VW Vortex - Volkswagen Forum banner

Fiesta ST owners

548K views 3K replies 335 participants last post by  Burnette 
#1 · (Edited)
So, who has pre-ordered one? And who has picked one up already?

They have started landing on lots in both the US and Canada now.

Post up what you ordered, or photos of what you have already!

And share what vehicle are you coming from.

****updated with owners****

Someone mentioned wanting to see #'s, so I scanned through the posts in the thread as best I could.. I think I posted all the ones that seemed to be owners.
Feel free to mention any mistakes in owners/colors or introduce yourself as an owner!

In no specific order

1. HEH - Green Envy
2. Civic Assassin - Tuxedo Black
3. Lonely Superstar - Oxford White
4. Tokyosmash - Performance Blue
5. ChicaneWV - Race Red
6. VR6 GLX Man - Ingot Silver
7. WannaCorrado - Molten Orange
8. DucSam - Green Envy
9. airjor13 - Tuxedo Black
10. Cerksies - Performance Blue
11. lubok - Performance Blue
12. Jurgy - Performance Blue
13. bombardi - Molten Orange
14. Shmi - Performance Blue
15. Raffy-D - Performance Blue
16. 2kGti1.8t83 - Tuxedo Black
17. Soldaten - Race Red
18. V - Performance Blue
19. mikebuffer - Tuxedo Black
20. iheartphaetons - Performance Blue
21. dk58 - Oxford White
22. canadian_commerce - Oxford White
23. DWhiteRiot - Ingot Silver
24. silverlegacy - Tuxedo Black
25. alB5 - Performance Blue
26. magic5rip - Performance Blue
27. a10thunder - Race Red
28. SCHWAB0 - Performance Blue
29. fourmotioneer - Tuxedo Black
30. Redlinez - Oxford White
31. Twilight2ner - Oxford White
32. YukonCornelius - Molten Orange
33. Quinn1.8t - Oxford White
34. saron81 - Oxford White
35. DzlDub - Molten Orange
36. Vash350z - Green Envy
37. rstolz - Performance Blue
38. satisfied - Oxford White
39. CountryGent - Tuxedo Black
40. maxor - Ingot Silver
41. TooFitToQuit - Green Envy
42. Nickey427 - Oxford White
43. MotownSVT - Molten Orange
44. Lawrider - Magnetic
45. Techun - Oxford White
46. Socal20thAE -
47. Burnette - Molten Orange
48. Marc86Golf2 - Green Envy
49. s55b30 -
50. ByronLLN -
51. johntesi -
52. choobs -
53. Ryephile -
54. Dacolino84 - Molten Orange
55. Goingnowherefast -
56. alohasb7 - Oxford White
57. initiation - Magnetic
58. Geesevs -
59. SWEEPTHELEG - Kona Blue
60. leitloaf - Kona Blue
61. BSuk - Kona Blue
62. Skycart - Kona Blue
63. Stangy - Performance Blue
64. FrogFace - Magnetic
65. blue2turbo - Tuxedo Black
66. ctrapeni - White Platinum


Color Count

Green Envy : 5
Ingot Silver : 3
Molten Orange : 7
Oxford White : 11
Performance Blue : 13
Race Red : 3
Tuxedo Black : 8
Magnetic : 3
Kona Blue : 4
White Platinum - 1
Unknown : 8
 
See less See more
#135 ·
Just test drove an Orange ST fully loaded.

I was blown away with how good it is for the price. The engine was smooth and responsive with plenty of power. Steering was well weighted at all speeds despite being electric. Handling was good with a bit of body roll. It had a very good ride, firm but not harsh. Shifter was a bit long but quick and easy to find gears.

I'm not a huge dash stroker so it was fine for me, nothing special. The Recaro seats have too much side support. It's not too bad around town but I could see getting very tired of the extreme bolstering on the highway. Rear seats didn't fold very flat and didn't like the huge gap between the rear seats and the hatch platform. Sound system was pretty meh.

Overall, easily the best Ford I've ever driven and it's near the top to replace my MS3.
 
