What would you replace your Fiesta ST with?

[Dpro]

interestingly have been thinking of the humble 1.0l fiesta as a daily beater to replace my 08 civic hybrid that was destroyed by texting driver while parked.

I have trouble with driving under the speed limit, have no self restraint so love a slow car thats fun to drive, reliable and somewhat fuel efficient, so that would be perfect. Hopefully it has an automatic transmission too. dont know how some you guys drive stick daily in Los Angeles. Cannot so that being a senior citizen with bad knees.

nope only came with a 5 speed better gas mileage ya know.

Seriously if I was in the place you are I would be looking hard at the hybrid version of the Maverick if you can find one in fact Autonation Ford Valencia has some incoming last of the 2022’s. You can get a XLT for about 25k 40 miles to the gallon city! 36 freeway for a mini pickup!

 

[Kyle199921]

I've been looking to sell the FiST and get something else a little more comfortable...
I've test driven a bunch of cars - at this point, here's my list, cars that fit my criteria and were fun and comfortable.

• GR86 with an automatic - I know, I know - but I need to take it easy on my elbows after a billion surgeries. They're made up of bone chips, screws, and inflammation at this point.
• Mazda 3 Turbo Hatchback - it drives SO NICE for the money, the fit and finish is great, very comfortable and an absolute torque pig with AWD. Feels like a far more expensive car.
• Mazda CX-30 - it's a mazda 3 turbo hatchback... but taller.
• Audi S5 - I know not to buy a car for the sound it makes (thanks fiat) and I've owned enough VW's to never trust VAG again.. but god dang it sounds amazing. Probably won't buy, but it's on the list.
• Honda Accord 2.0 Sport - that 2 liter is great, and the auto trans is great, and it'll be dead reliable. The auto trans is *not* an athletic one, but its a pretty nice 10 speed and is much quicker than I expected.

Still need to test drive a few though. I couldn't stand a veloster N, it was too uncomfortable and ugly, and the interior quality is awful. The engine and trans are great, but the form factor is a no go. I need to get seat time in an Elantra N and a Kona N. I have a feeling I'll really be into the Kona N, but man that quiet comfy ride of the Mazda's was nice. If the mazdas had a better trans, I'd have bought one already.

Have you test driven the GR86 yet? If so, what are your thoughts on it compared to the fiesta? Also, Mazda has really stepped up their game and I can attest to the newer ones feeling like they are much more expensive than they actually are. The Mazda 3 definitely intrigues me, especially with that big 2.5 turbo and AWD.

 

[Clint Beastwood]

Have you test driven the GR86 yet? If so, what are your thoughts on it compared to the fiesta? Also, Mazda has really stepped up their game and I can attest to the newer ones feeling like they are much more expensive than they actually are. The Mazda 3 definitely intrigues me, especially with that big 2.5 turbo and AWD.

No I haven't had the opportunity to. My wife and I are both well over 6 feet tall so I can't get anything without her going with me to drive/ride as well. Adequate leg room in a smaller car is hard to find now. I'm all torso, so my head is always touching the headliner of all my cars, but my wife is all leg so shes super cramped. Funny enough, the most comfortable small car I've had in a long time was my 500 Abarth, that thing was a Tardis.

Don't go into the new mazda 3 turbo expecting a mazdaspeed 3 - go into it expecting something on par with maybe... a midlevel 3 series bmw and it feels kinda like that in the interior, and the massive wall of torque makes it feel much faster than it is. IIRC, throttle house did a couple drag races between a golf R, a mazda 3 turbo, and a WRX - and the Mazda 3 was consistently ahead of the WRX and just a little behind the Golf R, repeatedly, even with the old-tech 6 speed auto.

 

[Mikey456]

I found a clip of cars with similar characteristics that I would find interesting if I had to replace my car.

View: https://youtu.be/JXhyXZ9uToU

 

[dhminer]

No I haven't had the opportunity to. My wife and I are both well over 6 feet tall so I can't get anything without her going with me to drive/ride as well. Adequate leg room in a smaller car is hard to find now. I'm all torso, so my head is always touching the headliner of all my cars, but my wife is all leg so shes super cramped. Funny enough, the most comfortable small car I've had in a long time was my 500 Abarth, that thing was a Tardis.

