Why didn't you buy a Focus ST?

[Sourskittle]

I test drove the fost when it first came out. Def raved about it being the best handling and driving fwd car I'd driven, but I was upset that it INSTANTLY (to me at least) needed a LSD installed ( and I think this all the time now as my buddies 370whp with an open diff drags us from side to side at 90mph unless the road is perfect ). But I decided to wait for the fist to come out....
I saw the fiesta movement guys running high 16's in the 1/4 with a stock fist, so I was not expecting much before the test drive...
Drove it, and after 7 miles in a $21,400 base base base fist, I loved it. And.... I broke the shifter.
So 3 days later I drove 3-4 hours to buy a fist with recaros.

I still admire the fost's nicer interior, HID head light option ( my buddies is full everything stg3 ), and the way his car handles the power traveling though its chassis ( when its not torque steering WITH TRACTION ). But.... I haven't regretted my fist over a fost a single time yet.

If I wanted a big dumb animal that is mostly meant for 50-150mph racing, I'd just go back to SRT4's. Lighter, and faster than both fords. And more reliable ( yea... That's right, I said it ). But I LOVE driving my fist. [email protected] isn't the fastest car ever, but in a fwd fiesta type car, that is fast, and when you get to be an old man like me (34), you start to realize that this car thing is more than mere numbers on a graph, digits on a slip, or cars ahead next to another car. Its about how that car makes you feel when your driving it.

Like I tell my GF...
"When it comes to smiles.... The fiesta giveth, and the fiesta taketh-away" because I've beaten mine half to death, literally, lol.

Ohhhh, two more things... I tell my buddy this all the time...
" I can add 150whp to my car, but you can't lose 450lbs from yours" ( i can add 500whp to my car and he can lose 2500lbs from his car, but you know what I'm saying, WITH IN REASON ).

And the other thing is... Coming from a CTS-V, you should know, displacement is king. Our 1.6L gives you a single choice.... And some of us ride a razors edge, but the choice is.... Fast spool up and crazy crazy fun daily driving or.... Slower spool up, and the car becomes less fun during every gear shift to drive. I think the focus ( due to its natural engine size advantage ) is a MUCH better car for daily driving bigger power. My buddies 370whp car still drives beautifully with a good size turbo on it. The same could be said for a 2.4L srt4 engine as well. The bigger the engine, the better the car deals with having an oversized turbo, and where does that leave the fiesta with a 1.6L ?

I'll also tell you this.... When the leash comes off, if I were driving a Z06, I'd have crashed 10 times by now if I drove it like I drive my fiesta. When you get in a rhythm with the car, its just bliss. If I was gay, I'd own a miata, I'm not, so... I settled for a turbocharged festiva. Lol

 

[erdna14]

I had taken both for a test drive. Coming from a 2006 Focus ST, the FoST clearly impressed me. However, once I drove the FiST, I fell in love with it. It was way more nimble than the FoST and I had much more fun driving it that the FoST. Combine that with the fact that everyone was flocking to the FoST really made me not want one. I don't need the extra room the FoST offers (or the extra weight), and the gas mileage in the FiST is much better than the FoST. For a daily driver, that was obviously important. I drive this thing however I want and still get 31-32 mpg. It's the perfect daily driver as far as I'm concerned. It's a fuel efficient commuter car that I can have tons of fun with on the weekends.

 

[Unionmine]

it was easy. I drive 24 mile of twisty back roads to work and 24 home and I have a family, I needed something fun with 4 doors that got good mileage and the fiesta st did all of those things. in hindsight a bigger back seat would have been nice.

 

[Joes2016ST]

Before I got my 16 a few weeks ago I looked at all the accolades this car received in the past few years. That definitely told me this is one good little performance hatch. I looked at a few Focus ST's that were on the lot and just couldn't justify paying 27-29G's for that. The FiST I got was 22 or 23G, has the beautiful kona blue and the black rims. It looks amazing in the sun, especially with dark tint. The FiST may not have 250+hp like the Focus but with the lightweight of the FiST I believe it will give a Focus ST a run for its money on a handling course. If I want to go fast I can hop in my 2003 Cobra and go Camaro hunting but for right now I am loving driving this awesome ST, almost more than the Cobra.

 

[GreGGo]

I came from the land of VW. Owned two stage 2 cars and one stage 2+. They were fun, BUT, they did not give me the smile that a FiST gave me. I've owned my car for 1 year and 3 months and just ticked over 30k miles. It never disappoints and I still to this day smile on the back roads. I plan to drive this thing until it literally will not start anymore.


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[maverick1]

After coming from an Ariel Atom and a Porsche Boxster, both small, tight, nimble, tossible, great handling cars I wanted something similar, but also practical.
I test drove both the foST and fiST back to back a number of times and found the fiST more fun to drive and I could definitely feel the weight difference between the two.
I was surprised to learn that many auto journalists also feel the same way as I do, and prefer the fiST over the big brother foST.
When I think about it the fiST checks off all the boxes for me.....small, lightweight, tossible, practical as it has 4 doors and can carry 4 people, hatchback versatility, amazing handling, peppy, and has descent fuel economy, and the most important box....fun to drive.
Not many other cars out there that can check all the boxes.

