ST owner test drives a 1.0L Fiesta

[BRGT350]

Last November, my brother picked up a 2015 Ford Fiesta SFE and I finally had a chance a few weeks ago to log some seat time in the car. Give the video a watch to see how a ST owner reacts to having a car with one less piston.

[video=youtube;jD_wG0in1r4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD_wG0in1r4[/video]

 

[Rejeme]

I've always been curious about that "suitcase" 1.0T. Nice review.

 

[BRGT350]

It was a lot more fun that I expected it to be. The engine lacks the eagerness that our 1.6L has, but we also have considerably more power and better gearing. Hopefully in a few weeks we will see how the 1.0L compares against the ST when autocrossing. We should also have the ST springs on the car next week.

 

[Phreak]

FYI: the SCCA doesn't allow the normal Fiesta to compete in AutoX events due to it not meeting rollover specs, only the ST is allowed.

The way around that is you have to run spacers on the wheels or lower it. I am assuming the ST springs will lower it of course.


We have a guy out here who just picked up a 1.0L turbo, and he was pretty heart broken that he couldn't run it in AutoX

 

[Brick]

[MENTION=1229]Phreak[/MENTION] Does the SCCA allow fiat abarths?

 

[rodmoe]

Does the SCCA allow fiat abarths?

Last I looked it did but only the Abarth not the reg 500

 

[Phreak]

[MENTION=1229]Phreak[/MENTION] Does the SCCA allow fiat abarths?

Abarths should be fine

Here is some more info on the recently banned cars:

http://www.autoblog.com/2015/01/14/ford-fiesta-banned-scca-autocross-rollover-report/

Other banned cars:

Dodge Caliber
Fiat 500,
Scion xB and iQ
Nissan Juke
Mini Countryman

 

[CanadianGuy]

Nice review. Agree yous that if there was no ST this would have been a choice over the regular 1.6

 

[BRGT350]

We are installing ST springs next week so we are ready for our first autocross of the year coming up in July. Our local group (Furrin) will allow the non-ST Fiesta to autocross with the stock springs, but we were already planning on doing the ST springs regardless. I did one autocross with my 2011 Fiesta on stock springs, and I think that was the only event I ever ran with my 2011. We did run a 2009 EU Fiesta in HS, which was the picture Jalopnik used in their article about the Fiesta being banned from autocrossing.

Yes, if there wasn't an ST, I would strongly consider the 1.0L over the 1.6L. I just wish you could get better options with the 1.0L. Actually, the 1.0L should just be an option with a manual transmission in all trim levels (except ST). My brother really wanted MyFordTouch with Navigation since he travels all the time for work. I would have actually preferred to have the non-touch screen Sync from his 1.0L in my ST and he wants the MFT from the ST in his SFE. He would have gone either way on leather if it was an option on the SFE.

We are both having a lot of fun developing his 1.0L Fiesta and hope more aftermarket support comes later. The Mountune kit from Europe would really wake the car up!

 

[sharpie]

You talk so much about the exterior, then never show it

 

[BRGT350]

2015 Ford Fiesta 1.0L by Bryan Redeker, on Flickr

2015 Ford Fiesta 1.0L by Bryan Redeker, on Flickr

2015 Ford Fiesta 1.0L by Bryan Redeker, on Flickr

 

[sharpie]

Very nice, very nice.

 

[scooter123]

[video=youtube;jD_wG0in1r4]

]View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD_wG0in1r4[\video]

 

[M-Sport fan]

M-Sport/Ford World Rally Team thought so much of the little 1.0 EB version that they chose it (the Euro 2 door version) as the basis for their R2 class World Rally Car, over the older, 1.6 naturally aspirated version (the 1.6 EB ST is over the FIA's displacement mutiplication factor for boosted engines).