Fiesta ST vs Mustang Ecoboost.

as a dd. I have a 61 mile daily round trip.

Also I am a 23 y/o male so insurance is a concern.

Personally I would take the Fiesta ST all day and twice on Sunday. I don't know for a fact but I think the insurance would likely be cheaper than the Mustang too.

In reply to Feedyurhed:

I have tried geico's online quote thing and the insurance for a Fiesta(non st) and a mustang(didnt have the 4 cyl as an option) was within $10 a month.

This is my quandary, I LOVE the fiesta st......BUT, so long as the mustang is screwed together properly, it'll be a lot better car. I am leaning towards ordering a '15 EB Stang at this point. The difference is a 4yr loan for the fiST, and a 5yr loan with about the same payment after 5-6k down.

Mustang would get my vote.

IMO comes down to people/cargo room vs driving the 'right' wheels...
whichever you want more.

Fiesta ST, no question. I wanted to like the mustang, but then I sat in one and it is so hard to see out of it that I wouldn't even be able to test drive one. The fiesta is one of the best cars I have driven, there's no way I could afford one until they are 15 years old or I would probably already have one.

Mustang. Not even a question.

Hard for me to compare these cars. The Fiesta ST is a driver's car. The ecoboost stang is a base model of a heavy car that only makes 300hp because it has to in that segment (vs the 200hp in a Fiesta making it feel special). From what i've heard and seen online it is not an especially rewarding car as-delivered, nor is it substantially faster (stock) in a straight line than the Fiesta. It is probably significantly slower around any kind of turning course. Are the seats even as good?

The aftermarket for the Mustang will be massive and able to address all those issues, but if you can barely afford the stock version (i.e. concerned about difference in insurance payments....), can you afford to turn the Mustang into the kind of drivers car that the Fiesta STARTS as? And how much value do you place on having rear doors and hatchback versatility?

There is a POSSIBLE case for the Mustang, but i would say it's pretty narrow vs the fiesta being more of a total package as-delivered.

Back in 2005 I looked at a similar choice of R53 MINI or GT Mustang. Since my commute was highway miles I chose Mustang. We later bought my wife a Cooper and I was happy to find out I made the right choice. Of course, I'm 6'1" 245lbs, so the Mustang was more comfortable in seating and fit. The longer wheelbase was a lot better than the Cooper over highway miles, but the ST isn't as small as the Cooper either. My Mustang only had 300hp stock (still only 325) and is plenty fun but it is 300 lbs +- lighter than the new breed. I'm still happily DDing my pony and the Cooper got traded in years ago. Maintenance has been ridiculously low on it so far (110k miles) but a turbo'd IRS car is bound to be a little more intensive.

I've never found visibility to be bad in the Stang, but it isn't as open as a lot of cars. With mirrors adjusted correctly I have no blind spots and I can easily rattle cones on the AX course without knocking them down. You do have to rely on knowing where the car is more than seeing where the car is, but that just takes a little familiarity. When I get in small imports I kind of feel like I'm sitting on the roof of a golf cart trying to drive it now - very exposed.

The Mustang will feel less exciting right of the lot but it has a lot of potential and can be sharpened up for cheap. The ST is a great car, but in the end, I prefer the dynamics of RWD.

I've heard several instances of Fiesta STs going up on 2 wheels on street tires at autocrosses this year.

The ST is certainly the car I would rather drive around (because practical), but the above is very scary.

In reply to ProDarwin:

Or, learn how to initiate it and control it and go around impressing everyone with your god like stunt driving abilities

Is the steering on the ST any different than the base models?

The last two Fiestas with over 50k that I experienced had a steering feel like a Logitech Formula Force gaming wheel. That is to say, you could hear and feel some serious gear rattle/whine when you turned the steering. People bitch about the GM electric columns but this was many many times worse than the worst beat-on HHR that I've ever felt.

You're 23? Embrace the fact that people in our age bracket are allowed to drive E36 M3ty cars because people assume we can't afford better, stop shopping new cars, and begin the rotating cycle of a new piece of junk every 6-12 months. I'd be bored with either of those far before I was done paying them off.

