- You know when you go to a family gathering
and all the cousins come together, awkwardly,
because you're all around the same age,
and that's pretty much the only reason.
You have the same haircuts,
but you haven't seen each other since
the previous Easter, and you're sitting in the basement
trying to make small talk in that very wood grain
back living through that you don't understand.
You have that one cousin that's similar to an Audi S4.
You know, they're doing well, articulate,
working in the financing sector.
They're about to get married.
Then you have the 240SX cousin,
who's somehow mangled his life together
barely enough to make it through,
but people absolutely love following him on Instagram.
Then there's that one cousin who's telling a story
about jumping out of an airplane,
only to land in Belarus to go surfing
with some sharks and then have dinner
with a salsa-looking gal while overlooking
the night stars, okay?
All the cousins are floored, and you're a bit skeptical.
How could a cousin slash car be that fun?
How could he live that life, but you can't?
What the hell is this bull (bleep)?
I'm Alex, Alex.FI in the picture.
And today we're gonna be talking
about that cousin, the fun, the quirky,
the car's name that literally means party in Spanish,
the absolutely must drive at least one time in your life,
the Ford Fiesta ST.
(bright, upbeat music)
(engines revving)
The Ford Fiesta ST is a supermini,
which is what they would call them over there
in British, which is just pretty similar
to a subcompact car category.
The car itself started its beautiful little life in 1976,
and has decimated all when it comes
to the world of subcompact cars.
The Vauxhall Corsa? (scoffs)
Volkswagen Polo, who even wears polo shirts anymore?
The Renault Clio?
Not a chance.
The Peugeot 208?
Who are you?
The Fiesta outperformed everything in its class.
Small problem, though, that the good old America,
North America, this one, didn't have it, really,
until recently.
But we'll get into that here in just a hot minute.
Taking it all the way back,
the car was made to combat the 1973 oil crisis
and the fact that the world was going
toward small compact cars that would still
get the job done
like the massive V6 or V8 power plants
that were currently dominating
the North American market and the other markets around,
because guess what?
There was a lack of oil everywhere.
It would have fancy little press leaks
until its official release in 1976.
And it did okay.
It was a good car, but the market
didn't inherently just love it out of the bat,
and it didn't just destroy everything right away.
And even though we were running out of oil,
Ford still made a sport derivative
called the Supersport, which spouted
a 1.3 liter Kent Crossflow engine.
The car would also seek its way
into some off-road activities.
But overall the car was doing what it needed to do,
which was to just sell and just be everywhere,
all the time, like being a packet of ramen
in a company cupboard.
The following generations, the Fiesta
would see more success, beating out everything
besides its own big brother,
which was the Ford Escort.
The car was not really a looker, all right?
Besides being functional, the Fiesta
wasn't inherently very fun besides the name.
It was just practical.
It was just a good car.
It would come in wagon variants, sedans,
and all those other fun little body styles
for any type of car purchaser,
because it was gonna be sold everywhere.
They even made it in a truck variant
called the Courier Coup.
Ford re-badged this car and put it everywhere
around the world.
There were so many names for this model
that honestly, you'd probably win something
if you dropped them all in the comments.
But then in the fifth generation, something happened.
The Ford Fiesta had been everywhere,
partying it up, salsa dancing where it needed to
but,
but here, but North America.
There's was a little churn level
that decided to hit the market,
and it was called the XR4, AKA the Ford Fiesta ST.
This bad boy had a 2.0 liter Duratec engine
with 150 ponies.
She could scoot.
And had 17-inch aluminum wheels, sport,
different body panels, heated leather seats,
and an ST logo that was embossed
on different parts of the car.
You could say things were getting pretty serious.
Dealerships were even offering tuning options
for ST applications with new exhaust systems,
re-calibrated ECUs, camshafts, and valve springs.
Yeah.
But finally, after it all, the Fiesta
would hit the shorelines of the great bald eagle country,
the USA, in early 2010.
People all around the world already loved this car.
Ford loved this car.
Countries loved this car.
Your nan loved this car.
To not bring the car to the States
would've been staying on the double aces
against the six in blackjack,
which you just don't do.
