2014 Ford Fiesta ST: The Small Hatch with Big Moves! Ignition Episode 62

MotorTrend

On this episode of ignition

Transcript

00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:07 The prospect of shrinking down the Focus ST package, one

00:10 that we love deeply, to the Fiesta platform

00:13 is an intriguing one.

00:15 In fact, it was such that we couldn't wait for the car

00:18 to arrive in the US.

00:19 Instead, we flew to the car's launch in France.

00:22 Why?

00:23 Europe's been this car's test bed.

00:25 It's built in Germany.

00:26 And, well, France is nice.

00:28 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:32 [ENGINE REVVING]

00:35 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:39 [ENGINE REVVING]

00:42 [MUSIC PLAYING]

01:08 Now, before we can start the review of the Fiesta ST,

01:11 we have to give a caveat.

01:13 And that is the car that I'm driving now,

01:15 this two-door hatchback, won't be

01:16 available in the United States.

01:18 The only version we're getting is a four-door hatchback.

01:20 The reason why we're not driving that

01:22 is because we didn't want to wait until July

01:24 when they'd be available.

01:25 We wanted to drive it as soon as possible.

01:27 [MUSIC PLAYING]

01:30 But that actually brings up an interesting point.

01:33 And that is the car that we're going to get in the US

01:36 is going to be the exact same.

01:38 As the one in every other market.

01:40 There's no European-specific four-door hatchback

01:43 or US-specific four-door hatchback.

01:45 We're not getting a softer version.

01:47 We're not getting a compromised version.

01:49 It's just the same car.

01:50 That's great.

01:51 It's the start of a--

01:52 hopefully a trend that we'll maintain throughout all four

01:55 of these performances.

01:56 [MUSIC PLAYING]

02:00 [ENGINE REVVING]

02:04 [MUSIC PLAYING]

02:07 [ENGINE REVVING]

02:11 [MUSIC PLAYING]

02:14 [ENGINE REVVING]

02:18 [MUSIC PLAYING]

02:21 All righty.

02:46 Recording.

02:48 And--

02:48 Recording.

02:49 Recording this.

02:50 All right, now we're good to go.

02:52 Whenever you're ready, Carlos.

02:53 I'll wait for this car to pass.

02:55 [ENGINE REVVING]

02:58 [MUSIC PLAYING]

03:17 [ENGINE REVVING]

03:20 3, 2, 1.

03:25 Now, before we can start the review of the Fiesta ST,

03:28 I have to do a bad robbery.

03:29 And that is the car that I'm driving now,

03:31 this two-door hatchback, won't be

03:33 available in the United States.

03:34 The only version we're getting--

03:36 the reason why we're not driving that

03:37 is because we didn't want to wait until July

03:39 to be available.

03:40 We wanted to drive it as soon as possible.

03:42 But that actually brings up an interesting point.

03:45 And that is the car that we're going to get in the US

03:47 has the one in every other market.

03:49 There's no European-specific four-door hatchback

03:53 or US-specific four-door hatchback.

03:54 We're not getting a softer version.

03:56 We're not getting a compromised version.

03:58 It's just the same car.

03:59 That's great.

04:00 It's the start of a--

04:01 hopefully a trend that will maintain throughout all

04:04 Ford's new performance vehicles.

04:07 I want to hit some bikers there.

04:08 3, 2, 1.

04:10 That's great.

04:10 Hopefully, it's a trend that will

04:12 become more prevalent in Ford's performance vehicles.

04:17 Now, getting to the point of what

04:18 happens when you shrink down the ST formula.

04:22 Does it work in the Fiat?

04:24 [MUSIC PLAYING]

04:27 [TIRES SQUEALING]

04:30 [ENGINE REVVING]

04:33 [MUSIC PLAYING]

04:37 Yes.

04:44 Well, first, we have to talk about what that entails.

04:47 Now, it's a whole manner of modifications.

04:49 We have new springs, new dampers.

04:51 There's a stiffer torsion beam back there

04:53 to help with the rotation.

04:55 We have a 1.6 in that.

04:56 It's got a nice turbocharger on it now.

05:01 3, 2-- we got slow traffic and bikers, bicyclists.

05:06 It's the Tour de France, apparently, today.

05:08 Yeah.

05:09 Three guys, three people.

05:12 Man, he's slow.

05:13 You know what's nice about France?

05:19 Everything but the French.

05:22 Everything but the French.

05:23 [MUSIC PLAYING]

05:27 It's going to get messy.

05:33 [MUSIC PLAYING]

05:37 So what have we found on the road?

05:45 Well, like the Focus, it has a very quick steering rack,

05:49 something just over two turns lock to lock.

05:52 Obviously, steering ratios in the 13-point-something range,

05:56 13.2, 13.5 range.

05:58 Really quick.

05:59 Not that great of a turning radius,

06:00 which tends to be the case with great turning

06:02 and front-drive cars.

06:04 But it is a lot of fun.

06:07 It is an e-car.

06:08 It's a car you can really push and lean on.

06:11 And that's interesting to think about,

06:12 because when you look at the price and the performance,

06:15 you realize this car has no real competitor.

06:18 The Fiat 500 Abarth is kind of a disappointment

06:22 in the performance area.

06:24 The closest thing I think that comes to this

06:26 is a Mini Cooper S, which is about the same size,

06:29 same power, but costs--

06:31 base price is about $24,000.

06:34 And if you wanted to option that similarly,

06:36 as this is optioned with the Recaro seats and navigation,

06:40 I think you're looking at quite a bit more.

06:42 The most uncomfortable thing for this car,

06:44 though, is the pricing of the Focus ST,

06:47 which bases at about $24,000, $25,000.

06:52 So if you put navigation, Recaro seats, and all this,

06:55 you're edging right up to that price.

06:57 Granted, you don't get any of that with the Focus,

07:00 but still, it is interesting to think about.

07:02 [MUSIC PLAYING]

07:07 [ENGINE REVVING]

07:10 [TIRES SQUEALING]

07:14 [MUSIC PLAYING]

07:17 The Fiesta ST works well on France's roads,

07:23 which shouldn't be surprising, considering

07:24 it was developed for this tight, narrow, and curvy asphalt.

07:28 We're eager, though, to find out whether the US market four-door

07:32 delivers the same enthusiasm to its driver.

07:34 [MUSIC PLAYING]

07:38 [CRASH]

07:41 [MUSIC PLAYING]

07:46 [MUSIC PLAYING]

07:50 [MUSIC PLAYING]

07:54 [MUSIC PLAYING]

07:58 [MUSIC PLAYING]

08:02 [MUSIC PLAYING]

08:06 [MUSIC PLAYING]

08:10 [MUSIC PLAYING]

08:14 [MUSIC PLAYING]

08:19 [MUSIC PLAYING]

08:23 [MUSIC PLAYING]

08:27 [MUSIC PLAYING]

08:32 (upbeat music)

08:34 (upbeat music)

Category

Transcript

Recommended