Hot Hatch Fiesta ST Vs Mini Cooper S

[atkrank]

Hello all,
I am new to the forum and do not yet own a Fiesta ST yet but that is why I am posting. I currently own a 2002 Mini Cooper S (the R53 generation) with moderate mods and 155,000 miles. I am just getting out of college, and I am looking to maybe replace my Mini. I love the mini to death. It has just enough power and torque to be a fun car but is still reliable enough to take on a decent road trip. I would keep my mini if it weren't getting to the higher end in miles. I have done pretty extensive research into the new hot hatches and seems like the Fiesta ST is the right one for me. But before I make a move on one I want to ask owners of the Fiesta a few questions and see how it compares to the mini (I am unable to test drive one since the dealers around here only really stock Trucks, SUVs, standard sedans, and mustangs). These are not questions about specs, or performance. This is about the feeling of the car. I never thought I would drive a Mini until I drove a friends as he was test driving it when shopping for his. Since then I have been upsessed because there was an almost unconscious bond between man and machine. Everything about it just felt right and well designed but not overkilled. I am just wondering if the Fiesta could give the same feeling.

Question 1: I love the sporty interior and driving feeling my Mini Cooper S. The seats sit really low to the ground and give a feel of a traditional sports car and with me being only 5'8", I love the angle my legs make when engaging the pedals. The seating in my mini makes it feel like it's not just your average hatchback. I would say it feels as sporty as my friends S2000. So how do you guys feel about the seating set up on the Fiesta? Do you sit low enough in the car to give a sporty feel? Or is it higher seating that is meant for comfort and proper ergonomics? I have heard about some people saying the the Focus RS seating feels too high for what the car is designed for. But I have not heard much from people talking about the Fiesta ergonomics.

Question 2:
I am an avid home mechanic, and love working on my mini. I am a very mechanically enclined person, grew up working on and flipping cars and I am even graduating with a B.S. in mechanical engineering. When working on the Mini whether it be regular maintenance, engine/supercharger work, or suspension work it would usually require disassembly of the front or rear end. But that was never an issue for me because it felt like the engineers and designers of the car really put a lot of thought into how people would work on it and what tools they would use. So well to the point that everything was a breeze. When working on the Fiesta, do you ever ask yourself "Who in the heck put it THERE?" Or " who's bright idea was this?" I have worked on many cars where it felt like they just dropped random equipment in the car and never even thought about. So what I am really asking is in your experience working on your Fiesta, do you get the feeling that someone really put a lot of thought into even the smallest details? Or does it feel just randomly pieces together?

Question 3: When shifting the Fiesta, what does the shift feel like? The shifter in my Cooper is a shift by wire shifter as there is no linkage, instead a series of push and pull wires. But the feel of the shifter and transmission is the best I have ever felt. When changing gears, there is no soft buttery feeling, however I would not classify it as hard or difficult shift but more precise and firm. Compared to my Honda Accord 5speed, the shifter and bushings are in good condition, but changing gears feels soft and almost slippery. Basically it there isn't as much of a distinct moment of when your in gear compared to the Mini. How would you describe and rate the shifter in the Fiesta. Is it a traditional mechanical linkage system or is it a wire system? I've heard people describe it as "brillliant" but that doesn't do much for me. I heard it said once that the shifter is so important because it is like the handshake of the car and you can tell how much time and thought went into the car by just feeling the shifter.

Question 4: How stiff is the clutch? My cooper has a good resistance clutch on it again which seems to be designed to give the sporty feel. But it is not unbareble and over powering. Again I would describe as not hard but firm. How would you describe the Fiesta?

Question 5: is there any one else that made the jump from a Mini Cooper S to the Fiesta ST? What were your comparison views of the two? Keep in mind my Mini is the R53 pre facelift generation.

 

[OCS12]

I can only answer a few of your questions based on lots of time driving a friend's S, and fixing lots of stuff for him.

-very, and I really mean very, similar shifter feel.
-although tight, the Fiesta ST is a dream to work on compared to a Mini. No contest. Parts are astoundingly cheaper too.
-Mini had a more refined interior. Better quality all around.
-Similar seating position.

 

[vlangs]

I think if you're accustomed to an R53 you should have no issue sliding right into a FiST. The sizes are similar, the shifters are similar and while the R53 has older bimmer soft touch which is probably going brittle now the FiSTs hard plastic is easy to ignore when you're hammering down a canyon road

I was an Audi guy and I made the switch and the seating position (being 5'10 so similar height) means the only things I have to touch to sit comfortably in the car is the shifter and the steering wheel. I don't miss the soft touch plastics or leathr seats (recaros are nice, but even those aren't needed) and while people have a harder time fitting in the back, that's probably nothing new coming from an R53. The seats break in but they're certainly the right height for sporty driving, I'm the type that keeps my seat at the lowest possible setting and I've had no complaints with this one.

Also Sync 3 is excellent and the radio while a bit lacking in volume is a very nice quality that doesn't beg to be replaced immediately. Easy car to wrench, though the bolt pattern is annoying.

As for the clutch, I think it's a nice resistance, you could always change it if you wanted something tighter or looser but from my driving I haven't had any complaints.