#139 ·
The cargo area of on the Fiesta drives me a bit batty b/c when you fold down the seats it forms a step:



But Ford addressed the issue for 2014, big pic: http://www.svtperformance.com/articles/2013/Fiesta_ST_Drive/Fiesta_ST_Drive_042.jpg

Looks like they raised the cargo floor so when you fold down the rear seats, it forms a almost flat continuous floor.

Ford didn't add a false floor to address that issue like in the new Nissan Versa Note, Ford just raised the floor a bit. So when you lift the Fiesta's floor, you'll see the spare and bare sheet metal. So since the floor is raised, I figure there's a couple of inches between the floor and the spare so you easily hide some nick knacks.
 
#140 ·
Ford didn't add a false floor to address that issue like in the new Nissan Versa Note, Ford just raised the floor a bit. So when you lift the Fiesta's floor, you'll see the spare and bare sheet metal. So since the floor is raised, I figure there's a couple of inches between the floor and the spare so you easily hide some nick knacks.
"nick knacks" ;)
 
#142 ·
There's two height settings for the floor.. You can have it on the higher setting to eliminate some of that gap visibility where you see the painted trim under the seats.. Or lower it for more useable space above the flooring, but you get the strip of bare painted metal under the seats because of the big gap left behind.

Some people will find it hard to get the floor into the lower setting as it requires some wiggling of the spare tire to be able to push it down flat. But it can be put in flat on the lower setting.

I can't for the life of me find the interview anymore, but there was an interview with one of the engineer's who basically said they pretty much took whatever they had on the shelves/parts bins and threw it in there... The regular Fiesta's don't have that spare there and so they get a storage tray thing that fits underneath and it's all clean..

Since the ST didn't get re sculpted back there... as it's just recycled parts from the normal fiesta... this solution didn't work obviously, because of the tire. So... they just tossed the tire in there, and there was no parts on the shelf designed to fit over the tire and give that storage tray solution... And we got stuck with the funky gap under the seats.

Basically it's unfinished. For future buyers sake, hopefully something gets fashioned to remedy this? But doubtful.

People are getting creative with ways to fill the gap and make use of the space though.

I'll likely end up coming up with something myself to sort it out.

You can not fold the seats down and have a flat loading surface. You can probably get a little more space if you push your front seats forward and push the rear headrests down.(or remove them). But it's not going to resolve the lack of a flat storage space , nor the weird gap.

Bummer that it was left un finished.... but to be honest, I'd rather they cut costs under the rear floor mat... than somewhere else in the cabin that gets utilized more often and would have been more of an eye sore.
 
#148 ·
Yeah, stock wheels are 17". And... 205/40/17 doesn't seem to be the easiest tire size to find.
Some 15" will fit, but need to make sure they clear the brake calipers. Won't be leaving a lot of space between calipers & wheel though.

16" is the go to size if you want to downsize.

Remains to be seen if 16" will offer better performance over the 17" at the track. Pro's and cons I guess will have to dictate that. Going aftermarket with bigger brakes would probably force you to stick with 17"s. Seems to be a fair bit of discussion over the handling sacrifices made by going to a 16", and argument that you can get light weight 17"s that are similar in weight to 16"s.

And then, debate over straight away benefits of 16s vs cornering benefits of 17s.

I guess we will see when people start putting them to use. I am sure going either route will be fun at any rate.

I am still torn over whether I'll be going with 16 or 17 for my primary set.

Not a fan of the stock wheels at all, so I am looking to throw some winter rubber on them. Regardless of whether they are the ideal winter rims.. I don't like em and don't want a 3rd set sitting in the garage.

Was tempted to go with 17" aftermarket wheels just because, then I could use the stock rubber on those.

Otherwise, I may go 16"s... and sell the stock tires.

They're almost flat, though, since the bottom seat cushion flips forward, then the seatback falls down into the void.
Yeah that looks pretty flat, the FiST isn't set up that way at all.
 
#150 ·
Test drove one without Recaros last night. I really dislike the complete lack of buttons for the radio and such, but I'd get used to it. I'd also get used to the grabby brakes and the rest of the controls. I really disliked the non-Recaro seats. They felt nearly identical to the seats in my dad's ST, and they really kinda suck. I end up propping myself up on the center console to end up even remotely comfortable and then my leg gets sore. I have to test drive one with Recaros to make up my mind, it's a lot of fun to drive otherwise.

