What do you guys think of the Fiesta ST (aka "the FiST") as a fun, relatively cheap bad weather machine.

What do you guys think? Would wrong-wheel-drive be a deal breaker?

It's a dorky looking car but it's supposed to be a ball to drive...and it IS available in Kona Blue which is super tempting.

 

Oooooh, I have one and recommend it entirely. Its my dd. It's an orange one with the Recaros. Its a great little canyon carver and a "hot hatch." It doesn't feel like a front wheel drive and its really fun to drive. Feels like I'm driving a skateboard. It is extremely nimble and fast in comparison to the Mustang.

I should have mentioned this before in the general talk section. Look at some YouTube reviews.

As an added bonus, you will get a free class "Octane Academy" which is an autox and track school. Its for original owners and comes with the price of the car. The only thing you have to worry about is getting there, which is in Utah. It is in Miller Motorsport park and Hoolnigan has something to do with it.

It is NOT a bad weather machine. Be sure you have snow tire as they are prone to crashing in the snow. They are equipped with summer tires.

I'll post a pic once I get home.

 

Great feedback Kevin!
It sounds awesme.

What kind of fuel economy are you seeing?
Have you had any problems?

Do you think it's a good companion to the Mustang?

 

Well, its hard to say. Compared to the Mustang, its the same but its different. Great companion for the Mustang. I am getting around 28 mpg hwy and city mixed. It has 9000 miles on it so far. Also, no problems as of yet. Mine is all stock except for a short shifter.

Any time someone gets in one and tries it, its oh shi+! Something they didn't expect a Fiesta could do.

 

Here's my FiST. I nicknamed it "Jelly Bean."



and here's a video. go to 6:14. The driver tripods it.

 

Very cool...thanks again for sharing your insights here!

Your ST actually looks cool in that picture. I think that may be an especially flattering camera angle.

 

My son has a 15 Tuxedo ST and it's like a skateboard with a rocket engine. I love it.

 

I come from a string of hatchbacks and honestly miss them, wrong-wheel-drive and all. If/when I retire the Mustang from DD duty, the FiST is definitely on the shortlist.

 

I haven't driven either of the ST twins, but I highly considered a FoST instead of my Mustang last year. Sometimes I wish I had gone that route, as having the Mustang is such a hassle with a baby (babies next year lol).

We did end up getting my fiancé a 2015 Focus SE with an auto, and I love it. It's very peppy around town and has enough power to spin the front tire and have a little torque steer. It does just fine with baby hauling duty, and to be honest I prefer driving it around down where I live. I wouldn't hesitate to do a FoST or a FiST next time around!

 

The game changer.................

 

Yeah, my vote would be for FoST too. I totally understand why the FiST is a major performance bargain, but you get more of everything with the FoST. PArticularly the new FoRS that Jesse posted. AWD and over 300hp?? WRX who?

 

Wish I could afford a RS

 

At Octane Academy, we rotated between the FoST and the FiST and the FoST did not feel as nimble and fast in comparison. Also, the tracking, the eBrake turns and the autox were all done in FiSTs.

Beware, the is a mod aftermarket for these babies too.

As nice as the RS, it looks like a catfish.

 

The FoST is supposedly not quite as much fun as the FiST and also costs a bit more...which tilts the decision strongly towards FiST for the purposed of a fun/cheap OTM.

The Focus RS looks neat but misses the point, in my opinion. Also it will likely cost quite a bit more than I paid for my Base/Brembo Mustang GT...which defeats the purpose of being an all-weather commuter appliance intended to keep the salt off of the Mustang.

 

Ha, it does have a bit of the S550 Catfish look to it I guess. Corporate face on that car too.

I'd be curious to drive both. For DD I think I'd take a regular Focus with more back seat and trunk room. But for a fun car that would be a tough decision. What did you think autox-ing it?

I've done autox in Acura TL & RSX, S2000 and a Covette Z06. The first 2 were definitely wrong-wheel-drive for the event.

That's a good point. For base commuter you still have the regular Focus though.

It's going to be neat to see FoRS at track events over the next few summers. I bet they will do quite well, but the Mustang will still be faster.

 

I agree. That's why I threw in my $0.02 about our Focus SE. I have a friend with a Fiesta, and while we have a baby so saying the Fiesta is "too small" may not apply to you, even if we didn't, I still think the Fiesta is too small. If I were single, I'd probably have a used Ranger supercab as a daily.

One thing to consider is the "base" Focus has 160hp, only 10 less than the previous SVT Focus, and it has more torque than the old SVTF. I'd give it a try. It's very peppy around town. I wish I could try one with the stick. I also wish Ford offered the 3-cylinder EcoBoost engine in more trim levels. I'd truly LOVE the little 3-banger/6MT combo with the ST suspension setup for daily use.

I will say I wish our SE had a little more dampening. We're leasing it, and it's the family car, so I'd never change it, but if it were my car, I'd probably swap over all the stock ST stuff and call it a day! Even with the auto, it's a fine commuter. I got 43mpg on a 100mi road trip to Sacramento (up and down many grades, though I did have a tail wind), without even trying. Going about 65 the whole way. I still got 41 on the way back into the headwind. I am easily beating the EPA rating of 40mpg.

 

Well, my auto-xing wasn't very good However, a professional driver took me on a hot lap and I was blown away. FiSTs do make good dds. Mine is, although we don't get snow where I live, and I don't have kids. If you're in cold and snowy areas, just put on snow tires. There is a good forum called fiestast.net that will give you good info.

 

FiST = MRGTX............... Get it, you won't be disappointed.

 

My kid is leaving for college tomorrow and taking our trusty Mazda 3 with him and I have also been looking at a Fiesta to replace it. I have also been looking at the Mini Cooper. The Warden has only given me a $4,000 budget and the mess of a Jeep my son is leaving me with isn't going to be worth much in trade value though. She wants a PT Cruiser - ugh.

 

Noooooooooo! Its a pity cruiser. wwwwwww! Minis are more $$$ and the rear passengers seats are too close to the rear for comfort imo.

You might be able to find a nice '14 FiST for a pretty good price. Well, its your choice; not my place to say.

As for the base FoST the standard seats are pretty well bolstered.

Finally, as wives and audio don't mix, wives and cars don't mix either.