[Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the December 2013 issue of Grassroots Motorsports, back when the Fiesta ST was a brand-new model]
The hot hatch segment in Europe has always been more fiercely competitive and rife with more options for consumers than in the United States. Facing the market against the likes of the Peugeot 208 GTi, Renault Clio …
Everyone I know that's owned a FiST raves about them. The Focus ST seems to live in the shadow of its bigger brother
Man, I still wish I would have bought a FiST as they were being discontinued in the USA, and Ford was fire-selling them at about $16,000 locally (Austin, TX) and maybe even less once the negotiations began. What a fun little car.
I have a 19 FiST... it's ok. But it's too damn small for my husky self. Boost is ok, kicks in late. Intercooler is too small.
I just bought a '14 Fiesta ST and am liking it. It wasn't on my radar, but a curious test drive impressed me and I got it well under market rate.
I'm big at 6'2" 300lbs and it isn't large, but does feel roomy and solid for an admittedly little car. Already made a few trips to the hardware store with it while I work on maintenance stuff. Perfect 4th car for my wife to learn stick on.
My plan is to keep it mostly stock and add in a bunch of safety gear to go racing. Hillclimbs / solo IV / TT stuff mainly but I think it can do anything and be fun. It isn't terribly powerful but is enough and the steering / balance are very good.
This is an old thread, but I'll add my opinion. I owned a FoST with Ford tune. It was as fun as a hatch gets. Razor sharp steering, handles well. However it had enough shortcomings to make the car not a daily driver for me. Torque steer was nuts. Turbo was often "napping". Huge turning radius. Tiny fuel tank. Never seemed to "relax", even when cruising the highway.
In reply to SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) :
I feel a bunch of what you just said. The FiST also has a 10 gallon tank; I'm told it can be miserly but I don't drive that way. Who does? With less power the torque steer is acceptable and manageable but still present. It certainly doesn't cruise along invisibly at 80 like my other cars.
But ford parts are cheap, the stereo is actually decent and I will not lose sleep if I stuff it into the tires. If it was my only car I could happily live with it, but it certainly has shortcomings.
Do these come with a flex fuel sensor and the ability to run E 85 stock?
Do these come with a flex fuel sensor and the ability to run E 85 stock?
The gas mileage in my FiST varies from 25 mpg up to 40. The latter isn't typical, but was from Monument CO to the Denver Airport which is about 2000' of elevation loss and 70 mph.
Mine is a 2017 at 43k miles and has been fantastic. I've only changed fluids and just getting ready to do brakes. The only thing otherwise was recently replacing the fuel vapor purge valve. Easy and relatively cheap.
In reply to crankwalk (Forum Supporter) :
No the fuel system is limited to an E30 blend unless you upgrade the HPFP and injectors or add auxiliary port injection.
CooperTired's FOST bought from a GRM member was an amazing amount of fun. He had an e30 tune, bigger intercooler, intake, and a tune. It was really solid. With the Recaro interior is was really as nice as the new GTI's inside which surprised me.
I like but don't fit in the FIST. Apparently they are far easier to swap a huge turbo onto than the FOST as their turbo isn't integrated into the intake/head.
My general bitch about everthing Ford of the era was their propensity to not properly paint them and they rust from the edges. CooperTired's had led a charmed life and was already crusty around the panel edges.
84FSP said:CooperTired's FOST bought from a GRM member was an amazing amount of fun. He had an e30 tune, bigger intercooler, intake, and a tune. It was really solid. With the Recaro interior is was really as nice as the new GTI's inside which surprised me.
I like but don't fit in the FIST. Apparently they are far easier to swap a huge turbo onto than the FOST as their turbo isn't integrated into the intake/head.
My general bitch about everthing Ford of the era was their propensity to not properly paint them and they rust from the edges. CooperTired's had led a charmed life and was already crusty around the panel edges.
This.
The FiST is a riot. Begs you to drive like an shiny happy person. But it's too small (to me) to be practical and the seating position was too upright for my tastes.
Those are the reasons I went with the FoST instead. I loved that car, and it's the only car I regret selling more than my Miata. Quick enough to be a ton of fun with bolt ons and a tune, and it did everything else good enough for me. The turning radius was comically bad, and the fuel tank was a little small, but I could live with that
I'm the second owner of a 2016 FoST and love it. It's been a super fun car for me and I've tried to upgrade it with an OEM + approach. The first owner put an Eibach ProKit on it and I think it sits nicely. I wish there was more support/coverage in GRM on these cars as I'm interested in doing more with it. I'm guessing they aren't very competitive for Autocross as I hardly ever seen them featured aside from a handful of Focus RS? If I'm being 100% honest I've actually been losing a little interest in the car because of the lack of popularity aside from the "pops and crackles gang" which I don't relate to at all.. .as proven to myself by cruising with a small group to Caffeine and Octane last week, it just was not my crowd. Maybe I'm turning into an old curmudgeon? (Edited to add a pic!)
Love my FiST.
In reply to Shawn Cook :
They've fallen out of SCCA GS favor due to the Civic Si, so that's partly why you don't see as many these days. Go back 5-6 years and they were very popular. I ran a 2014 ST1 for about 6 seasons then decided to move on. Really solid dual purpose car. No complaints other than the brake based e-diff being less than ideal compared to a mechanical lsd.
