Want some advice if the ST180 is a Worthy upgrade ?

[Aledrhys16]

Good Afternoon guys , i currently have a 1L Red Edition Fiesta and I’ve had it now over 2 yrs and its my absolute pride and joy, but i keep finding myself wondering if i should upgrade to the ST180 as even though i have mapped my 1L and it goes quite well for a little engine i cant help but wanting a little more, i was wondering if anyone on here has had both cars and if the power jump alone enough to justify the upgrade. I know the 1.6 will be quicker but i wonder as i have never driven one if it really that much quicker . I would really appreciate your opinion on this and im interested to know if the ST-180 really is a diffrent league. 

[Eric Bloodaxe]

Hi Aled,

Never actually owned either (have a Mk 8 140 as you can see, and test driven a 1.6 ST a good number of times). Plenty on here have had 1.0s and STs though, so hopefully you will get some owner experiences.

I simply could not get on with the seat and suspension of the ST, bearing in mind the sort of roads I have to drive on, but we're all different, so I would strongly recommend as many drives as you can before making a decision.

Certainly in terms of outright performance, handling and braking the ST is ahead though. Thought this article was interesting:

https://driventowrite.com/2016/06/20/head-to-head-ford-fiesta-st-versus-ford-fiesta-zetec-s-red/

 

 

 

[Ad@m]

I went from a 140PS 1.0L Ecoboost to the ST as I was disappointed with the lackluster performance. When I test drove the ST 180 5 years ago it immediately put a smile on my face. The moment I touched the accelerator I l felt the difference the extra power/torque made. The gear changes are nice and slick, the steering and handling is more engaging, its a better car in every sense with one exception, ride comfort can be harsh due to the firm suspension setup. Personally I like it but its not for everyone. I still enjoy the car to this date.

You need to test drive one to make your own decision.

 

 

 

 

[Kenny_stline]

I went the opposite way had a st then went for a black edition then sold that then got a red edition😂

If  your planning to mod the st  then go for it more power etc.

the reason I traded my st in was because it was a Friday afternoon build lol everything went wrong with the car and after a year the engine let go and at the time I was a big bloke and I hated the seats also. 
 

when I bought the red edition I did have a choice of another st, in fact I did go and view it but just wanted something cheap and the mods are cheap also.

next Saturday I will be going stage 2 in my red edition 👌

[Eatonm112]

Good thing with the ST is that you start with more power and a strong 6 speed gearbox. If you wanted to take your 1.0 to around 180 - 200 Bhp it would cost you £3300 and you would still have the weak 5 speed that would eventually give out with the new found power / torque.

I went for 180 - 200 with my 1.0 after 47,000 ish miles and dont regret it but Mpg is quite important to me as I use my car for work. I started with a Superchips remap that made a big difference especially low down as the torque limiters are removed which makes a huge difference when trying to pull out on a busy roundabout. 

If you love the car you have maybe start with a stage 1 remap which costs around £300 to £400 if after that you want more I would look to buying a Fiesta ST unless you are happy to spend over £3.3k on mods? Why not see what your car is worth then add 3k to it and then see what sort of Fiesta ST you could get for that money?

[pompeydave1967]

I went from a 1.0 100 ecoboost to the 1.6t 180 st and to be honest even now I really miss it. I had a 16 plate st then a 66 plate st and both were superb . I loved it but the wife hated it. As others have said the suspension set up is very hard and does take time getting used to. I put a dtuk pedal box on both st,s to liven up the throttle response and it was even better after that.

ive got a Astra 1.6t 200 now so softer and bigger car but those st,s will always be remembered. I liked then so much I’m even looking at the newer mk8 st but at 54 I should be driving an A3 or BMW 3 series lol (so my older kids say).

 

[Eric Bloodaxe]

1 hour ago, pompeydave1967 said:

I liked then so much I’m even looking at the newer mk8 st but at 54 I should be driving an A3 or BMW 3 series lol (so my older kids say).

Lol ignore them😀 I was driving an A3 back when I was 54 but can't get on with the new stuff which is touchscreen-heavy and almost all automatic. I'm waiting to have a look at the new Hyundai i20N, but the Mk 8 ST is still a possibility. I did see a hint somewhere that the standard ST might get a suspension change in the imminent facelift, possibly in line with the ST edition which is rumoured to be more compliant. If only they'd slip another half inch between the seat bolsters for those of us who aren't built like stick insects.... 😀

[pompeydave1967]

Thanks Eric , agree with you about the touch screen brigade these days , can you imagine in 10 years what the golf , Leon , focus dash will look like then ??