I'm really debating between an FR-S/BRZ or a Fiesta ST. :banghead:
 
#151 ·
^I'll bite. A FRS/BRZ is dynamically superior to the FiST in every way possible. You might feel the nice 'turbo surge'/kick between 1500-3500rpm, but it will run out fo breath by 5500rpm like a GTI. (I'd love to see a dyno chart to see where it falls flat). The FRS/BRZ has a nice linear power curve, but you won't feel the FI 'rush.' The exhaust note on the FRS/BRZ is nicer than the FiST, but I reckon the FoST sounds nicer. The stock FRS seats are really nice. The Recaros are nice on the FiST, but the base seats are crap. FiST + recaro gives you fine leather + heated seats, which is not available on the FRS, and you need to pay a premium to get the BRZ + Premium to get it. You can get HIDs on the latter but not on the FiST.

You'll most likely find more deals on a base FRS than a FiST since it literally just rolled off the boat. Utility and rear seat comfort is probably a wash, and obviously the hatch on the FiST will be more useful. ICE/Tech I would pass the nod to the Pioneer H/U on the FRS. It sounds better, and with a standard double DIN fitment you can throw in ANYTHING you want. I really do not like SYNC at all.

Judging by resale in Australia, the 2nd Gen Focus Turbo (5cylinder Volvo) and the last gen Fiesta ST are much poorer than a comparable GTI and Polo GTI. Not sure how relevant this is to NA.
 
#153 ·
Agreed
^

The FiST reminds me of my friend's EG Civic hatch with a B16A back in 2001. It's fun to drive and has good utility. Instead of the mad VTEC rush, you get the Turbo woosh. It won't break the wallet, but it wont make you want to kill yourself while driving it (like a base model Yaris)
 
#154 ·
In the two months I've been reading online about the Fiesta ST, I've been floored by the major topics of discussion and complaint.

This issue with the rear cargo floor, its interaction with the rear seats and how the seats don't fold "flat" is simply amazing. Those factors being a major part of someone's decision making on this car is roughly akin to someone complain about the purchase of a Cannondale Mountain Bike because of its limited luggage capacity or not wanting to buy a pistol because it is slightly less efficient at skeet shooting than a proper shotgun.

I cannot imagine anyone choosing the Fiesta ST and having that much concern about luggage compartment orientation and design. I've opened my hatch twice since I bought the car and cannot envision ever having a rational discussion about the position of the cargo floor or unsightly gap between the floor and seats. Gee, I thought a car like the ST was purchased because of the exclusive suspension componentry and nearly 80% increase in power over the base model.

How about the grabby brakes that dust a lot. Jesus, who buys a model like the ST and complains about brakes that outperform nearly everything else in the segment. Ford installed a particularly grabby compound with high initial bite solely to please the type of enthusiasts they are hoping to get as customers. Pads with high bite will naturally be consumed and will expel dust. It's part of equation of having an effective high performance braking system. Anyone that thinks they need to immediately change to some aftermarket compound to control dust has invalid priorities when it comes to brakes.

Finally, the seats. I made the conscious decision that the Recaros weren't right for me. Many others have made the same rational, sane, decision that the Recaros aren't the proper choice from a money and usability perspective. BUT, people after people online give gospel caliber preaching about how the regular seats will give you anal cancer and fill your soul with level of regret previously unreachable. I even read an entire discussion on another forum from, surely some kid, who said that if you got the base seats (because you're poverty) then you won't be able to extract all the speed and fun from your ST. Simply absurd.

The "stock" seats are a big improvement from what comes in a regular Fiesta. They have reasonably flat, but very firm bottoms to accommodate the asses of average Americans in daily use and providing easy in and out access to the car. The backrests are also much more firm than the traditional seats but do have sufficient bolsters to hold the occupant in place.

I've been a driving instructor for over 10 years and have hundreds of Autocross events under my belt. I know these regular seats will be great for nearly all the people that use the car. Sure, the Recaros are inviting to some, but to many, they are simply too confining from a size and egress perspective. The vast majority of the people that buy cars don't want to climb over bolsters of that size for their daily commutes and getting in and out for drycleaning and other errands.

