Fiesta ST reviewed on Top Gear this week (repeated tonight)

Chris Harris explains why a Ford Fiesta is better than a Lamborghini.

and also featured in the Grand Tour:

10. The Youth Vote
Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May compare the VW Polo GTI, Ford Fiesta ST and Toyota Yaris GRMN at the track before attempting to make these cars more appealing to young people.

The only thing they missed were the fact nobody will own one as they're all on £200 a month finance...

Need to start watching the latest series. Didn't really know it came on. 

1 hour ago, zain611 said:

Need to start watching the latest series. Didn't really know it came on. 

Did anyone actually know that it was on again?
I found out by accident when I was flicking through iPlayer and I'd already missed 2 weeks of it. 

To be honest, since TG has been ran by LeBlanc, Harris and Reid i’ve actually quite enjoyed it. Nice show to have alongside the Grand Tour. 

23 minutes ago, DG97 said:

To be honest, since TG has been ran by LeBlanc, Harris and Reid i’ve actually quite enjoyed it. Nice show to have alongside the Grand Tour. 

They were definitely starting to come together this series but they're been ripped up and starting again already. 

Fiesta ST bit was good but the looks still put me off wanting one

1 hour ago, Nick Y said:

Did anyone actually know that it was on again?
I found out by accident when I was flicking through iPlayer and I'd already missed 2 weeks of it. 

I found out when I was sitting in the living room and my dad was scrolling through the channels and put it on 😂. Haven't been really relaxing..... Although I did see a film yesterday night which had zombies and strippers 🤣

@sioneon I have to admit the ST line looks nice but looks almost identical to the ST. Looks like ford has done that thing like with the mk6 zetec s and ST where they look the same bumper to bumper except changing the wheels. 

4 minutes ago, sioneon said:

They were definitely starting to come together this series but they're been ripped up and starting again already. 

Fiesta ST bit was good but the looks still put me off wanting one

My thoughts exactly, as the trio was finally starting to gel, LeBlanc leaves, Reid gets dropped to the ExtraGear thing they do (odd choice) and they hire McGuinness and Flintoff which is just stupid. Neither have any motoring journalism experience and Flintoff played cricket, not sure how that ties into presenting top gear, they might as well just let Paul Ince or Sol Campbell do it. 

2 hours ago, DG97 said:

Neither have any motoring journalism experience and Flintoff played cricket, not sure how that ties into presenting top gear, they might as well just let Paul Ince or Sol Campbell do it. 

To be fair LeBlanc had no experience and because he was a yank, nothing he said was funny to us. At least Flintoff has done bit of driving stuff on other shows. Him and paddy will be quite funny together I think.

On 3/19/2019 at 7:55 PM, sioneon said:

They were definitely starting to come together this series but they're been ripped up and starting again already.

Agreed. And why on earth replac them with Flintoff and McGuinness?!

On 3/19/2019 at 7:55 PM, sioneon said:

Fiesta ST bit was good but the looks still put me off wanting one

Yeah, the Mk7 still looks the better car to me (and in that review, despite saying the new one was better, they described the Mk7 ST as "utterly brilliant" 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

On 3/19/2019 at 10:42 AM, Tiexen said:

Chris Harris explains why a Ford Fiesta is better than a Lamborghini.

Didn't we already know that on here?😀

There was a piece on there speed-reviewing normal cars and the Fiesta won it's category on that too.

On the Fiesta: "It's been the best selling car in the UK for yonks, and there's a good reason for that - it's brilliant."

On the Corsa: "Used to be terrible - it's less terrible now." 🤣

Whole episode here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0003g3t/top-gear-series-26-episode-5

1 hour ago, TimST2 said:

There was a piece on there speed-reviewing normal cars and the Fiesta won it's category on that too.

On the Fiesta: "It's been the best selling car in the UK for yonks, and there's a good reason for that - it's brilliant."

On the Corsa: "Used to be terrible - it's less terrible now." 🤣

Whole episode here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0003g3t/top-gear-series-26-episode-5

Interesting that they completely missed the Focus from the 'mid size hatch' section... 

'Just buy a Golf' isn't exactly great consumer advice. 

 

20 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Interesting that they completely missed the Focus from the 'mid size hatch' section... 

'Just buy a Golf' isn't exactly great consumer advice. 

So out of interest, as you've owned both, which do you think is best?

I've only owned a Focus, never a Golf, but I have to admit it might be an itch that needs scratching one day...

37 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

 

'Just buy a Golf' isn't exactly great consumer advice. 

 

Funnily enough, every time I've test driven one, I've ended up buying something else, including SAAB, Focus, A3, SEAT Leon, though some were other VW group cars as you can see.😀

I very nearly bought a Mk3 Golf GTi after finishing university but decided to go for a much newer Mk1 Focus Zetec 1.8 instead. That was the only Golf I've ever driven.