2010 was great and all, but in 2013,
the Ford Fiesta ST actually came to life,
and with it, tears of joy.
It had a 1.6 liter EcoBoost with twin camshaft timing,
over-boosting potential which bumped it up
to 197 horsepower, six speed transmission,
and an angry facelift.
Still had a big bubble butt.
Top Gear even gave it Car of the Year in 2013.
But even though the Fiesta had everything,
it needed to be successful.
Not many would see the car hit their potential
Craigslist search compared to the standard
Ford Focus ST that was literally littered,
because people just didn't really love the Fiesta
as much as they should.
So you want a Ford Fiesta ST.
Well, set down the can of Bang
and turn off the dubstep, because we're about
to jump into this quirky car for those
that actually want to own one,
because you should at least once own a hot hatch
of some kind.
The Fiesta ST is an absolute banger of a car
that makes anyone behind the steering wheel
wanting to drive it harder.
It only takes two turns to go from full lock
to lock with the steering wheel.
Its good old limited slip diff in the front
makes it even more responsive when you're going
to give it through the back roads
where your mom isn't looking.
It's got the iconic oversteer
that both the Fiesta and the Focus struggle from.
But the Fiesta you don't notice it as much.
But hey, it's fun, because it's a front wheel drive
torque-happy little hot hatch.
How else would you want it?
Doesn't matter, it's a Fiesta.
Those that have owned a Fiesta ST
in the past will swear by them, arguing
that although the Focus ST and even the RS
is a banger of a car, it doesn't match
the innocent fun that the Fiesta ST provides, right?
The Fiestas are a nickel more affordable, as well,
with their price competitiveness beating out
quite a bit of the competition
without sacrificing too much inherent qualities.
Snagging a brand new one right now,
even with a few goodies, only puts you
at a touch over 18,000 brand new.
But what about the modifications, huh?
What about the good old (whistles) (hisses) thing
that you would do to it?
What about the aftermarket love?
Fiesta STs have a smaller community,
especially in the United States of America.
But it is there.
While most opt to purchase the angrier,
more sharp-lined big brother Focus ST or RS
because they just wanna drink Bang all day,
the Fiesta has a few goodies up its sleeve, as well.
You can do just about everything with this car
if you want to.
Wanna do a little sport rally look?
Snag some Koenigs and Achilles ATRs,
and you're ready to rock, son.
Maybe you prefer the show setup.
How about some air suspension
and maybe some 3SDMs and just let her lay
on the ground like a little white bean.
Focus with the arrow, go nuts.
Fiesta have those options, too.
What really makes the Fiesta special,
though, is the fact that the driving experience
is just fun.
It's like getting behind the steering wheel
of a Mazda Miata.
It's a car that gives you everything you need
out of a proper daily car while also
still having the ability to smile
or to put a smile on your face when you pin it
on the on ramp.
Reliability is darn good, too.
Even with Ford going like full Lizzy
looking at the flowers on their non-crossover lineup
axing thing that they're doing, it's cool.
Ford just, not have fun anymore, that's fine.
It's not a car that's going to have every amenity
in the book, especially it's an affordable hatch
from the get-go.
However, if you're looking to get something
that's not a Volkswagen, not a typical hot hatch,
and not a car that must have angry lines
like the Focus ST or RS but has more space
than a Mazda Miata or an S2000,
and you prefer to keep your wallet
just a little bit more full
so you can spend it on wheels, tires, and suspension
at FitmentIndustries.com, then the Fiesta ST
just might be for you.
Literally like the hatch variant of a Mazda Miata.
And if you've driven one, you'll know
what I'm talking about.
So what do you think about the bubble hatch?
Love it, hate it, let us know.
And of course let us know what you'd like us
to talk about next in the comment section below.
I don't know why I say comment section
as if people don't know that's where it is by now.
I remember YouTube in 2007,
people would say that all the time.
Maybe I'm just getting old.
But anyway, if you're looking for wheels,
tires, suspension, check out FitmentIndustries.com.
I'm Alex from Fitment Industries.
I almost hit myself in the face.
And we will see you later.
Peace.