Besides, that 2k price represents a lot of money that could be put toward entrance fees to driving schools, autocross events and possibly even the air fare and hotel for the ST driving school for owners in 2014. It's simply money better spent and people that don't choose the Recaros shouldn't be made to feel like lepers just because of the forum jockey, keyboard warriors that want to be critical about things they don't fully understand.

I would have enjoyed the Recaros if this was a limited use, track only vehicle. I am, however, using this as my daily driver and while things like folding seats and cargo floors mean nothing to me, I would like to be able to get in and out easily. I find the seat bottom, even with my weight, plenty firm to hold me in place and, trust me, I've already driven the car hard enough to know if what I am saying is opinion or fact.

The complaints about not having buttons and having to try and touch the radio while driving in that bumpy/jouncy car are, however, completely valid. It's absurd, but I'll get used to it.

Overall, it's a great car. As a long-time driver, I can see very valid reasons to buy the BRZ/FR-S over the Fiesta. In fact, I would have loved to have a RWD car. RWD is more pure, more like my actual track car and more what most enthusiasts should want in the first place. This FWD Fiesta ST though has capabilities above almost all of its owners. It's a car to be taken seriously and I just wish people would focus on what's special about the car as its presented and not what's ****ed up about its cargo floor and dusty brakes.
 
#157 · (Edited)
This issue with the rear cargo floor, its interaction with the rear seats and how the seats don't fold "flat" is simply amazing. Those factors being a major part of someone's decision making on this car is roughly akin to someone complain about the purchase of a Cannondale Mountain Bike because of its limited luggage capacity or not wanting to buy a pistol because it is slightly less efficient at skeet shooting than a proper shotgun.
A hot hatch is really a hatch first and 'hot' second. The insistence on flat cargo floors has always escaped me, too, but I'm only attracted to this car for its mix of practicality and fun. If all I needed was fun period, I would not be buying a front wheel drive, four door hatchback.

I'd agree that this is a silly minor niggle, though. There is no competition for this car in the US, other than a bunch of used, larger cars. The Fiesta ST has a monopoly on sub-3000lb, B-segment hot hatches here. If you don't like the stepped load floor, what are you gonna buy? a 1.4L Sonic?:laugh:

How about the grabby brakes that dust a lot. Jesus, who buys a model like the ST and complains about brakes that outperform nearly everything else in the segment. Ford installed a particularly grabby compound with high initial bite solely to please the type of enthusiasts they are hoping to get as customers.
I suspect they actually chose what they chose because track laps in magazines (instead of just lateral G and slalom type data) and pretending that you're going to use the car on track days has become a big part of people's purchasing decision in sporty cars. Everyone wants a hot hatch that will do the Nurburgring in 8:something or low 3s at VIR. A lot of cars that are really wonderful on the track end up getting dinged by the glossy magazines for "bad brakes" because the hamfists they employ as writers cook the street pads after two laps. No one who does track days expects to run factory pads.

This is also why they offer Recaros. You will never see a FiST or FoST in a press fleet without them.

The "stock" seats are a big improvement from what comes in a regular Fiesta. They have reasonably flat, but very firm bottoms to accommodate the asses of average Americans in daily use and providing easy in and out access to the car. The backrests are also much more firm than the traditional seats but do have sufficient bolsters to hold the occupant in place.
They're the same as the Euro-spec upper trim level Fiestas, IIRC, slightly narrower than the US-spec SE/Titanium seats.

I would have enjoyed the Recaros if this was a limited use, track only vehicle. I am, however, using this as my daily driver and while things like folding seats and cargo floors mean nothing to me, I would like to be able to get in and out easily.
For many others, the cargo floor is more important than whether someone with a bigger ass than theirs can fit into it.
 
#155 · (Edited)
All of you make very good arguments for both sides. Which is exactly why I'm stuck making up my mind :)

A bit of background, I've owned a lot of cars (and before any TCL 'tards start on me, I bought them, not my parents) ranging from a Supra to a VR-4 to an Evo X. My current car is a Mk2 GTI with aftermarket Recaros and a lot of mods. I'm honestly tired of daily driving it (unreliable :rolleyes:), and I'd love to just use it as a track rat instead of the current double duty it sees. Whichever car I choose won't be seeing track time for a long time.

