What did your Ford Fiesta ST replace?

[Intuit]

'94 Ford Escort Sedan; manual shift... a 1.9L SOHC regular unleaded gas-sip'n 88 horse power house! Well, definitely not... but a surprising boost in torque if the ignition (not mechanical) timing were advanced anyway.

For me I'm replacing a 2001 Mini S.

Welcome to the site, the Juke's design has really grown on me the last few years. When it first came out I was really unsure on the design, but lately I'm starting to warm up to them. Too bad the NISMO doesn't have the power to back up the looks.

That's because Nissan Juke's debut (like Pontiac Aztek) was literally a "hate it or love it" design. Recent refinements are good.

 

[Capri to ST]

My previous DD was a 2008 E90 M3. It had a monster V8 motor with an 8400 RPM redline, but you couldn't really use it or enjoy it on the street. It was a big car, not nearly as maneuverable or as quick handling as the Fiesta ST. Also, everything about it was really expensive, it got 11 to 13 miles a gallon in town, a set of Michelins was about $1,600, and a new battery was over $500 with required programming. It was pretty though.

 

[NecioVato]

2013 VW GTi APR stage 2- i bought it due to the Dsg gearbox. It was fun but much happier back with a manual.

Just curious - what made you go with the FiST vs going with a GTI but in manual form?

 

[At The Gates]

It didn't really REPLACE my other car, I just needed something that was more reliable and I could freely work on my other car without having to worry about stupid shit happening to it.

1996 240SX, Been a huge undertaking and got burnt out after my cams broke (loose bolts holding the cams in place was the issue) and then a snowball effect of constant issues, has a fully built bottom end, cams everything attached to the engine is also new short of the power steering pump, I've replaced almost every single component on the car, entire suspension has been replaced and upgraded, still need to replace my gas tank for the 4th time (hunting non leaking ones is essentially why I bought the FiST) replaced every interior part that was missing, one piece driveshaft, installed a VLSD.

 

[Clint Beastwood]

Fiat 500 Abarth. Really fun car, total piece of junk. Miss it every day.
Sued FCA to buy back the car, turned around and spent that check on the FiST as a fun beater.

 

[At The Gates]

Pretty much everyone I know who's had an abarth has the same experience, fun cars, just really garbage.

 

[Clint Beastwood]

Pretty much everyone I know who's had an abarth has the same experience, fun cars, just really garbage.

If I find a low-mileage one with an *auto* trans I might pounce on it, the manual trans in those cars is poo but the auto is tuned really well and is rated for 500lb/ft of torque. The autos also backfire on every up/down shift which is snazzy

 

[At The Gates]

When I worked in Downtown Orlando we had a fiat dealership down the street from where I was, first time I heard that thing I swore to god it was a v8 stang, the way it echo's off the buildings was ridiculous, then you see this tiny ass car strolling through.

It sounds absolutely amazing and was always curious about them, but just too many horror stories about em to ever make me that interested, if the FiST had that kind of sound it'd be close to the perfect car imo.

 

[Clint Beastwood]

My previous DD was a 2008 E90 M3. It had a monster V8 motor with an 8400 RPM redline, but you couldn't really use it or enjoy it on the street. It was a big car, not nearly as maneuverable or as quick handling as the Fiesta ST. Also, everything about it was really expensive, it got 11 to 13 miles a gallon in town, a set of Michelins was about $1,600, and a new battery was over $500 with required programming. It was pretty though. View attachment 22848

That's how I've felt about some of my other cars - since where I live it's all sitting in traffic, no open road and hyper aggressive police, I've gravitated towards smaller cars that I can thrash and still have fun at legal speeds. I found myself almost never driving my grand national because there was never anywhere I could put my foot down. I can't believe I was able to drive a GN that would do wheelies on command and never get police attention, but I bought a FiST and started getting pulled over constantly

 

[Clint Beastwood]

When I worked in Downtown Orlando we had a fiat dealership down the street from where I was, first time I heard that thing I swore to god it was a v8 stang, the way it echo's off the buildings was ridiculous, then you see this tiny ass car strolling through.

It sounds absolutely amazing and was always curious about them, but just too many horror stories about em to ever make me that interested, if the FiST had that kind of sound it'd be close to the perfect car imo.

When I worked in Downtown Orlando we had a fiat dealership down the street from where I was, first time I heard that thing I swore to god it was a v8 stang, the way it echo's off the buildings was ridiculous, then you see this tiny ass car strolling through.