Don't go into the new mazda 3 turbo expecting a mazdaspeed 3 - go into it expecting something on par with maybe... a midlevel 3 series bmw and it feels kinda like that in the interior, and the massive wall of torque makes it feel much faster than it is. IIRC, throttle house did a couple drag races between a golf R, a mazda 3 turbo, and a WRX - and the Mazda 3 was consistently ahead of the WRX and just a little behind the Golf R, repeatedly, even with the old-tech 6 speed auto.

Couldn’t hurt to check out a stinger if you want to keep some hatchback utility

 

[M-Sport fan]

Yup, this.

But more realistically a Subaru STI, a brand new one. Had an STI before and loved it even if it was nowhere near as fun to drive as the Fiesta.

Many rag on their looks, and that there is no hatch available, but as far as I'm concerned, for a mid size (compact??) sedan, they are one of the best looking on the road.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Ah ok. Didn't know that. That actually sounds like a fun little car.

The 3 pot in the verboten to U.S. Mk8 FiST is a 1.5, hence the extra 87 or so ponies on tap for that rest of world only model.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Not the same as the 1.0 in the mk8 FiST. Same displacement but very different specifications.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

It's actually a 1.5L 3 banger in the Mk8 FiSTs.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Civic Type R
Elantra N
Veloster N
Civic Si
GR86
GR-Four Corolla(or whatever final name it gets)
Miata ND2

An oddball that might be fun would be the Kona N but alot of track event organizers frown on the CUV/SUVs on track. So unless i knew for a fact they wouldnt dent entry i probably wouldnt buy it. Would suck to have a performance CUV only to not be able to track the thing. I think it would be a hoot though with the amount of power and the DCT even though its only FWD. The space in the back would be nice also.

So all of those local orgs totally disallow/ban the Track Hawks?

 

[M-Sport fan]

Beware of the automatic transmission. You might be sorry if you get one!

Did Ford even ever offer the 1.0 Ecoboost Fiesta with the ill fated DCT??

 

[Izzy]

Elantra N

 

[Supapoopa]

I'm all over the place with what I'm looking at for a future replacement.

2 door base Bronco w/ 7spd.
GR86
Corolla GR
Civic Type-R
Maverick (fingers crossed for a future ST trim, and would keep fiesta)

 

[Alkoran]

Did Ford even ever offer the 1.0 Ecoboost Fiesta with the ill fated DCT??

Yeah Dpro is right I think. It was not possible to match the 1.0 to the autotrash. Good thing.

 

[E34less]

Did Ford even ever offer the 1.0 Ecoboost Fiesta with the ill fated DCT??

The 1.0 was manual only in the Fiesta, but you could get a regular torque converter automatic in the Focus. Always blew my mind that they had that transmission ready to go in that platform, but stuck it out with the garbage powershift dct instead.

 

[rallytaff]

If and it's a big IF, I had the money, it would be either a MK1 Ford RS2000 Escort with big arches, an early E-Type Jaguar which Enzo Ferrari praised as being the most beautiful car he'd ever see and I agree, even in 2022 and lastly, an Aston Martin station wagon. As I can't have any of them, I'll keep my ST!

 

[Michaelfurst]

G42

 

[rallytaff]

 

[joesiris]

I have asked myself this question before...but brand new there wasn't much like a FiST that I liked (other than M2/3 or an RS3 which are way over budget) but then the Kona N started showing up in my video feed. Man, I really like those. The FiST appeals to most of because of its curvy road/track capabilities and the Kona N was designed with the same in mind. Yeah, it's a small SUV but really it's kinda just a hot hotch that's a lil taller. I'm interested to see how this 'NGS" button works

 

[M-Sport fan]

If and it's a big IF, I had the money, it would be either a MK1 Ford RS2000 Escort with big arches, an early E-Type Jaguar which Enzo Ferrari praised as being the most beautiful car he'd ever see and I agree, even in 2022 and lastly, an Aston Martin station wagon. As I can't have any of them, I'll keep my ST!

Did Boreham ever produce any of those Mk1 RS2000s in LHD which were not full-on rally spec builds?

Or is that what you are actually seeking, and will just go for the 'vintage', and over 50 year old import EPA/CARB/safety exemptions?

That A-M 'estate coupe' is INSANE!!

 

[PhoenixM3]

My GR86 arrives next week. From everything I’ve heard/read, it’s like a less practical FiST that you can slide around. Now, if I can just sell my Car....