16th Oct 2005, 08:48
To all of those people who have decided to opt for the ST, let me just say this. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!
What a great all round wee car. Great fun, practical, great fun, reliable, great fun, good looking (without the stripes), great fun... need I say more?
Had my performance blue ST since April and I'm nudging on 10,000 miles already. Every single one has been a joy. From motorway to B-road, it has been a GAS (especially the B-roads)
My advice. Go for it!!
P.s. I'm saving hard at the moment to trade up in a years time for the Focus ST. Wow, that looks like some machine.
19th Oct 2005, 14:26
Thanks for all the positive comments guys! :o)
I was over at my local Ford dealer having the 12,500 mile service done, and one of the service advisors told me of rumours that Ford are going to release an "official" tuning package for the car, along similar lines to the BMW "Works" pack for the Cooper S. There are no confirmed dates or specs yet, but they reckon it will take the car up to around 180 bhp, and with full Ford warranty support. It will be offered as a factory option on new orders, but can be retro-fitted to existing cars. How true this is I don't know.
I will be looking into this, but if anyone else hears anything, please post it here.
Still well chuffed with the car. First service cost £114, and the car was returned valeted inside and out. The engine is definitely still loosening up, and the fresh oil has taken the edge off that slight harshness. I think I will do an oil change myself at mid-point next time, as the oil was clearly dirty enough at 12,500 miles to affect the smoothness of the engine.
The car still has an unblemished reliability / fault record. I wonder if I could have said the same had I bought the Clio, as I certainly couldn't say it about my old Saxo.
7th Nov 2005, 12:57
Just road tested st 150 and was very impressed. I also was torn between st and 182, but on reflection as I intend to track and hill-climb it, the st has just won my vote. it may not have the power of a 182 but the Clio is at the end of its development, and I'm sure the st will be a better bet in the long term with all the mods. that are bound to come on line. with a bit of further tuning I'm sure it will be the car to beat.
19th Nov 2005, 11:56
The Clio has been around for years (especially if you count the 172 as well), so it's bound to have more aftermarket options. All other things being equal though, a Ford will usually outsell a Renault so give it time.
22nd Nov 2005, 03:43
If your going for performance, then the clio. if not the fiesta. ford will hold its value better than clio as well.
13th Dec 2005, 20:31
What sort of MPG's are you getting with your ST's? just curious to see what people get in the real world, as I am considering one of these as an alternative to a Clio 182. My last Clio 172 (stolen) returned an amazing 37mpg overall, now I'm used to that, I couldn't cope with less than 30.
My girlfriends SportKa only manages a miserly 31mpg (even on longer journeys) hoping the Fiesta is better...
PS- Is the fiesta engine just the same one as fitted to new focus and Mondeo?
20th Jan 2006, 06:23
The engine in the Fiesta ST is actually the Mazda 2 litre. It is a very well designed engine with oversized valves etc, so there will be good tuning possibilities.
Look on this website to see how well designed they are:
http://www.sbdev.co.uk/History_files/History_DuratecTuning.htm
31st Jan 2006, 16:47
The C-Max is quite a bit bigger than the Fiesta and has a higher specification and bigger engines. The C-Max is what we call an MPV here in the UK - I think you guys know them as mommy wagons. Designed for carrying kids and family stuff around. The Fiesta is a small city car, although this ST version is good for 0-60 in under 8 seconds, and a the "throw away the key" side of 130 mph top end.
Both great cars, but quite different.
3rd Apr 2006, 05:13
Official times by performance ford magazine timed the st150 to 0-60 in 8.3 and 0-100 in 29.8. why does it take 11 sec to do 60-100? not at all a hot hatch.
16th Apr 2006, 06:11
LOL, I'm sorry my friend, but those times you state for your ST are WAYYYYYYYYY off the mark. A 150 HP Fiesta will not get anywhere near those times (0-60 in 5.3)... I nearly wet myself with laughter when I read that. It's more like 8 seconds, and it will not do 148mph; it's not got enough BHP, and it's not geared for that kind of speed.
Watch the episode of Top Gear when Jeremy Clarkson states the figure at 129mph, 3mph more than the Citroen C2 VTS that he races it with. And also stated that a Civic Type R is much faster, and that only has a 0-60 time of about 6.8. To get anywhere near that time you state, you would need about another 100 BHP, or for your car to weigh about the same as a kid's plastic go kart. Live in the real world, and don't post times that your car has no chance of reaching, unless pushed off a very high cliff.
17th Apr 2006, 10:38
I also find the 0-60 in 5.3 seconds utterly barmy!
If you're going to exaggerate your performance claims, at least make them semi-believable!
30th Apr 2006, 15:49
I own an ST and I wish it did do 0-60 in 5.3 seconds, but it won't, try 8 seconds! As for the boy with the clio 172, trust me speed is the only thing you have over the fiesta! The fiesta handles better, looks better, has much better build quality and you don't have to rev it passed 5000 revs for it to move!
4th May 2006, 05:57
For all the good points about the Clio, it still has Renault build quality and reliability (or lack of). I have a Megane as a company car and it's nice enough to drive, but the quality of the thing is shocking.
The bonnet doesn't fit properly, the flap over the fuel filler has faded to a completely different colour to the surrounding body panel, the panel around the heater controls on the dash can be moved by hand about a centimetre in each direction, the seat adjust lever broke about the third time it was used, the tailgate is hard to latch, the fuel computer goes nuts periodically, the electronic start system has packed up twice and the tyre pressure monitors keep telling me I have flat tyres when I don't.
All this in 3 months and 4,000 miles of plodding up and down motorways. The idea of this shocking quality in a car that's going to actually be driven hard is terrifying. I wouldn't buy a Clio if it outpaced a Ferrari quite honestly. Actually, according to some owners, it does!
8th Aug 2005, 07:10
Excellent review - well written, detailed and covered all the main points. Especially useful for me as I am torn between the Renault Sport Clio and the ST. Will definitely got for the ST methinks!
Better get that deposit saved...!