It sounds absolutely amazing and was always curious about them, but just too many horror stories about em to ever make me that interested, if the FiST had that kind of sound it'd be close to the perfect car imo.

for what it's worth, because of mine 2 friends bought them as well. One has almost 100k trouble free miles on it, and the other one around 20k with no issues. My only real problem was a bad bearing in the trans and no dealership techs to work on the car (they were backlogged months replacing DCT trans' in 500L's).

 

[At The Gates]

I've known one guy to have gone through 3, simply because he is a glutton for punishment apparently, but his main gripe is the build quality and less the mechanical side of things other than complaining of the manual like you've stated.

Interior just seems to fall apart in his experience.

 

[JSWhaler]

Just curious - what made you go with the FiST vs going with a GTI but in manual form?

Prior to the GTi I was in a bad accident. As a result I have a bad left leg, thus the DSG tranny. Now being able to drive a manual again I prefer the lighter and more visceral feel of the ST over the GTi. Yes, the VW is faster And has a bit more space but for the driving pleasure I prefer the ST.

 

[flbchbm]

It replaced my depression with mania.....lol

 

[NecioVato]

Prior to the GTi I was in a bad accident. As a result I have a bad left leg, thus the DSG tranny. Now being able to drive a manual again I prefer the lighter and more visceral feel of the ST over the GTi. Yes, the VW is faster And has a bit more space but for the driving pleasure I prefer the ST.

I get it - sometimes it's not about 0-60 times and 1/4 miles times but about the driving feel and the enjoyment you get from it. Heck, I have a 370z Nismo - and I know it's not the fastest car out there but for a driving experience, 6MT and the way it handles around the twisties - I'll take it over a Mustang any day - unless we are talking about the GT350 - bc that is one sexy fast car.

I was wondering bc before my 2nd Z - I had a 2010 GTI that I did all sorts of stuff to - loved that car bc it was fun to drive (after the mods) but when it came down to either keeping her with a HUGE repair bill needing or trading it out for something else - i went with the trade in route.

I'm just lurking right now - but right now, I'm kinda looking for a daily that will be fun, reliable and not break the bank. Something fun with maybe minor mods or tune but since the Civic Type R, the Golf R and the Focus RS is too expensive for a 2nd daily - I kinda have narrowed it down to the following:
2015 + GTI
FiST
2015+ Focust ST

 

[Silfister]

2004 Ranger. Before that, I drove a 1992, and a 1986 Ranger. Only 155hp and the worst MPG for what it was.. How Ford managed to only get 155hp out of a 3L V6 is embarrassing.

View attachment 22845

I didn't replace - just added; I also have a 1994 Ford Ranger that I got new in high school - still have it for hauling my mountain bike around. It has about a 110k miles on it and still going strong as I've taken good care of it over the years.

 

[LilPartyBox]

I left a much loved '12 Mazdaspeed 3. Fun, fast, and just the right size. bigger than the FiST but smaller than the FoST. I only leased the FiST to hold me over until the 3rd Gen speed 3 arrived... now even if they dropped a new speed 3, I'm keeping my lil party box

 

[MotorboatMcGoat]

The FiST replaced motorcycles that I've decided not to ride anymore, and my trusty '07 Mazda6. Needed something fun to replace 'em!

 

[flbchbm]

It replaced my depression with mania.....

M-sport guy got it...lol

I kept the lowly Mazda 5 to use in winter and as an SUV, truck, trailer-hauler to the landfill/thrift/fb marketplace, etc. The Mazda replaced a modified V70 turbo.

 

[dhoffman]

Moving to Queens, NY I didn't want to take my beloved NC Miata with me for fear of it getting the soft top slashed or having it hit by some dweeb. I got an older higher miles FiST I wouldn't be totally devastated if it got nicked or dinged. The FiST is awesome though. Most of the fun of the Miata with zero of the compromise. And oh there is compromise when you're 6'4" and dailying a Miata. The Miata goes to its new home on Friday and I will miss it a ton. I very much doubt it will be the last Miata I own but it just doesn't make much sense for me to own right now in my current situation. The Fiesta with the Stage 1 already feels like a complete rocket compared to the Miata because of the torque. Can't wait for a custom Stratified/Dizzy tune once I go Stage 2.

 

[MagnetiseST]

My FiST replaced.... a FiST! Long story short: Ford screwed up a warranty engine replacement, and the car was never the same, so I traded it in for a new one. Before that it replaced my 2000 Honda Prelude.