in glitter doesn't convince me it's worth it.

pontypool

614 posts

238 months

Friday 12th October 2018
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Was this filling up last night at Cherwell services with the scuffy looking lad wink paying wearing a PH top?

neil1jnr

1,460 posts

154 months

Friday 12th October 2018
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LuS1fer said:
I had a brief look at the new ST which even the Ford salesmen thought looked a bit dull. There is no flair to the styling and time has not and will not change ?my view.

This ST looks plain and, while the diff may make the difference, I replaced my Mk 7 ST with another Mk 7 ST with the Mountune upgrade and still think it looks way better and it's a far nicer blue.
Out of interest, why would you change to the same car rather than upgrade your existing car?

Jon_S_Rally

3,385 posts

87 months

Friday 12th October 2018
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MK1RS Bruce said:
kuiper said:
WRC has lost the plot. It's gone steadily downhill since all the myriad of works manufacturer teams pulled the plug in the mid naughties and has been in the duldrums for some while - introducing the space ship aero doesn't help the cause and certainly won't temp them back.

I had a good look round the McRae Focus and Impreza at carfest this year and what was most remarkable is that other than the interior and stickers the shells were pretty much identical to the road going versions.
Firstly WRC has plenty of manufacturers in it at the moment, hyundai, toyota, citreon as full works teams then ford as a semi works team and skoda in WRC2.

The speed and performance of the current WRC cars is incredible and they are far more spectacular than a few years ago, they are as close to the likes of the group B machines as they have ever been which everyone seems to think was the pinnacle of rallying. The problem is that the coverage of WRC is rubbish so it doesn't appeal to the mass market.

Finally if you think McRae focus is anything like a road going version you are very much mistaken, yes the outline might be similar but the shell and running gear are completely different, I have a mk1 RS which is probably as extreme a focus road car as there ever was and its nothing like the WRC machines of 98-02.
I was going to reply, but the post above sums it up entirely. Another "WRC is rubbish" comment from someone who clearly hasn't been anywhere near it for a very long time. Last season was fantastic, this season is even better. The cars are wild, rapid and loud, there are some ace drivers, fantastic battles. The promotion is the only weak point really. Shame it's such a critical point really.

I had to giggle at the Focus comment. Last time I saw a MK1 Focus WRC, I seem to recall it had carbon headlight cowls, M-Sport stamped glass and, when you look inside it, you could see that it was basically just some Focus-esque interior panels tacked to the outside of a bespoke chassis. Even in the Group A era, the rally cars might have looked like road cars, but barely shared a single component. I am lucky enough to own an RS2000 Formula 2 rally car and every inch of the shell has been modified in some way or another. About the only standard parts fitted to the whole thing are the rear light clusters, the water/oil pumps and the timing chain.

Let's face it, if the rally car looked anything like the road cars, no one would be interested and, if they tried to make a goad-going version, in order to make it vaguely workable, they would throw everything away. You'd end up with a Fiesta with a body kit and, most likely, some kind of Haldex (or similar) based 4WD system, so it would be nothing like the rally car anyway. Not to mention the fact that, as someone else posted, they would be so expensive that no one would buy them anyway. If Ford started selling a be-winged, 4WD Fiesta WRC rep, most on here would be slating it for being over-priced nonsense. I love the homologation era more than anyone, but it's dead and buried. Times have changed.

Edited by Jon_S_Rally on Friday 12th October 13:23

s m

23,164 posts

202 months

Friday 12th October 2018
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blade7 said:
s m said:
blade7 said:
Back on topic, nearly £25k for a Fiesta yikes
Seems that a lot of the little hot hatches are that money though - even the Citroen DS3 Performance is about 24-25k and you can pay 50k for a Fiat 500!
The MK7 was a relatively cheap car though. Rolling the MK8 in glitter doesn't convince me it's worth it.
Someone will be doing deals on them at some point I guess if they're not shifting

Otherwise you may as well stick with what you've got

LuS1fer

41,085 posts

244 months

Friday 12th October 2018
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neil1jnr said:
Out of interest, why would you change to the same car rather than upgrade your existing car?
Because my original one was black when i really wanted blue and the blue replacement already had the Mountune upgrade and was newer and didn't require the Ford 3 day recall or replacing a sticky handbrake mechanism. Overall, it was not an expensive upgrade for a newer and better car.

blade7

11,311 posts

215 months

Friday 12th October 2018
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s m said:
Someone will be doing deals on them at some point I guess if they're not shifting

Otherwise you may as well stick with what you've got
The one we've got has only done 17k. And I reckon it's got more tuning potential. Plus the slipper and sticky tyres flatter the new one IMO.

neil1jnr

1,460 posts

154 months

Friday 12th October 2018
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LuS1fer said:
neil1jnr said:
Out of interest, why would you change to the same car rather than upgrade your existing car?
Because my original one was black when i really wanted blue and the blue replacement already had the Mountune upgrade and was newer and didn't require the Ford 3 day recall or replacing a sticky handbrake mechanism. Overall, it was not an expensive upgrade for a newer and better car.
Fair enough, I was just being curious. Great cars though, I'd be tempted to have another in future

greenarrow

3,551 posts

116 months

Saturday 13th October 2018
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J4CKO said:
Limpet said:
J4CKO said:
They are very tempting, I keep borrowing my sons 2015 one and to be honest I much prefer it to my M135i as a drivers car, less so as a daily proposition but the confidence these things inspire is fantastic, dont think there is a more fun and engaging proposition, wrapped in a fairly economical, practical package out there.

