Ford Fiesta ST 2.0 Review

Ford Fiesta ST - performance blue - 08reg.



I bought this car brand new as a pre reg for £10,200, (had 6 miles on the clock) which I thought was good. I have to say for the first 15,000 miles the car is definitely still improving performance wise. This engine takes a lot of miles to run in. IE it feels tight chested to start with.



at about 21,000 miles I have put a mountune CAIS on the car and I have to say this £200 was well spent. It's taken a second off the 0-60 time (did 6.95 at ford fair) I also get better mpg now since fitting the CAIS. 1st gear will do 35mph 2nd gear will do 60mph and 3rd gear will see over 80mph.



This car has returned me 30mpg over with many city trips to Birmingham. When I do a longer trip a always get 37+ mpg if speed limits are stuck to. I've seen 42mpg before on a trip to devon.



Handling is sharp. It handles most bumps well considering the size of the wheels / low profile tyres. The brakes are strong for road use with disks all round. It will stop faster tan most cars in the dry that's for sure



My main complaint is that it could do with a 6th gear at 70mph. It doesn't bother me that much as having the revs at 3500 means you put your foot down and the car overtakes with ease, but it undoubtedly wastes fuel. Economy takes nose dive at speeds over 70 - 75mph. Also a slip diff would be a bonus though for the price I don't suppose this was ever going to happen.



I have now done 28,000 miles in the car and today I went looking to replace it. I test drove a focus ST. To be honest it's a bit quicker but didn't feel anywhere near as fun as the ST. Not as involving. I will now look to the RS focus instead.



These are a great car to buy 2nd hand... if I hadn't already got one of these I would go out now and pick up an 08 plate for about £6500 knowing that it won't lose much money. To lose just £3500 from new to 3yrs old can't be seen as bad, and that's the worst of the depreciation over with. I'm very tempted to keep mine another year or two.



I've not had any problems with the car at all. Tyres last me around 10k miles for fronts and 25k for backs, but I buy yokohoma paradas for under £60 each, so again not too bad



As a final point. In the 08 plate models you get an upgraded Sony head. This stereo is superior to the models preceding it. It's the same head unit used in the Focus RS and CC cabriolet's. It's worth looking for an 08 plate and getting one of these.