Getting a new company car in October, was just gonna stick with comfy but tempted to indulge in something a little sportier, new three-pot Fiesta ST ticks a lot of boxes. I do quite a lot of motorway miles – I’m prepared to sacrifice some comfort for hoonability but wondered if anyone’s done a load of motorway miles in one? Is it bearable? Does it have that adaptive cruise and lane assist gubbins?

Admittedly it was a mk1

With a two litre engine and no turbo.

But by christ it was an uncomfortable car loud and harsh like wince over cobbles harsh.

Mrs Squad has a 2016 Fiesta ST and she loves it.

It has got a lairy exhaust on it though so it drives me nuts on long journeys.

A standard exhaust might be fine though?

I was looking at articles on the latest 2018 model and, assuming that’s what you’re looking at getting, the reviews seem to be quite positive regarding the ride as the suspension has been revised and is a bit more forgiving.

The 1.5T EcoBoost certainly has impressive performance figures!

wondered if anyone’s done a load of motorway miles in one?

Yes many

Is it bearable?

If ever there was a car that needed cruise control the ST is it. It’s so fast the weight of your shoe on the accelerator is enough to make it sit at 80-90 mph. Make sure it has cruise control if you value your licence. Otherwise it basically comes alive above 50 mph so on the motorway the engine is fiercely responsive, the steering is perfectly neutral, the suspension works lol and the Recaros are just brilliant.

You will find everyone else seems to be going incredibly slowly and it needs supreme self-restraint to go with the flow

*wonders if Rocketman has confused a Fiesta ST with an actual fast car*

fun does not have to equal fast. but it depends what your coming from.

Little hot hatches are great fun. No experience of the Fiesta for you but I would want to know what the revs were at motorway cruising speed before I committed. We had a Clio 197 and it was manageable on the motorway but sat at 4000rpm at around 70mph. It was not relaxing especially and if motorway driving made up a bigger chunk of our driving it would have gone sooner. Current car is fast and more ‘sporty’ but is geared longer and cruises much better on the motorway. The firm suspension on the clio was not a big issue on the motorway but quite crashy around town.

I also think you need to be honest with yourself – what proportion of hooning will you do to plodding on the motorway?

I’ve got the last model (1.6T) it’s not a great motorway cruiser, and I do have cruise control. I’ve heard mixed reports about how much softer the new one is, unless it’s a significant change it’s still going to be a stiff car. The standard exhaust isn’t loud but it’s not particularly quiet inside. I also don’t find the seats that comfortable for longer drives (4 hours in it yesterday and I was happy to be out).

Would definitely be wanting a proper test drive of the new one if wanting to use it as a rep mobile

My opinion echos Legend’s, the OP is talking about the new variant but we have a ‘65 ST-3

theyre great cars for spirited driving on twisty roads, but pretty dire for town use or motorway bashing.  The Recaros look good but aren’t all that comfortable and the springs are harsh.

i might be getting old but I think my hot hatch days are over.

RE adaptive cruise control, you’ll need to double check with a Ford dealer. But I don’t think it’s available on the ST.

The issue is, I believe, is a combination of demand for such equipment in that car versus the technical challenge of integrating the radar in to the front end with the larger intercooler etc required by the engine. Not insurmountable, but not deemed worth the effort.

EDIT: Also, get an extended test drive. The Recaro seats in the previous generation were not the comfiest over long distances (lack of lumbar support and overly firm bolster – perfect for keeping you put on fast, twisty roads). But comfort is very subjective.

EDIT EDIT: ST-Line/ST-Line X might be a better bet. ST looks, with more comfort and options (inc. the ACC) and decent poke with the 140ps engine.

*wonders if Rocketman has confused a Fiesta ST with an actual fast car*

Grow up 🙂

If you try it and don’t find it suitable I’d consider the Peugeot 208 GTI – we have one and it’s more luxurious inside than the Fiesta and very comfortable. The suspension is notably well regarded by the likes of Evo magazine – it’s very composed.

Interesting stuff, thanks all. I spend by far the biggest time on the motorway – I think I can live with a bit of discomfort, but don’t want to arrive crippled. Never had a remotely sporty car, just thinking it’d be nice to have one if I get the chance – I’ll see about that extended test, shame about ACC, that sounds dead handy. 🙁

Well, what a long and winding road we take, hey? Focus came to three years in October and none of my plaintive queries about what happened next came to anything. Fair enough, I thought, maybe we’ve got another year together – this Monday I get a call from head office calling to arrange the car swap. Car swap, I says? Yes, they says, the Focus has got to go back and we’ve sorted a Golf for you – it’s a bit much for the chap who currently has it, he’s coming to head office to swap for something new, so we thought you could have his car and he can bring yours back to head office, save you a load of miles. Fair enough, I says, a change being as good as a rest, but I’ll be sad to see the Focus go for some random other car. Matey boy turns up Monday evening to swap – 18 plate Golf GTD, happy days! Not quite as flighty as the Fiesta ST I imagine, but it’s not a slow car – big fat wedge of torque, much fun to drive and I imagine budgetarily far beyond what they planned for me. Seems like I’m the third person to take it, it’s either been too small or too quick for the previous inhabitants – dude who dropped it off warned me he’d “almost lost it” on the way over. Do these people not realise pedals are not on/off switches (he works with computers, mind…)?

