Fiesta st 150

[grenpayne]

dieseluser07 said:

grenpayne said:

I've had a ST150. I liked it at the time and although the performance wasnt earth shattering, I thought the handling was good (although mine was lowered on Eibachs). I sold it though as I fancied a change and bought a mint phase 2 Clio 172. The Clio was a revelation and light years ahead of the ST150 in terms of performance, handling, and overall fun. The Clio even did 37mpg on my commute compared to 28mpg on the Fiesta which given the greater performance of the Clio was bonkers.

So my advice would be to find a low mileage, well looked after Clio 182 and enjoy

When people complain about the build quality of the 182 do they mean inside te car or mechanically

Inside I would say, but it's not *that* bad. The steering wheel is a little large and the driving position a tad high and in addition the interior is basic and a bit plasticky, but the half leather seats are supportive and if you go for a 182 FF with the cup chassis you still get air con, cruise control and a trip computer. The RenaultSports are built in a different factory to the vanilla cars and I found my 172 to be perfectly acceptable in terms of build quality.

Mechanically they are great, as long as they are looked after, mine never let me down in almost 5 years of ownership and was easy and cheap to service. Rear dampers should be replaced at 50k miles and as long as the cambelt, aux belt and dephaser (VVT) pulley are changed on time they're generally very reliable. The caveat is get one that's been loved and cared for.

[s m]

Toyoda said:

don't suppose you have those stats for the Yaris T-sport 1.5 do you?

Yes, as part of a twin test though

[TameRacingDriver]

Not keen on them personally, but they were supposed to handle very well, and I had a run in with one in my (at the time) supercharged Mk1 MX5 and it easily kept up, it might not have been standard but I was surprised.

[s m]

TameRacingDriver said:

Not keen on them personally, but they were supposed to handle very well, and I had a run in with one in my (at the time) supercharged Mk1 MX5 and it easily kept up, it might not have been standard but I was surprised.

Looks like a fair few up for sale have Mountune extras on

[Baryonyx]

ScoobyChris said:

Did people really rave about the ST170?!

Chris

It deserves more praise than it ever got. However, I was never that impressed with the Fiesta ST. It looked dull, it was underpowered for the displacement it offered and the competition was much better.

[LordHaveMurci]

dieseluser07 said:

When people complain about the build quality of the 182 do they mean inside te car or mechanically

Interiors are quite low rent but they are old school, engi es are strong, some minor electrical issues but main things to watch are gearboxes & belts being changed on time.

[lee_erm]

The Clio 172/182 was better, not sure the rest of the competition was. The 206 GTI and Polo GTI weren't.

[JamesL]

We've had a 05' plate Fiesta ST as my girlfriend's car for over 3 years and 30k now so I can offer an opinion. Just to put it in context it's been run along side a Pug 306 Gti-6, ST220, E36 + E46 M3s, R53 Cooper S and curently a FN2 Civic Type R.

I love driving the fiesta and it really where it really shines is the handling. With decent tyres its light on its feet, turn in is great and lift of oversteer is progressive and hilarious fun. Faster than you'd expect too. Also the build quality is good and the interior is solid and less dated the most of its rivals. Aside from fuel (28mpg) it's cost peanuts to run. Apart from regular servicing (which is cheap)its cost us a battery and a wheel bearing in 3 yrs and is cheap to insure. Timing chain instead of a belt too.

Now the bad points. The engine is harsh and noisy and the lack of a sixth gear makes motorway journeys a chore. There is plenty of mid range and the power delivery suits my girlfriend who likes to make progress without winding it out, but it always dissapoints me. There is just no reward for reaching the upper revs and for this reason I'd never buy one for myself. I understand the mountune upgrades go some way to fixing this but can induce ear bleeding exhaust drone.

Oh and I think it looks brilliant so don't understand where the ugly comments come from.

Edited by JamesL for spelling on Monday 29th February 12:07

Edited by JamesL on Monday 29th February 12:09

[Chrismawa]

I was tempted by one at the end of last year, but bought an EP3 instead - which I'm glad I did!

[roystinho]

My brother had one when I had a 182 Trophy, he was always asking to swap cars, I never was

[s m]

There's a buying guide in the back of the latest EVO mag for these

[fivepointnine]

dieseluser07 said:

When people complain about the build quality of the 182 do they mean inside te car or mechanically

overall build quality is not that bad overall, it is just that the car is not as refined as some of the others (engine "feels" rougher, especially at idle, louder, more creaks and rattles, etc) But get it out on an open stretch of windy, smooth tarmac and they are magic.

[morgrp]

I'm not a fan of Fords in general especially the slightly chavvy Mk6 Fiesta ST - The interior is crap for starters, but, that said, having driven a few they really are a sweet drive - chassis is easily the best in its class for that era of hatches and the engine whilst not especially characterful has bags of poke to exploit that fine chassis. Bottom line is even the 1.25 Fiesta is a cracker to drive and the ST just builds on that - Would I buy one? No. Are they good to drive? Hell yes.

[Lordbenny]

dieseluser07 said:

I dont here this car talked about a lot.

Is there is a reason, is it just not that good of a drive?

I had a renault twingo 133 before. Would it feel quicker than this?

Why havnt you been ridiculed yet? Ph is really not what it was!