 

[Dj4Monie]

I owned a scooby a few years ago and it's a great car but a lot more money all the way around, I bought my 16 fizzy for just about 20k out of the door and you just can't beat it for the money. I own a latest 6 speed V6 accord as well which will out run a stock focus yet I drive the ford more now.

Wrong a properly driven Focus ST, all of them will run a 13 in the 1/4 dead stock, as long as track condition are decent and you can launch the car in Sport mode without too much wheel spin.

The Accord is an Automatic, you get what you get, the shifts are somewhat slow an it will run mid to low 14's.

 

[Dj4Monie]

There might be an increasingly small chance I may get a Fiesta ST.

It does the least amount of impact financially too me. It's cheaper, it gets nearly the same mileage my Accent does, would only cost me $5 more a month for insurance which is great considering I have one more year before I can get my Good Driver policy discount again.

That said, it's smaller than my Accent and that bothers me. My sister recently rented a regular Fiesta hatchback as the Turbo PT was being worked on. Parking next to it; it's narrower and shorter than my Accent; the lack of rear cargo room is really something I might not be able to live with.

The Fiesta ST is fun to drive, it does put a smile on your face and it is fast for it's size. With a few mods, it can easily beat it's competitors the next level up and beyond.

I just like the Focus ST more, it's larger so more is possible an without impacting cargo space too much if at all. The one thing I don't like about the Focus ST is the ST1 doesn't have Sirius/XM.

I don't listen to FM, I listen to Sirius instead and have done so for a long time (early 2000's) I've also been a subscriber since 2003 when I started driving trucks. The fact I have to pay minimum $2995 extra just to get the Sony stereo system with Sirius. Sure I get the Recaro seats, HID's and the rest of it, but really pushes my self-imposed budget. The '16 VW GTI-S now have push button start like the Autobahn and SE models and without the benefit of incentives can be had for around $20,000 no options. Lighting package (which adds HID's and LED fogs) is about $22,000.

It also has Sirius/XM standard with support for Car Play and Google Auto which hasn't rolled out on Sync 3 yet and rumor has it that it will now cost you to upgrade, it's not just a simple OTA firmware update, but we'll see.

The problem is the GTI is a tad plain-boring stock. I never liked the wheels and they go back to the MK6; most aftermaket and OEM options are heavy too. It is fast though, the fastest GTI has now brought his ET down to 11.04@125 mph.

It's now only a matter of time before he breaks the 10 second barrier.

A tune and sticky tires is good for low 12's. Stage 2 and DP with slicks will get you 11's.

You have to upgrade the turbo in either the Fiesta ST or Focus ST to touch 11's. I think the Focus ST is under achieving and I sort of look at that as a challenge and that appeals to me.

In an ideal world, I wouldn't mind owning both a Fiesta ST and Focus ST. I actually could but I don't think I want $500-$600 worth of car payments and to be honest I would have to get base models of each which isn't that appealing, because of the lack of Sirius in the ST1 Focus I may just end up driving the Fiesta most of the time. That and it's better in the city in terms of fuel economy.

A choice has to be made, I want out of my Accent but I am forced to wait another month + we'll see about mid-July I guess. I do know one thing, be it Fiesta, Focus or GTI, I will be shopping east of the Mississippi and shipping it back to Cali.

I just don't see many dealers out here that will sell you a Fiesta ST for under $20K, a Focus ST1 for less than $20K, ST2 for $23K after rebate and ST3 for $25K after rebate; GTI-S for $20-$22K, GTI-SE for $25-$26 and Autobahn for $28-$29 but it's happening back east.

 

[Dsquared46]

Being a mopar guy, and getting the car of my dreams, 09 SRT8 6sp Challenger, I needed something small to cut down on the mileage I was putting on the Challenger. It was so much fun to drive and I needed something smaller to give me the same sensation. I love the Focus ST and it was definitely on my radar, but I wanted something smaller. Seriously considered the Fiat 500 Abarth, but that was too small. When the FiST came out it was almost perfect. I had seen all the YouTube vids claiming how great this car was and the price point was on the money. The test drive was good, but uneventful. I would've had to wait 6 to 8 mos. to buy one, but leasing became a viable option so I dove in. Well, 2 weeks after taking the home......I told my wife there's no way I would give this car back and proceeded spend $6000.00 in up grades, predominately Mountune. It is every bit as much fun as my SRT8. One of the biggest, backhanded compliments came from a friend I took for ride. She stated she didn't like the 2015 FiST because the driving sensation felt like my SRT8! She didn't like the firm ride and having her head slam into headrest during acceleration. I told her that's why I loved it! After taking my wife for a spirited ride she almost cussed me out saying I was too old to be driving like like! Note to Ford, If you're gonna make a car handle like this you really should have a handle for front passengers to hold on to. I must admit that I was SERIOUSLY claustrophobic during first 2 weeks too, but was able to get passed it. A young mechanic, that was working on my car, was interested in the car said that he liked the FoST too and wanted to know what I thought about it. I told him that if you only can afford one car for your family get the larger FoST. If it's a second car or something for yourself get the FiST! For the record, both of my vehicles, the Dodge and the Ford, are Black on Black 6sp manuals. Only way to go!