I was test driving the Fiat Abarth, Cooper S (F56 gen) and FiST and ultimately went with the FiST because a) the abarth, while sounding awesome, was too small and too slow, b) the mini was way commonplace and I felt like I wasn't getting much more for my 5k (a cooper S is 30k with any sort of goodies) and most importantly c) just that happiness I got everytime I drove the fiesta st. It's a seriously brilliant little car and its going to go down as one of the all time greats because you can bet the next gen is going to be bigger and more bloated.

 

[Siestarider]

I drove a 2005 JCW Mini a year. had a sport standard engine model the year they came out. Bought my Fist 9/12 from a dealer who did not know he was getting the car in a week.

My view is Mini feels smaller and is smaller. Had a ball driving them. But they are busy. My Fist has Mountune short shift kit and aluminum bushings, shifts better than either Mini. Clutch about the same pressure, Standard Mini had smoother takeup for me, Fist a little easier pedal, JCW stiffer pedal and fast bite.

Fist feels to me like about the same amount of car as the JCW, packaged better in cheaper materials, more driver friendly, easier to work on, and more all of one piece.

 

[Lite2]

Funny you bring this up.
I have been a Longtime fan of the Mini since the sluggy brit originals but have never even sat in one.
I probably would have bought one a few yrs ago but there wasn't a dealer closer than 100mi from me and just couldn't do it.
I have always been a Ford and mostly Mustang fan but never had better than a 86 Merc Capri 5.0 which sadly my FiST could probably outpace.
My new FiST is the best, most fun car I've ever had or drove, if you can live with a rough ride (depends on the roads you travel). I had a 08 GTI DSG and although the tranny was awesome and interior was more polished I would at this point trade it for the ST.... It's that much fun to drive!
You would be hard pressed to find a better choice.

 

[Rejeme]

My previous car was a R58 Mini Cooper S coupe. After 3 thermostat housings in 30k miles and then some, I had to bail before the warranty was up. That being said, the Mini handled far better than the FiST.

 

[Zissou]

Starting with your last question, I had a 2010 R56 Cooper S. Stock, but 6 speed, sport package, all that fun stuff.

I settled on the Fiesta ST because I thought it out Mini'd the Mini; it's a tad lighter than the R56 and makes a bit more power in stock form. It's also far more tuner friendly, in my opinion. To answer your other questions:

1. I have the Recaro seats. They are not adjustable vertically and sit just a little higher than my Mini seats. But they feel a lot sportier with the aggressive bolstering. At 5' 10" I find the seats to be very comfortable, but my girlfriend at 5' 6" does not find them comfortable.

2. There's a little more room under the hood, and great deal of aftermarket support so working on it is pretty easy. There's also the American car advantage that makes everything cheaper.

3. Shifter feel is even better than the Getrag in the R56. It is buttery smooth and very precise. As an enthusiast I love it, and I also feel like I could teach someone how to drive stick on it.

4. The clutch in my Mini felt very stiff. Could be that it was worn out, but I sold it at 40k miles. The clutch on the Fiesta is much more friendly. I'm at 16k miles now after 2+ years.

 

[FieSTa Blanca]

Hi!

I traded a 2010 Cooper S in on my FiST, and although my MINI was excellent in performance and reliability, the issues that kept coming up on the MINI forums were a bit off-putting when it came to keeping it long-term, especially since I was nearing retirement at the time, with the resulting drop in income. There were several factors at work... St. Louis has only one MINI dealership, and it's about thirty miles away; but our nearest Ford dealer is right here in my home town, only a few minutes from home. The Fiesta offers a full-sized spare tire, while the MINI had no spare at all. The two extra doors are nice; the trunk is larger; the driving experience, while slightly different, is still very positive - and equally rewarding, in my opinion. As mentioned above, Ford parts cost less, and aftermarket support is huge. The FiST is widely considered as huge bang for the buck, with a purchase price notably less than a comparable Cooper S. And another benefit that we discovered only after getting the FiST was that even though brand-new, it costs less to insure than the 5 1/2 year old MINI. I'm a British car buff with an MG in my garage, so the MINI's Brit factor was nice - but with the FiST you get a highly competent European hot hatch, coming from a region where such models have been popular for a long time. Meaning, the designers know what they're doing, and it shows. Lastly, while the FiST definitely has bargain roots, I feel that most of the cheap bits don't matter much if you're a driving enthusiast; meaning, they put the money toward making it a true driver's car, improving the things that matter most. So yes, you may fault the interior, but that's not the kind of thing I think about while carving corners. Besides, the Recaro seats, if you get them, definitely provide a premium feel that makes it easy to ignore the chintzy bits. Truth be told, I like the interior. Most of the dash is soft-touch, all the switchery works fine, and while you can easily mod things like shifting, etc., I find the overall experience excellent right out of the box. Lastly, one of the biggest things that sold me on the FiST was watching reviews on YouTube. They were all overwhelmingly positive, and usually included lots of giggling.

So yeah, I hope you get to test drive a FiST soon. I loved my MINI, but I have no regrets and haven't looked back.

FB