They have plenty enough power to be fun and feel like you are making good progress as well, you can extract all of the performance and feel like you are getting the best out of it, natural habitat is B roads.

If you need a bigger hot hatch, the I30N has a similar vibe.
I'm not surprised, to be honest. I haven't driven an ST, but I have driven an ST Line (140PS 1.0) and a cooking 100PS 1.0, and they really do feel good, with great balance, and agility. It reminds me of Peugeots of a certain era, in that the base materials are fundamentally right, so the hot versions have a really good platform to build on.

When you get out of a shopping spec version of a car thinking "that drives really well", it always bodes well for the fast models.
We have a Zetec aswell, ecoboost triple ad the sporting intent is nowhere near ST levels, but show it a B road and its very good, nowhere near as planted and direct, but, lean on it and take the initial slop out of the suspension and the talent is there, the ST is another level though.

I was going to mention certain Peugeot hatches, but decided not as people can get weird about anyone comparing anything that which has been cannonized and ascded to the Petrolheads hall of fame.

I drove 205 GTI's 'a few times and there is a certain echo with the ST, I used to enjoy driving XR2's back then but the 205 was on another planet, the XR2 did the go kart thing quite well but ran out of ideas in comparison, the ST feels more like a spiritual successor to the 205 than an XR2.

Dont get me wrong, the M135i does a great job but if I had to choose which to take down a winding B road, it wouldnt be the BMW, its a "Junior Supercar" biggrin whereas the ST is is every inch the dictionary definition of Hot Hatch, brought up to date, sort of makes the big power 4wd ones feel like overkill really, if you just want a fun car.

Need to scrounge a go in my brothers Focus ST for comparison.

I was tempted but three Fiestas on the drive would just be weird, 2 is bad enough.
its a very fair comparison. We sold our 205 GTi 1.9 in late 2014 and went for a Mk6 Fiesta ST. The ST isn't as much fun or as iconic, but drives extremely well. If anything I'd say it feels less nose heavy than the 205 which is interesting seeing as the Mk6 ST has a 2 litre engine. Its a really good chassis and I can only imagine the later Mk7 and 8 versions take it to a whole new level.

A friend of mine pops round to take me out for a coffee every few weeks in his MK7 99BHP Ecoboost Fiesta and I am really bowled over at how well it drives. 2 Up its really quite nippy and has no trouble mixing it with the diesel brigade on the dual carriageways, but mostly, its the mix of softish ride but great handling I notice when he chucks it around a few roundabouts and the local roads. A really top car and I will happily have one as my daily driver once the kids have left home!

AussieFozzy

136 posts

127 months

Monday 15th October 2018
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Good god i just cant get used to these stuck on touch screens. Just put it in the bloody dash!

Very glad my '17 ST just has a nice small screen tucked away.

3yardy3

270 posts

113 months

Monday 15th October 2018
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the problem isn't the ST's styling... It's the fact that the standard Fiesta now looks like an ST with the sporty grill, alloys and lights.


LuS1fer

41,085 posts

244 months

Monday 15th October 2018
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3yardy3 said:
the problem isn't the ST's styling... It's the fact that the standard Fiesta now looks like an ST with the sporty grill, alloys and lights.
Really?


3yardy3

270 posts

113 months

Tuesday 16th October 2018
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LuS1fer said:
3yardy3 said:
the problem isn't the ST's styling... It's the fact that the standard Fiesta now looks like an ST with the sporty grill, alloys and lights.
Really?




MikeDB1

235 posts

73 months

Thursday 18th October 2018
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MK1RS Bruce said:
This is rubbish, you can walk up to M-sport any day of the week and buy anything from an R1 fiesta to a full on WRC car
Not quite true. You can buy anything from and R1 to R5 Fiesta, but the FIA insisted the manufacturers do not sell the WRC cars as they didn't want them appearing on smaller rallies and absolutely blitzing everything else.

MikeDB1

235 posts

73 months

Thursday 18th October 2018
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Jon_S_Rally said:
If Ford started selling a be-winged, 4WD Fiesta WRC rep, most on here would be slating it for being over-priced nonsense. I love the homologation era more than anyone, but it's dead and buried. Times have changed.
Well maybe I'm a dinosaur but if Ford sold a WRC lookalike with a proper 4WD system then I'd be first in the queue to buy it as it would be the obvious successor to both the Impreza WRX which is now getting too long in the tooth, and of course the RS500 which was beyond awesome in its day.

But as we know, Ford won't be doing this until someone forces the FIA to bring back some form of homologation. After all how many Stratos-es, RS1800s or Manta 400s would have been built if it wasn't for this requirement ? The FIA has lost the plot, even though I accept the WRC has got a lot better since VW quit.

LuS1fer

41,085 posts

244 months

Thursday 18th October 2018
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3yardy3 said:
Yes but that is not a standard Fiesta, that's an ST-Line which has the ST suspension and handling but the insurance friendly 1.0 engine.
Its whole purpose is to look like an ST and the Fiesta has always had this as part of it's make-up in the form of the Zetec S.
Vauxhall did a similar thing, BMW "M" do a similar thing - all show, lot less go.
Ford have always sought to differentiate these models by the distinctive wheels the ST always gets.
So it's hardly a surprise.