14 hours ago, TimST2 said:

So out of interest, as you've owned both, which do you think is best?

It's nowhere near as simple as that...both have different pros and cons.  I purely own my current Golf because it was the cheapest mid size hatch I could find locally with £30 tax and 55mpg for under £4000 and the Mk3 Focus was so horrific I needed rid.  Had I been able to afford/justify a Mk3.5 Focus Titanium 1.0EB I would have bought one of those instead.

I've owned 2 Mk4 Golfs (one heavily modified) and now a Mk6, and tbh they are totally different cars!

I've also owned a Mk2.5 Focus and 2 Mk3 Focus', which again are totally different from each other!

I'd say the Mk2.5 Focus is a better car than the Mk4 Golf, but they weren't on sale at the same time so not really rivals and both feel very dated now imo. 

However my Mk6 Golf is a 62 plate, so was on sale at the same time as the Mk3 Focus although they came out back in 2009 as a Mk2.5 Focus rival.  It's easily a better car than the Mk2.5 Focus in everything except looks...and despite it not looking quite as 'funky' (dull shape, boring dash, no LED tail/plate/puddle lights), the build quality is far better than the Mk3 Focus and the handling is considerably better as well, I can take dry corners much faster and with more confidence in the Golf than I could the Focus but it's still just as comfortable over bumps and rough roads.  During everyday driving there's actually not much difference though, so I can see why A to B drivers don't care which they buy.  And the running costs are exactly the same...although the Golf is a 2.0TDI with a tonne of torque and the Focus was a torqueless 1.6 which needed working hard even after a remap.  The Golf will effortlessly overtake in 4th gear from 35mph which is ideal for NSL roads, whereas I'd have to drop a gear and 'wind' the Focus up before an overtake.  And I've spent a lot less on maintenance for the Golf(s) than I have on Focus' over the years yet people have this idea of German stuff being expensive to maintain.

But all that said, I do miss the more modern feel of the Mk3 Focus, I miss things like keyless entry, the easyfuel system and the big colour dash screen etc.  The Golf is also quite a bit smaller than a Focus, there's less space in the boot and glovebox and no space in the armrest.

So honestly, it's purely down to your specific requirements and budget as to which each person should chose.  I certainly don't think the Golf is the outright winner and should always be bought instead of a Focus.  If you're buying new or nearly new you'll get more spec for your money buying a Focus...if you can put up with the lower build quality.

As for Mk3 Golf's, they're awful, honestly don't buy one, you'll regret it.  The Mk1 is now silly money but they are the best and of course the original.  The MK2's are cool and I've always wanted a green 5dr GTi on rims and air with a few subtle mods but it's not gonna happen now.  The Mk3 was a mistake.  The MK4 weighs about 4 tonnes and understeers like mad, but they are comfortable and the engines (1.8t and PD diesels) are great.  The Mk5 brought handling back into the Golfs capability after the complete lack of finesse with both the Mk3 & 4 and actually the Mk5 was a great all rounder, particularly the GTi model with DSG.  The Mk6 came out during a financial crisis so is just a Mk5 underneath with a few minor 'facelift' type tweaks which is why it feels very dated now...in fact my 2012 Golf feels very similar to the 2004 A3 I had (the A3 was unbearably uncomfortable so didn't last long).  I've not driven a Mk7 but they seem to be a proper upgrade to the Mk6 now and do offer a cheap running cost petrol engine to rival the Focus 1.0EB.  So my next car will most likely be either a 1.0EB Focus Titanium, or a 1.4TSi Golf Match...just depends on prices and locations really.

I have always liked the golf VR6 but back in the day i couldn't afford one. A friend had one and he loved it too. Behaved itself around town but boy did it boogie when it got it on the open road.

Finally got to watch the st segment on catch up last night, looks like he had some fun throwing that around, if only the missus shared my passion for a good drive !!! might even be able to talk her into a new st.

6 hours ago, LesPes said:

, if only the missus shared my passion for a good drive !!! might even be able to talk her into a new st.

I have a similar problem.........😚

It was my wife who suggested I get an ST!

When I bought my previous Fiesta we sat in one in the Ford showroom while we waited for the paperwork to be done and we both loved it.

In fact it was my wife who encouraged me to buy my Elise too!

I have a great wife... 

10 hours ago, TimST2 said:

It was my wife who suggested I get an ST!

When I bought my previous Fiesta we sat in one in the Ford showroom while we waited for the paperwork to be done and we both loved it.

In fact it was my wife who encouraged me to buy my Elise too!

I have a great wife...  

Does she have a sister?

1 hour ago, LesPes said:

Does she have a sister?

😄 She does but she's taken too I'm afraid...

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk