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Ford Fiesta ST MK7 Review

Sam Worth
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What's good?

– Slick gearbox
– Nimble chassis
– Epic bum warmers
– Phenomenal handling
– The list goes on…

What's bad?

– Standard security is shocking. You’ll need to spend £££ to get a decent night’s sleep.

What's the score?

9/10

Overview – Owner Review

I was 14 years old when Ford released this hot hatch into the world in 2013. A few years down the line, my stepdad got his hands on one. He would often take me out in it, and boy, did I love getting a ride. Going to Tesco got me excited, in the same way a child gets excited when you give them sweets. I loved every minute. Watching my stepdad tackle B-roads, changing gears, and hearing the car accelerate started my love for this car. It also kick-started my goal to own one…

A few more years down the line, after passing my test and waiting for insurance prices to not be through the roof, I finally bought one. And that, was a very special day. Before I drove it, or even sat in it for the first time, my face was just one big grin. Just looking at my ST made me smile. Even now, I look at it and think, what a fantastic looking car. I feel Ford have done a great job styling wise with the MK7, it’s the best-looking Fiesta in my opinion.

The evening I bought my ST, I took it down some back roads to feel the car properly for the first time. I will always remember that first drive, it was brilliant. So brilliant, in fact, that I was genuinely crying from happiness. It’s not often cars or even things in life can make you feel that way. I knew right then I’d defiantly bought the right car.

Having owned my ST for a good year or so now, I still love it just as much and I always look back it at half a dozen times whenever I park up. I know it’s not a Ferrari or Lamborghini, but it doesn’t matter. It’s a very special car to me.

One of the things that I think was good about this ST, though, is for a hot hatch, it was cheap when new, especially compared to its rivals. Renault Clio RS, £19,000. Peugeot 208 GTi, £18,970. MINI Cooper S JCW, £21,515. VW Polo GTI, £19,300. Fiesta ST, £17,960. It was a bit of a bargain if you ask me and still holds good value today. You can pick one up, depending on how much of a fussy Ford you are, for £6.5k-£15k.

Believe it or not, my ST is ORANGE! However, most of the time it does look more like red. I believe the base coat is red, but Ford put a special orange coating on top to give it an orange-ey finish. Only in direct sunlight does the Molten Orange really show, hence why 99.9% of the time people mistake it for red. Grrr. Other colours available were Race Red, Frozen White, Spirit Blue and Panther/Shadow Black.

Drive

Where do I start? Let’s just say this; it’s superb. End of. Review finished.

Really though, it is VERY good. For a start, the whole car feels extremely fun and tight at sharp bends, which is exactly how a hot hatch should be. It manages to grip and stick to the road like hell, almost as if the tyres are made from glue. It’s sublime. Having the cars total curb weight weigh less than 1,200kg, it feels light and playful. You can chuck the ST into a bend, and it just goes wherever you want it to. It almost feels like driving a real-life PlayStation game.

Going back to the first time I drove it; I remember going at a fair speed around a bend and I was half surprised how well it took the corner. Bloody impressive. When I got back on the straight, I had a good look at what car I was driving and smiled. From that moment, those smiles keep on coming.

The 180bhp 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine goes a long way in this car. Power delivery is impressive, and the torque is something else too, with 177lb-ft. Having a small turbo helps the hot hatch boost up from a low rpm, so there’s barely any turbo lag. That’s not all. There’s also over boost which creates an extra 20bhp for 10-15 seconds on full throttle. Epic.

Even though 180bhp may not seem like a lot, but it’s enough power to play with without having to worry about breaking the speed limit. Plenty of power for what it is, although I have seen ST’s with stock internals pushing 350bhp+ and still going strong. There is of course the Fiesta ST200, which was produced towards the end of the MK7 production lifespan and got 197bhp and 217lb-ft, along with a few more unique features.

I know it’s a hot hatch and without trying to sound like a bore, it’s good on fuel, even when my right foot is heavy. It’ll average about 43mpg. Zzzz. Okay, boring bit over. You can wake up now.

What is extremely impressive, is the six-speed manual gearbox. The gearchanges are spot on and utterly precise. I’ve said it in my video review, and I’ll say it again, it’s one of the best manual gearboxes I’ve ever used. 11/10.

If I’m completely honest, I do feel the ST could’ve benefited from a slightly more exciting exhaust, as there’s no real sporty tone, it’s rather flat. What the ST does get, however, is a sound symposer which pumps a slightly deep tone into the cabin area on acceleration. The noise is fake. Some like it and others don’t. I do.

For the first few months of ownership, I did find the suspension was extremely harsh and crash-ey when driving on all roads. If I ever went down a sudden dip or bump in the road, I would defiantly feel a *teeth clenching* THUMP. I have got more used to it strangely enough, but it’s still noticeable. On the back roads, though, the suspension feels more adequate.

Interior

When the ST was revealed, there was talk about the interior not looking much different over a standard Fiesta. Who cares? Ford focused on the driving aspects when developing this car, which is what’s important in my eyes. And to be completely honest, I like the interior. Everything from the sports steering wheel to the heated Recaro bucket seats I love. I tell you what, those heated seats get red hot within seconds. I’m half surprised there’s not a ‘WARNING HOT’ sign on the seats. Lethal.

What I do find funny, is the Sony head unit has so many buttons that you feel like a pilot operating the system… Good lord. After you’ve managed to work out what all the buttons actually do, the system is okay but feels all over the place. However, the speakers are more than reasonable and there’s DAB radio, Bluetooth, USB, AUX, CD player, voice control and sat nav, depending on spec.

Be warned. If you ever accidently drop something down the gap behind the handbrake leaver, you might as well wave it goodbye or throw it down a wishing well and make a wish. The only way of getting it back is stripping the whole centre console out which takes a good hour or so. Believe me, I’ve done it.

Aside from most of the main touch points and the seats, the interior is pretty much a normal Fiesta. Boot space and rear seat area is as good as Fiesta practicality gets. In late 2016, the ST was available as a five-door.

The joys of ownership…

Is it perfect? No. Let’s talk…security. This is the one and only major downfall of this car. The standard security on this car is rubbish. It gets to the point where, without any form of extra security, you might as well just hand the keys straight over to the thieves themselves.

I find it annoying that every time I park up, I must put additional security on otherwise I get paranoid that it’ll get stolen. It does take A LOT of enjoyment out of ownership. It is a Fiesta, and that shouldn’t be the case, but there we are.

Verdict

People who have owned or at least driven one of these Fiesta ST’s (any Fiesta ST in fact) will know how cracking they are to drive. Not often do cars roll off the production line and live up to their name and drive as well as the do. This does.

To tell you the truth, before I bought mine, I was half anticipating buying a Fiesta ST MK8. I’m glad I didn’t as I prefer the looks of the MK7 and purely because of the teenage memories I had with it. Maybe one day…

It is a very special car to me, not just because it’s the same colour as my hair, but because of how it makes me feel behind the wheel, as well as the memories I had. It’s an extraordinarily good fast Ford, and altogether, it’s just a brilliant bit of kit. Not often you can look at a car and think it’s perfect, and in this case, it is.