 

[Turbo65]

Wrong a properly driven Focus ST, all of them will run a 13 in the 1/4 dead stock, as long as track condition are decent and you can launch the car in Sport mode without too much wheel spin.

The Accord is an Automatic, you get what you get, the shifts are somewhat slow an it will run mid to low 14's.

I'm not sure where you get that from but my accord is a V6 coupe 6 speed stick and it's the latest gen. I drove a couple of fost's and it didn't feel any quicker than my Honda in a straight line

 

[LilPartyBox]

FoST wasn't even a consideration. I had just come out of a Mazdaspeed3 and wanted something along the same vein but more fuel efficient. The FiST was really the only option as the JCW Mini was out of my price range (and the new one is ugly) and we're not worthy of the Polo R in the states

 

[gizyuluu]

I had my eye on the FiST early on, but had trouble locating one locally so I test drove the FOST. While fun, it just didnt grab me. A year later I came across a slightly used FiST, test drove it and the rest is history. I cant explain why I personally liked the FiST better, but I did.

 

[Waterfan]

While I never owned one (I had a 2.0L conversion Mk1 Jetta instead) I view the FiST as the spiritual reincarnation of my favorite generation VW GTI, the MK2 (1992 2.0L 16V).

It is within +<2 inches different in every dimension (Notably, wheelbase +0.7"). And despite being 10% heavier to accommodate 20+ years of modern features, it has 23% better power to weight ratio.

Is this a crazy comparison? Maybe, but along with a rabid desire for a small, light, practical daily driver, and superior overall value, it's what helped me fall in love with the FiST.

 

[mdanda]

I got a Fiesta ST instead of a Focus ST, even though the Focus was a better car for my needs. Budget was not an issue. I just couldn't handle the Recaros in the Focus. It felt like wearing a shirt that was too small. I could get a Fiesta without the Recaros. Sold!!!

Please, please don't tell me that I can get a Focus ST without Recaros.

 

[dyn085]

I got a Fiesta ST instead of a Focus ST, even though the Focus was a better car for my needs. Budget was not an issue. I just couldn't handle the Recaros in the Focus. It felt like wearing a shirt that was too small. I could get a Fiesta without the Recaros. Sold!!!

Please, please don't tell me that I can get a Focus ST without Recaros.

It's the ST1 package...

 

[mdanda]

It's the ST1 package...

Maybe I'm just tired of researching every purchasing decision to the nth degree! I found a Fiesta ST I liked, so I got it. I actually enjoyed the simplicity of the decision. Good car, good reviews, good price, available at a nearby dealership....done. Sure, a Focus would be better for hauling kids and a dog and the occasional Lowe's purchase. But, oh well.

 

[mdanda]

It's the ST1 package...

Maybe I'm just tired of researching every purchasing decision to the nth degree! I found a Fiesta ST I liked, so I got it. I actually enjoyed the simplicity of the decision. Good car, good reviews, good price, available at a nearby dealership....done. Sure, a Focus would be better for hauling kids and a dog and the occasional Lowe's purchase. But, oh well.

 

[dyn085]

Maybe I'm just tired of researching every purchasing decision to the nth degree! I found a Fiesta ST I liked, so I got it. I actually enjoyed the simplicity of the decision. Good car, good reviews, good price, available at a nearby dealership....done. Sure, a Focus would be better for hauling kids and a dog and the occasional Lowe's purchase. But, oh well.

On the bright side, it's not a 'drastic' difference because we're only talking about the subcompact car versus the compact car. I predominantly use my FoST for family trips but my FiST isn't so much smaller that it's ridiculously inconvenient. In a few years when my kids are in their teens I might feel differently, but as of right now it's not a huge deal or terribly noticeable.

In fact, the main reason we take the FiST isn't about the size as much as it is about the suspension comfort.

 

[DP03]

I had read a number of articles that stated the Fist to be more fun than the Fost despite its power disadvantage. I actually had a Fost transferred to a location and did not like the Recaros at all. That's what made me walk from that transaction. I had Recaros that I didn't like in a previous car (EvoX) and I didn't want to repeat that mistake. So with a little more time to think, and after re-reading reviews on the Fist, I decided to drive one with standard seats. That was about 7 months and 3 stages ago.....

 

[RichXKU]

Back in the day I had an '05 WRX STi and an '07 Honda Fit at the same time. As ridiculous as the STi's abilities were at higher speeds, it was just not very lively around town. I found myself having more fun with the Fit day to day.
Fast forward several cars, and the bottom line is that the FiST has everything I missed about the Fit with double the power and grip. It's just more fun at daily driving speeds, with less waiting for the turbo.