In reply to kevinatfms :
I've been really stuck on FiST over FoST ever since we got a new family daily, a Mazda CX-5. Initially I got the Focus thinking we needed a little more room for road trips but the Mazda is the clear road trip winner every time now. As a FiST owner yourself, what do you like most about it? They do feel a little more unique, plus the worldwide love for Fiesta is a bonus in my opinion.
In reply to JMcD :
That makes a lot of sense, I appreciate the context! :)
Shawn Cook said:In reply to kevinatfms :
I've been really stuck on FiST over FoST ever since we got a new family daily, a Mazda CX-5. Initially I got the Focus thinking we needed a little more room for road trips but the Mazda is the clear road trip winner every time now. As a FiST owner yourself, what do you like most about it? They do feel a little more unique, plus the worldwide love for Fiesta is a bonus in my opinion.
I find the FiST a great little hauler. We've gotten into this world where we can't seem to do anything without massive space. Over the last couple of years I've hauled loads of hundreds of pounds of wood (1 load was 600lbs a couple months back), furniture, 20 bags of mulch, table saw, gas power power washer, 16' canoe, 16/13' kayaks, it's been packed to the brim with boxes, etc. It's had more hauling use than 90%+ people subject their trucks to. Yes hatch backs are practical, but a lot of the time it's not about the car being insanely practical, it's that I'm not contained by preconceived limitations. Depending on the size of the family and length of trip, I get that a family road trip may be a bit challenging, but there's also something to be said about making due.
It's a fun, nimble, economic car. You only lose 7hp running 87 octane. Mine weighs 2600lbs (lighter wheels, removed spare, removed rear seats, etc). I suspect I'm going to be keeping it for a decade.
In reply to Snrub :
Appreciate the insight! When I say family, it's just me and my wife plus luggage/traveling accessories. We travel from FL to the Blue Ridge Mountains twice a year so the CX-5 with it's ground clearance, extra room, amenities like heated seats etc are why it's the road trip choice. But. totally hear you on hauling stuff as I've done a lot of that with my Focus! I fit 10 bags of quick concrete (500lbs) no prob lol. Day to day trips for me is a mountain bike or a grocery run...and I know the Fiesta can fit those items no problem. 
Shawn Cook said:In reply to kevinatfms :
I've been really stuck on FiST over FoST ever since we got a new family daily, a Mazda CX-5. Initially I got the Focus thinking we needed a little more room for road trips but the Mazda is the clear road trip winner every time now. As a FiST owner yourself, what do you like most about it? They do feel a little more unique, plus the worldwide love for Fiesta is a bonus in my opinion.
I drove EVERYTHING before buying the Fiesta ST. Drove the Focus ST, Beetle Turbo, Sentra SR Turbo, Fiat Abarth. Drove the Fiesta last and it was everything i wanted.
The Abarth was insane with its exhaust note, also quite zippy but the interior room was a total joke and the seating position felt like driving a dump truck.
Beetle was easily the most refined. But felt way slower than the others i drove and didnt have the fun in the chassis. Also, VW crams everything into the Beetles tiny engine bay. Looked like a total nightmare to work on.
Sentra SR Turbo w/ 6 speed was surprisingly fun and had a ton of communication. The interior was weirdly appointed and there was an odd smell like chemicals im guessing from the off gassing of new plastic? I got a headache and nauseous on a 15min drive with the salesperson. It was my number 4 choice with only the Beetle taking up the rear.
Focus ST was fantastic. I fit great, had great power, great chassis feel, fantastic interior(Recaros were tight on my thighs though) and it was a Ford so i know it from past working experience. Was getting ready to sign the papers for an ST3 Focus ST when i asked about a few of the Fiesta ST's sitting there.
2015 Fiesta ST. First drove a Recaro car in Green Envy. Seats did the same thing the Focus Recaros did which pinched my thighs together. Felt uncomfortable. Asked if they had any others without the Recaros. They had one Molten Orange one with base seats but it didnt have the navigation i wanted. So i drove that one to test the base seats out and loved it. Dealer DX'ed an Oxford White w/ base seats, no sunroof with the optional navigation.
The Fiesta felt way more lively than the Focus. It has this "getting away with murder" flying around town vibe. Feels like you're breaking the law 9 out of 10 times you get into it yet you are still under the speed limit when you look down at the speedo. Its crazy capable out of the box at an autocross and going through traffic is just fun as hell. It had great features with the Sync system and its look fits in with both the "boy racer" crowd and the "GTI is the only option" crowd. Maintenance is super cheap and easy. No big repairs to date on my car with 60k miles. I did install an LSD along with a new clutch somewhere around 55k miles which was a huge improvement in mid corner grip.
Interior room is great, back of the hatch has enough room for my daily activities and the seats fold down pretty much flat to get big screen TVs in there if you wanted.
The cons are the stock radiator is a joke, the brakes are undersized for the performance of the car on track and the blend door actuators are made of butter. Everything else is pretty beefy.
^ Good points. Sensation of speed and engagement was a bit reason why I bought my FiST. There seems to be a tradeoff between engagement. A little crude, but well executed may be part of what fun cars need to be fun on the street.
In reply to kevinatfms :
Thank you for this valuable and thorough response! I thought I replied at the time but I guess I didn't, then the holidays hit.
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