The first and motivating reason is that I already have a (turbo!)Miata, and so I couldn't justify another RWD two seater. After that, I wanted good fuel economy, reasonable price, space/utility, and fun to drive. I considered the Mazda2 and the Honda Fit, but always had the Fiesta ST in my mind as my favorite. My goal was to pay somewhere between 8,000-16,000 (used Mazda, new Fit) but after driving the Fiesta I just couldn't help but rationalize away the price difference.