For the strict performance aspect of things I have to agree with the crowd that the Fiesta ST is superior. I wasn't sold on the Fiesta ST or the Focus ST until watching them on the autox course this fall where they were total beasts.
If this is the first nice/new daily car for you then you might have some concerns for the status aspect of the ride in addition to it's daily duty. In this case the Mustang might a better ride for daily duty and the general public views it differently than the Fiesta.

I am obviously biased towards the Fiesta ST because I DD one, but I can offer some real-world opinions. My commute is very short, and very twisty. That means I get 23 mpg in the Ford on 91 octane, but with a permanent smile on my face. I hate arriving anywhere because it means I have to stop driving. From the message boards, I know people are hitting 35 on longer highway commutes with ease, so mileage would be nice. 12 gallon tank gives 265 mile range on average.

The ride is firm and the car is light with a short wheelbase. To me, it is a small price to pay and I don't mind it...even on longer drives. I'll gladly accept the stiffer ride in exchange for the ability to squirt through traffic and pass on a whim. The FiST has great mid-range punch and is tough to beat in traffic. Remember that a Fiesta ST weighs 2700 pounds...not much out there lighter than that these days. Colin Chapman would approve.

With 4-doors and a hatch, it is pretty practical. It's no F-150 clearly, but you don't have to worry if you need to give someone a lift or bring home a bunch of stuff. For me, with 2 kids, this was a real plus over a 2-door.

I am leasing one at $210/month. I didn't price Mustangs, but that is pretty darn cheap for the amount of fun it offers.

Feedyurhed wrote: Personally I would take the Fiesta ST all day and twice on Sunday. I don't know for a fact but I think the insurance would likely be cheaper than the Mustang too.

Possibly.

I will say insurance on my BRZ is more expensive than it was on my '13 GT Mustang.

split the difference, Frisbee twin

I'm looking long and hard at the Ecoboost Mustang. I love/miss RWD dynamics and I want something that eats up highway miles while getting reasonable gas mileage.

The only vehicle I regret selling every. Single. Day. Is my '13 mustang, and it was only a v6. I've made peace with the fact that I needed a different car for my commute (all city driving 50-150 miles per day meant gas was killing me).

If I needed a commuter fiesta I'd get the 1.0 ecoboost. But my heart says go for the big red muscle car.

In reply to Vigo:

If I truly cared about insurance cost I would just get a new miata or a C5 vette since both of those are significantly cheaper to insure than the Fiesta and Stang.

In reply to NONACK:

That is what my 2nd/winter/4x4 vehicle will be for.(also why do so many people paint Samurai's like the General Lee? there are at least 3 on my local cl)

In reply to 84FSP:

It will be my first new new car. I honestly dont care about the status of the car looks(I work in IT we all drive weird cars). Also around here every 3rd car is a mustang of some kind. I have seen 2 FiST's and 2 FoST's regularly.

In reply to pinchvalve:

That is still better than what my Altima gets now in gas mileage, the best tank lately has been 27mpg but it is usually 25mpg.

In reply to captdownshift:

If the twin's only had a non-subaru engine.

Which one does better burnouts? Go take them for a test drive. Buy whichever one makes you laugh like a maniac when you leave stripes exiting a parking lot.

Honestly, I love Mustangs, but that Fiesta ST is just so cool (plus four humans fit in it). Take that for what it's worth. Then do burnouts. All the burnouts.

If they offered the Fiesta with 2 doors (like in Europe) I'd consider it. But they don't so it's Mustang all the way. Besides, the dashboard in the Fiesta is super ugly and that's what you have to see all day in the car.

Gearheadotaku wrote: If they offered the Fiesta with 2 doors (like in Europe) I'd consider it. But they don't so it's Mustang all the way. Besides, the dashboard in the Fiesta is super ugly and that's what you have to see all day in the car.

Yep, without question 2doors win over more every single time. RWD wins over any other WD every single time. No contest at all.

Interesting. If the same car is available with 2 doors or 4 doors, I'll take the 4 door version every time.