With the stock seats in the ST I'm underwhelmed because they sit high and my legs are too close to the steering wheel and I end up with my legs on the door or center console trying to spread my legs to fit my hands while turning the wheel. Lame. I don't know if the Recaros have the same issue, but based on my experience just sitting in them, I think they'll be fine.

I agree that the online BS about the car not being "right" without the Recaros is silly. Many people won't find them even remotely comfortable. I'm honestly surprised I fit them as well as I do, I'm tall and not super skinny. I'm a tight fit in my current Recaros.

The brakes on the Evo X felt a lot like the brakes on the ST, which is a very good thing. The FRS/BRZ brakes are less grabby feeling, but they definitely have stopping power for street use. My current brake setup on my GTI is very similar except for the initial bite which is why I said it'd take some time to get used to it again.

I feel very "at home" in an FR-S or BRZ even at my height, and I love that it's RWD. I'm not sure if I want another high power FWD car. It's fun, and trailing throttle oversteer is hilarious, but I'd like to drive a RWD car that's not a tub of lard.

The ST responds pretty well to tuning too:


I welcome the arguments from either side. I'm very torn as to what I really want right now.
 
#161 ·
Concerning wheels (rom Tire Rack):

OZ Ultraleggera
17" are 16lbs
16" are 14.7lbs
15" are 12lbs

Enkei GTC01
17" are 18.6lbs

Ford Racing Fiesta 15 spoke
17" are 21.2lbs!

The rest are all garbage wheels... Not sure about Sparco? Although it would be weird for the car to have Recaro seats and Sparco wheels, right? :laugh:

I wish they had more colors for the OZs... I want a black FiST, with neon green Ultraleggeras, and a big Monster M sticker on the back window and maybe a few DC stickers.. Then I'd post all sorts of instagram pictures of it all over TCL! :p

Tire Rack has 13 different summer or track tires in 205/45-16... and only 8 205/40-17.

I'd like to hear/see more... 16" might be the way to go.
 
#164 ·
Despite being a Fiesta thread, I'll ask a Focus question. I just test drove a Focus ST, ST3 package. Got the dealer to 24,495 (+TTL). They offered 17k on my trade in, I owe 17.7k. I walked away after 2 hours of mind numbing salesman banter. Was that a good deal, even losing the 700 on my trade in? I told him from the start pay off my truck and I'll sign. He even went as far as writing up a "contract" by hand and showing 17.7k for the trade but still came back from the manager at 17k after I signed. What do you guys think?

To keep it relevant, the car was great, Recaro's fit me perfect, and I'm not especially small (or big). Power was good, intake sound was fantastic. The suspension felt just right for a "sporty" DD. the only weird thing was the electric steering feel, they gave it like extra aggressive feedback at high speeds, which would take some getting used to. Now to find a Fiesta to drive.
 
#165 ·
25k + TTL for an ST3? If its a 2014 that is a great deal. If its a 2013 it is still a good deal. I paid 26500 + TTL for my ST3 w/ sunroof back in May.

I just got back from test driving a FiST and am sad to say in many ways it was more exciting than my Focus. Pretty much on par with the reviews my feeling was the overall car was more eager which is tough to say because the Focus ST is already a blast. A 500 lb weight different will do that. The engine sound is also better in the FiST too where you get the whoosh of the recirc valve, the turbo spool, and a nicer grumble from the sound symposer. The non Recaro seats were a bit flat for my tastes but not bad.

So what wasn't so great?

The MFT is just a shrunken version of what you get in the rest of Ford's line up and as someone else said is comically hard to use while driving although you quickly learn you can use the steering wheel controls for most stuff. The HVAC control location also wasn't so hot where its recessed a bit under the center stack. Lastly was the shifter. The feel is better than the Focus ST but the height of it made me feel like I was hunched over to shift.

Overall its an awesome little hot hatch.
 
#166 ·
I'm looking to jump on the Fiesta ST Bandwagon, I've been looking for one with recaros, but right now I've only found one dealer, but it's 2 hours away from me. I know someone mentioned that the recaros where too much, but hope to get into one either soon or eventually.
 
