2014 Ford Fiesta ST First Drive

Edmunds.com

2014 Ford Fiesta ST First Drive

Edmunds' first drive of the 2014 Ford Focus ST. Includes on-road driving impressions, photos, specs and more.

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jederino

Comments?

jederino

Tiny hot hatches are just great fun, and good value for dollar.

And, glad comments are back! I was wondering where everyone was. I felt as if I was checking in on my favorite hole in the wall, and it's closed lunch after lunch... Without explanation...

bankerdanny

I don't get Ford's strategy with the St's. In a world where Ferrari and Porsche both offer DSG's only in their highest performance cars, Ford chooses to not even offer one in the Focus and Fiesta ST's, thereby severely limiting their audience. I like manuals as much as anybody, my regular driver is a '72 MGB-GT. But I would share a new car with my wife, who likes performance, but drives 99% in Chicago traffic and just won't deal with a manual. So when I finally look to replace my MkIV Jetta turbo it will likely be with a GTI or a Veloster Turbo, both of which give me the option for good power AND an automatic.

soakee_

The worst thing about this car (the U.S. version anyway): two doors too many. Thanks to Ford for offering only a manual shift.

agentorange

Wrong number of doors in the US and no dual clutch option mark this as a fail for me. Ford are being very brave bringing a this and the Focus ST to market with chassis that will oversteer with the nannies off. Pre-stability control hot hatches in Europe varied from the very good to the nasty in that department. The worst was the Peugeot 205 GTI, a fantastic car to drive right up until the point it tossed you through a hedge backwards at high speed with little or no warning. Then there was the Ford Escort RS Turbo that could made into a killer simply by fitting the wrong tyres. How did I survive the 80s and 90s?

bankerdanny

The WRX and Evo are both 4 doors, the WRX is a 4-door wagon. Why is it a problem that the Fiesta is a 4 door hatch?

soakee_

The WRX, Evo, Focus and Fiesta ST are ALL problems with me because they have too many doors. Personally, I don't give a hoot about a dual-clutch as I prefer three pedals.

sn91872

What's the deal with these small liter turbos with no automatic. Look, if I am going to drive a manual, I want an 8 cylinder or bigger, or at least a turbo'd 6. I'd love to buy this car, but I want an automatic. I don't want to deal with a manual in my daily driving, but I'd love to have the sportiness of this car. I saw this Fiesta and the turbo'd Sonic and the Detroit car show, very nice cars, but I won't buy one because I can't get an automatic. Big fail by Detroit.

ed124c

Interesting. However, I would prefer that these types of cars START OUT with manuals only Why? Because the carmaker will see that it isn't selling well. Outcome? The auto is added. If it had started out with the automatic, it never would have got the manual. The sad thing is that manuals are going away and there isn't a lot we can do about it-- especially when I read the above where most of the so-called stick people want the Fiesta ST to come with the automatic. Come on, guys and gals, stick with the stick. I haven't bought an automatic car in 35 years. ( I have purchased seven new cars in the last 35 years.)

shatner

Automatics suck the life out of these little turbo engines. Want an Auto get a Buick.

shatner

Oh and 4 doors are often cheaper to insure! What is the big deal about 4 doors?

patvw

Sounds like a sweet ride. I wanted to get a Focus ST, but we only ever lease, and the lease rates were horrible. $475 pm for a Focus ST?

I got a VW Beetle Turbo for $205 pm with the same $3500 down. Granted, the VW is not as sporty, but it is still as fast as the Focus on 0-60 times. Not that I care. It's like a soft GTI, which is good enough for me.

Would I have considered the Fiesta ST? Maybe. It is smaller than the bug and Focus and the lease rates are likely horrible. But it sounds like fun.

silentwolf

Some lame comments I'm seeing and we wonder why the US doesnt get the nice cars. Because too many American can't even be bothered to row their own gears. Nothing replaces the control over a car that you have in a manual. Your ears listen for that shift point, while your hand reaches for the gear knob and immediately knows what gear it is in. Your left foot presses the clutch as you quickly shift to the needed gear and tap the gas to rev match the rpms for the next gear. That intimate interaction with driver and car is something that many seem to forget (or never experienced) because they dont want the hassle of alternating clutch and gas during heavy traffic.
Regardless of the door numbers, the Fiesta ST comes with a modern 6spd M/T, great power to weight ratio, can be loaded up with more than just groceries, and still gets good mileage. Nuff said!
And the ability to oversteer when needed without the nannies, GREAT!