[TimST2]

What power is your mapped 1.0L putting out?

I went from a 1.25L Zetec to an ST. It really is in a different league. Go and test drive a used one at a Ford dealer to see for yourself.

I now have two cars with Ford 1.6L engines - one NA and one turbo. Both are very different of course, but I still love the ST.

[Eric Bloodaxe]

2 hours ago, pompeydave1967 said:

can you imagine in 10 years what the golf , Leon , focus dash will look like then ??

Lol, no, those cars probably won't exist then with the ICE ban from 2030! It'll be ID3, el-Born and whatever Ford decide to call their (VW based) electric effort by then!😠

[Kenny_stline]

IMO it’s not going to be night and day, stage 1 so your pushing 160+ depending on what bolt on mods you have, I still think you should go for a st tho the amount that are on auto trader etc and already modified you could get yourself a bargain to, if you get one with mods then you will notice the leap in power   👌

[Luke4efc]

There's soo many other awesome cars (specifically hot hatches) out there, so why limit yourself to a mk7 fiesta?

Once you've had one, would you really want another? Yes they're good cars and fun to drive, but just essentially getting the same car but with a different engine is a bit boring.

[Ad@m]

What would you recommend, thats comparable to the Fiesta ST?

22 hours ago, Luke4efc said:

There's soo many other awesome cars (specifically hot hatches) out there, so why limit yourself to a mk7 fiesta?

Once you've had one, would you really want another? Yes they're good cars and fun to drive, but just essentially getting the same car but with a different engine is a bit boring.

[Luke4efc]

52 minutes ago, Ad@m said:

What would you recommend, thats comparable to the Fiesta ST?

If you want to stay with hot hatches around the 200hp mark, there's the VW Polo GTI, Seat Ibiza FR, Mini Cooper S, Kia ProCeed. If you could stretch your budget a bit more then there's Audi S1, Golf GTI, mk3 focus ST.

The French love hot hatches too. Peugeot 208 GTI, 308 GTI, Renault Megane RS, cliosport etc. Honestly though I hate French cars so I'd never own any of those.

Of course there's many other great hot hatches I've missed off. It really depends what your budget is.

[Eric Bloodaxe]

1 hour ago, Ad@m said:

What would you recommend, thats comparable to the Fiesta ST?

As Luke suggests, difficult without an idea of budget, but a few thoughts.

Back when I was considering the Mk 7 ST, which I couldn't get on with comfort wise, I actually ended up with a Leon 1.8 FR which was nearly as quick (140 max, low 7's to 62), bigger car though, obviously.

Similar motor can be found in the recently superseded Audi A3, previous generation Polo GTI and Ibiza Cupra. Current 2.0GTI Polo is DSG only, though.

I guess a Cooper S is probably nearest in concept to an ST though. Not the most practical but if you don't need the space, very good fun to drive. The current 2.0 version is not a looker imo, the previous generation 1.6 turbo is nearly as quick and better looking. There's also the even quicker John Cooper Works version of all generations.

A bit off the wall but the 500 Abarth has a following and can be had with up to 180ps. Probably a bit too impractical as a daily driver though.

Have a good look around, see what you fancy! Whatever it is, fairly sure someone on here will have owned or driven one!😀

 

 

 

[Aledrhys16]

Thanks Everyone for the positive and helpful advise , really help sell me on it. Im picking up my ST-2 on Wednesday lol. Cheers guys 

[TimST2]

47 minutes ago, Aledrhys16 said:

Thanks Everyone for the positive and helpful advise , really help sell me on it. Im picking up my ST-2 on Wednesday lol. Cheers guys 

Congrats. Mine is an ST-2 too. I'm sure you'll love it. Let us know what your first impressions are compared to your old car.

[Aledrhys16]

19 minutes ago, TimST2 said:

Congrats. Mine is an ST-2 too. I'm sure you'll love it. Let us know what your first impressions are compared to your old car.

To be honest , i love the car the torque is diffrent , my 1L felt quicker but i know the ST is actually quicker , in love with the ST