I've been sharing my wife's 155PS Mk 8 Fiesta for the last 8 months as I sold my car in April. I've been waiting for a new Golf R which isn't arriving any time soon so needed a car myself in the meantime. I really like the wife's car so I bought a Mk 8 ST-Line X 140PS a couple of weeks ago.

I thought I'd do a quick review comparison on both cars.

Both cars are the ST-Line X although there are subtle differences. Mine is an older 140PS on a 20 plate and the wife's is a 155PS mild hybrid on a 70 plate. I think wireless charging was an option on my older car whereas the newer one has it as standard. There might be a couple more differences, but cant remember.

Anyway, driving..... there are two main differences between the two cars.

Mine is a 140PS with 180 Nm

Wife's is a 155PS mild hybrid with 220 Nm

 

Mine weighs 1163kg
Wife's weighs 1219kg

 

So the main differences are power/torque and weight. And these are noticeable, slightly.

The wife's 155PS does pull better from lower revs and "feels" faster as a result. However, the extra weight although not much is noticeable over the 140PS. As I result I think the older 140PS is very slightly more fun to drive and slightly more "chuckable". There isn't a lot in it but enough to be noticeable.

Also I think the 155PS is slightly more economical which is hardly surprising given it has an electric motor to help it.

So if you own either they are great cars and I like them both for different reasons. But I think I prefer the slightly more nimble 140PS, even if it feels a tad less eager at low revs.

My car:

 

Nice car, and interesting comparison!

Hi Andy.

Yes,  helpful comments. I've only tried the mhev in a Puma so far (which is obviously heavier than a Fiesta anyway), but it's interesting that you could notice a (slight)  difference in the handling of the two Fiestas.

I've been pondering my next car for some time. Do I just stick with a Fiesta (155 or ST) or (for possibly my last I/C car) have one "last fling"? Problem is, every time I test drive say, an S3, i30N or similar, I  get to thinking: Where can I use it? Would I just get frustrated given current road conditions/cameras etc? Is a Fiesta actually more fun anyway?😀

 

 

Yes, we have both. 140 bhp Stlx and 155 Stlx.

My preference would be the Mhev 155 any day over the 140ps.

Select sport mode and the difference is unreal.

Plus as the poster says, has a lot more features. Wireless charging, door protectors, auto park, blis mirrors and probably much more i havent mentioned.

Edit B&O sound is better in Mhev also. 🤩

Mhev all the way.

Due to change mine and have been contacted twice with about 9 months left but the wife may be retiring early so our idea at this time is we may take both back for a Puma ST as we will only need one car.

Mhev is very nippy off the mark, compared to the non-Mhev.

Personally I find the Mhev quieter / more refined. 

I also like that the Mhev has a cam chain rather than a wet belt ( I appreciate both have a wet belt for the oil pump )

Gearbox on my non-Mhev was silky smooth, simply brilliant. Gearbox on my Mhev at 1,500 miles is still very tight and notchy until warm. But I’m thinking this will improve with miles. 

1 hour ago, Aldridge Andy said:

Gearbox on my non-Mhev was silky smooth, simply brilliant. Gearbox on my Mhev at 1,500 miles is still very tight and notchy until warm. But I’m thinking this will improve with miles. 

Interesting. Individual cars obviously differ and my 140 has improved as time went on, but still not brilliant. Tried a quickshift as mentioned in another thread but didn't find it improved matters. Bit disappointing as both the Mk 7s we had were great changes.

Yes I agree Eric.

My Mk 7.5 gearchange was much better than my MK 8. It's improved a bit now I've got over 35,000 miles on the clock but still notchy.

Sounds like it's the luck of the draw on the MK8 gearbox, maybe we both got the Friday afternoon versions.

3 hours ago, Mavroz said:

Select sport mode and the difference is unreal.

Yes good point, I keep forgetting the 155PS has sport mode and yes it does make a difference. No idea why the 140PS doesn't have sport mode.

 

Just picking up on a couple of other points...... I've not noticed any difference that I can tell between the B & O stereo in either car. Both seem the same to me.

Also, again, for me both gearboxes don't seem to be any different. Both pretty good gearboxes with nice gear changes. Incidently our cars have 6K (for the 140PS) and 8K (for the 155PS)miles on the clock.

I did test drive an 19 plate ST before I bought mine and that gearbox/stick creaked every time you changed gear - didn't sound great. That car had 19K on the clock. But I couldn't get on with the seats in the ST. I actually put a deposit down on the ST first, but then a few hours later started to get hip/butt ache and back ache from the Recaro's, so swapped to the 140PS ST-Line X instead. I should have listened more to Matt Watson's review of the ST. 🙄

2 hours ago, Aldridge Andy said:

Mhev is very nippy off the mark, compared to the non-Mhev.

Yes indeed, I find I'm revving the 140PS far more, mainly to get it to go compared to the 155PS. The latter has noticeably more low down torque so no need to be revving it quite so much on normal day to day driving.

 

I must say the 1.0 engine doesn't sound too bad when revved. Well, for a 1.0!

 

We bought the wife's 155PS brand new in November last year. 3 months ago our dealer rang us up offering us a brand new exact same car for the same PCP deal. Seemed too good to be true so we went down to the dealer and sure enough after a bit of messing about where they were trying it on we eventually agreed on a deal of £200 deposit and same monthlies - for the same car brand new. Trouble is, no idea when it will arrive. Unfortunately they said it won’t come with folding mirrors due to the chip shortage issue but that isn't a deal breaker. But we get a brand new car which will delay paying out for servicing, MOT etc.... over the current car. Also she knackered two of the alloys on the current car, so it obviously will come with a shiny new set.