There are things I miss about the Focus (heated screen, electric seats, intuitive infotainment, voice activated), but the Gold is a beaut – adaptive cruise control is mega, as are autostart firing the motor up when the car in front pulls away and there being a “soft” handbrake (my word, not theirs) that puts itself on when you stop in traffic and turns itself off when you go to pull away, so you don’t have to keep your foot on the brake. Perfectly comfy doing big motorway miles and loads of fun when it gets twisty – happy days. 🙂

I think rocketman is an over excited 16 year old.

the fiesta is an ok cheap car. Interior is a bit, well, Ford.

the Recaro seats don’t fit me. I’m 5/10 and 75 kg. Found them super uncomfortable regardless of how they were adjusted.

had plenty of cars with Recaro seats so not sure what the crack was with these.

its a nippy city car that can be thrown around if you’re in the mood.

Its a Ford so dealers will generally be shit. I’m my experience.

Never had a remotely sporty car, just thinking it’d be nice to have one if I get the chance

Well buy an MX5 then and not a crappy car tarted up.

An MX5 is so much more of a sports car than any hot hatch ever can be

Halfway house to a Caterham, shirley? Why not just Caterham? 🙂

Whatever you get have a proper, long test drive.

Work has a Passat, sat in it, felt nice enough, set off, pleasent enough to drive, fairly comfy. Four hours later could not feel my bum cheeks, had to stop every hour or so after then to get out and walk about (not me with an odd bottom, can happily drive my Transit and previous Mondeo for as long as I had fuel, no issues there)

Moral is – what may be comfy for motorway miles on the short test drive the dealer wants to give you may not be six hours later, would be really cross if I’d bought a Passat on the basis of it being nice for an hour and then found it basically unusable for the journies I tend to do, not sure if I’d have had any comeback either, not a fault, just me not getting on with it.

If you want a conformable mile muncher a sporty fiesta isn’t exactly the first thing that springs to mind. Lol!

+1 for the 208 gti.

*wonders if Rocketman has confused a Fiesta ST with an actual fast car*

You have to appreciate that it is quicker than a boggo 1.9tdi VAG which is going to be everyone else’s bench mark.

But yes, I concur and probably also need to grow up as I hanker for neither a 1.9tdi VAG, nor a pipe and slippers.

Renault 5 gt turbo?

I don’t think anyone has noticed that you’ve scooped a Golf GTD! Anyway, what’s the tax liability on that, there must be a reason it’s being passed around like a hot potato!

I think you’re right. 🙂 Dunno yet about the tax but emissions are only 114 things, so hopefully not much more than the Focus (think that emitted 99 things). I can’t speak for the first person, but the bloke who dropped it off genuinely told me the boot’s too small and it’s too much for him! He made it sound like an evil-minded hedge seeker – I tbink it’s a lovely drive. 🙂

You won’t get chance to do big miles as it’ll probably get nicked fairly quickly.

<span style=”display: inline !important; float: none; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: ‘Open Sans’; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22.4px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;”>it’s too much for him! </span>

seriously…a diesel golf – too much for him? he really needs to get some perspective.

Nice result on the GTD, I’d happily have one. Nice cars with reasonable power but anyone that can’t handle one probably should have a look at their driving abilities and slow down a bit.

Also they have quite big boots, my 3 series touring is barely any bigger than a golf.

Yeah, cheers, well happy with it – I’m cursed with being a good listener, so quite used to people telling me how fast their car is or how great a driver they are, I should call them on it, really. 🙂 It’s brisk, sure enough, but it’s not a sports car, and it’s scary to think there are people who spend a lot of time driving who can’t handle it.

I thought the boot looked half decent, if not as deep as the Focus – got a feeling it might have a false floor, too.

My company Golf GTD is just coming up to its second birthday and is just short of 54k miles.

The boot is one of the biggest of that size hatchback and you can gain more simply by dropping the boot floor down to the next slot.

Interior space is fine, I regularly carry my 3 teenage kids and their friends in the back and my son is 6foot and will sit happily in the back.

Its probably the best car I’ve owned. Prefer it in many ways to my 320d.

Comfortable but enjoyable enough to hustle when you feel like it.

I’d prefer a petrol but as diesels go it’s great.

Itll get replaced next year and I’m hoping that some good cars are launched in2019 as I’m currently struggling to think of anything else that will tick so many boxes in terms of my needs.

I loved my GTD. Was a brilliant car. Miles better than the 330e that replaced it.

Hey folks…. I’m in a car-nundrum here!

I drive a 10 year old 325i touring which I love, but has cost a significant amount lately as it’s getting older. It’s got 140k on the clock and I do about 18k a year…mainly minor A Roads.
30% of its miles are bike/surfboard/kite duties and the remainder is my 65mile commute (each way) on pretty bad roads.

I’ve ordered a Leon ST Cupra 4drive which should arrive in October but….

I think I need a van. I’ve had loads before but I do know my work commute was miserable in a T5.

So do I just operate a fast estate, or get something like a FiST (5door) and a second hand caddy maxi?

Leon will do low 30s and cost £50/mth more on PCP. Fiesta ST allegedly will do nearer 40 and cost about 5k less over 4 years. The van would prob be a 1.6tdi, so low costs….

Would appreciate any thoughts as I go round and round in circles.

Do you really need the Cupra if you’re worried about cost? The 1.4 150hp ecoTSI engine really impressed me on a test drive, good MPG and quick enough for normal driving. I think they’ve just changed the range to a 1.5 and 2.0 rather than 1.4 and 1.8, so the 150hp 1.5 or 190hp 2.0 could be worth considering.

Hi Bails,

Not concerned about mpg if I just have the one car. If I’m operating 2 then there are more costs, so economy comes into it a little. A lower powered estate isn’t an option I’m considering.

I’ve got a Cupra 300 3dr and will be ordering a Cupra ST 4wd in September. You will love it. Mine does 42 ish mpg at a steady 80mph fully loaded. Will happily drive round town at 30 but keep up with all but the fastest cars if you want it to.

@diz thanks… that sounds encouraging 👌🏼