#170 · (Edited)
So I got into an Ingot silver ST today, was a pretty fun ride home, 3rd gear was different than I'm used to on my mk2 jetta, where I would have to push into 3rd, now all I do is just ease it into third instead of forcing it. I don't have recaros or a sun roof, but I'm glad I'm in a new car since I've never owned a new car before. It had 24 miles at the dealer, so I put an extra 90 miles on the drive home. I'll post pics tomorrow since my phone died at the dealer.



 
#181 ·
So I got into an Ingot silver ST today, was a pretty fun ride home
Congrats! Looks good.

As for MyFordTouch, the car we have it in has never worked correctly. First it was the window auto-up-down that didn't work on select switches and the bluetooth forgetting phones - which requires a total system reset and re-doing ALL of your settings by the way - now it's the memory driver seat. Which will require another total system reset. And another thirty minutes of my life to program in my addresses, radio stations, seat preferences, etc..
 
#173 ·
I saw one of these for the first time today and I thought it looked just awful, especially for what they go for here up north. The whole thing just looked really cheap, I think the Focus looks much better. I'm probably not the best judge on looks though, I own two cars that a lot of people consider ugly:laugh:
 
#175 ·
I'm another who put their money where their mouth is.

Ride: Choppy when in NYC
Handling: amazing, and my other car is a track e36 M3
Seats: A bit much.. I specifically wanted Recaros, but maybe even for me they are a bit much.. I'm 6'1" and thin, and the thigh support is excessive, while headrests are way too forward for use with a helmet.
Rear cargo and seats: who cares
Brakes: grabby, powerful, and lots of awesome dust, just the way they are supposed to be.
Fuel Economy: at 26mpg right now, mostly NYC Manhattan traffic, though I did get 32mpg on the highway when I first took delivery a few days ago.
VS. Focus ST: 2013 Focus St can be had for 22K right now with the ST2 pack, after incentives. I was close to pulling the trigger on it, but there is one thing about the Focus that I cannot live with: it's the Saab 9-3 Viggen - style TORQUE STEER. It's excessive for an every day car, because the Focus has lots of torque, and even light driving tugs at the wheel.. In the Fiesta, driving it lightly exhibits none of that, and mostly tugs when powering out of a corner.
Power: There is some lag, and it's a lot slower than the Focus, but it's still fast enough (especially with Molten Orange exterior) to get you in some serious trouble.
My Ford Touch: For God sakes, give me a normal button freaking radio. This is completely ridiculous - with a stiff ride like in this car, it takes your eyes away from the road just to make sure you're pressing in the correct area of the touch screen, which is also located way too far from the driver. This is by far my biggest complaint about this car.. There is plenty of real-estate for radio buttons, they need to bring them back yesterday...
Price: $775 off invoice.



 
#177 ·
Test drove another ST today, Molten Orange with Recaros. Stunning color! MyFordTouch still sucks... The Recaros make the car for me, I'm tall and lanky so my legs end up on the center console and door normally, with the Recaros they don't. They are very snug though, so I'm not 100% sure. The power comes on very nicely, and easily lights up the tires in 2nd gear. Hilariously fun, but I'm not sure I want another FWD hot hatch in my stable. This ST's brakes were MUCH nicer than the one I drove earlier. Not touchy until I wanted them to be. Not sure what was up with the other one I drove, this one felt superb. The moonroof takes away way too much head room for me, and the headroom is really lacking anyway thanks to the annoying headrests.
 
#184 ·
I visited 5 dealers in Orange County today. Between them, they had "just sold" six and had two still available. One is silver with Recaros, nav, and the optional wheels. X-plan plus the 1k rebate bring the price down nicely. Another dealer offered me a car with no options for 20k even, but I'm kind of skeptical that number would still be around if we ever actually sat down to work out a deal. I did finally get to drive one today and even with the unanimously positive press and talk here, I was still very impressed. Excellent car. Question for me is if it's worth ~14k more than my Cooper S since that's what I would be putting in on top of a trade. I've asked this question a few times (GTI, Abarth, etc.) but this is the only time I haven't dismissed it within a day.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top