How many people test drove the Focus ST but ended up getting the Fiesta ST?

[antarctica24]

I drove several different cars, including the WRX, The FOST, the JUKE, Audi A3, and came to the determination that the FiST was just a better all over car, it was not about money, but it was to some degree because it is a price vs perception thing for me. I have to believe I am getting my monies worth what I am buying. With zero torque steer, nice acceleration, and fairly comfortable, including the heavy FOST bad rear visibility of the FOST were all deciding factors. The Audi A3 is overrated. The WRX while priced about 13,000 more, was nice, but seemed overly big. The shifter was overly tall, and could not justify the extra $13000 of find another $13000 in value in the WRX. So I was good to go.

There is a lot of hype about the Focus RS. I think Ford is going to find themselves in the same place. They cant sell that car for less than $37,000. NOT POSSIBLE. Then you have to ask yourself, $40,000 for a FOCUS? I don't know. All wheel drive, great, 365 hp great, upgraded suspension and brakes, Great. Everything else is focus. While the Fiesta ST cant have all wheel drive, I paid $20,000, and added bigger brakes for $1000, better suspension for $1000, lighter than RS Free, and can make 300hp for less than $5000 reliably. I guess time will tell.

 

[Ratchetmonkey88]

Roommate and good friend have FoST and I had driven them both quite a few times. I then drove the FiST and liked it better. I have also owned a Mazdaspeed 3 and felt the FoST was too close to that and I wanted something smaller and different.

 

[parapraxis24]

I initially wanted a FiST because of price and it is powerful enough to keep the mod bug at bay. No one had any locally, but I ended up test driving a FoST and was sold on that. The price was a concern but when I found a dealer that had three new '14 ST3 FoSTs (and three '15 FoSTs), I figured hell I can get a deal on one of those for sure!

Needless to say that didn't happen, they wouldn't budge off 27.9 for an ST3 FoST. They also happened to have a CPO '14 FiST and I figured hell I like the car from what I've read I might as well test drive it.

And here I am. Other than it missing a few things that my 98 Passat had, I'm completely happy with my decision.

 

[Sourskittle]

I drove the Fost and loved it. But i said, "no way I'd own that car without a LsD. It needs one bone stock", I'll wait for the lighter little brother before I make a choice.
8 miles into driving the fist I broken the shift linkage loose from the bottom of the shifter and had to drive back to the dealership with only 3rd gear. Didn't matter. 2 days later I drove 4 hours to buy a different one.

The sticker on the foST I drove was $30,500~
The sticker in the fist I drove was $21,400.
I paided $23,500~ for my "every option" Fist.

Focus guys talk a lot about how they are basically the same price. That has been far from my experience, as well as my friends experience as he actually bought a $30k Fost. Not that some guys couldn't make a hell of a deal on an "old stock" Fost, but apples to apples, nothing touches a $21,400 base car as a starting point.

As far as the focus RS, 2 years ago ( and for 20 years ) ford never brought the best sport compacts here because "no one would buy a $28k escort/focus and no one would buy a $34k RS model". Well... How many $30k Fost do you guys see ??? I see a ton.

Who would buy a $12k lancer for $37k ? Evo guys. And there are a lot of evos. So... I think ford is going to EASILY sell every RS they bring here. I have a friend ready to write a cash check RIGHT NOW for when they go on pre-order. The fost and fist have shown what the ecoboost 4 cylinders can do when ford is just screwing around, the RS with show what they can do when they actually try.

 

[doubletap]

The timing for the FoRS couldn't be more perfect with the EVO retiring and Subaru not releasing a hatchback for the WRX and STi.

 

[Izzy]

Drove both at a local Ecoboost challenge; around 9 laps each (was being thorough...lol) driving them like I stole them. The FoST just felt heavy and at 3300Lbs was only 300Lbs lighter than the car I was trying to replace (G37s) and after seeing a FoST taken out of the lineup with cooked brakes I was sold on the FiST.

 

[FatGuyInALittleCar]

My salesperson also asked me if I'd like to drive the FoST, since they didn't have a FiST on the lot. I had driven a FiST at another store, so I knew I wanted it. I declined to even drive it once I sat in it. The interior design is inefficient and I don't need the size. This car is a city shuttle for me with the over-the-road duties being performed by my '14 Flex Limited (which I love).
Better money for a better car (for me)... doesn't happen too often in life you get to spend less and get "more".

 

[Amazing399]

Dealer 1. Had no fist had a fost tried to convince me to get a over priced fost. Drove not impressed
Dealer 2 . drove fist salesman scared the sh*t out out of me wasn't expecting that from a small car ..conclusion bought the fist ..i give other drivers lock jaw when i pass them with ease ... #fist #whatisthatsmallcar

 

[RyFiST]

FoST didn't register on my radar at all. That's due to the announcement of the RS. I am truly a Turbo AWD at heart. But I needed a fun commuter to keep me entertained while I wait. So I hopped right into the FiST knowing that many say, " It'll surprise you & put a smile on your face. " I was & it did. SOLD.

 

[trsandrew]

Drove them back to back at the ST event a couple years ago, preferred the Fiesta.

Drove them back to back on the day I bought my Fiesta, preferred the Fiesta.

 

[15Fist3rST]

I really was drawn to the FIST first. Drove it and loved it, waited 8 months before going out again to look at it. Drove the FOST first and jumped into the FISt to compare. New immediately I was going with the FIST. I do regret the FOST is faster, but less fun. I the Octane academy I was almost 2 seconds faster in the FOST but couldn't get used to the extra size. Don't get me wrong, if there was never a FIST I'd be rocking the FOST!

 

[RAAMaudio]

It is not hard to make up 2 seconds and even more and still spend less than the FoST and have a more fun all around car)

I never drove a FoST before buying the FiST as it would not fit in our trailer but drove one enough at the Octane Academy and loved the FiST, liked the FoST.

 

[Sil3nt611]

I test drove a couple Focus ST to say I did and compare, but I already knew I was going for the Fiesta. I couldn't have gone for the '13-'14 Focus ST. IMO, the front end was pretty ugly on it and the rear tail lights on the Focus hatch just don't do it for me. They fixed the front end for the '15+ so that I almost actually like it better than the Fiesta, but I can't get over the rear end. That and the fact that I was never really comfortable driving my mom's Focus SE, so going with the same car with a few different parts wasn't gonna work for me. I like small cars and the Focus seems too big for me, even though I feel kinda cramped sitting in the cabin. It's weird. Plus the fact that others that have driven both on a track say the handling on the Focus is worse and I am happy with the handling on my Fiesta.

 

[15Fist3rST]

It is not hard to make up 2 seconds and even more and still spend less than the FoST and have a more fun all around car)

I never drove a FoST before buying the FiST as it would not fit in our trailer but drove one enough at the Octane Academy and loved the FiST, liked the FoST.

I totally intend too

 

[OrangeFiST]

I never gave the Focus a thought. I was upgrading from a Titanium.
Coming from the opposite viewpoint, the Focus looks like a stretched out Fiesta, plus I didn't like the center stack on the Focus.

 

[GAbOS]

Stepping down from a '10 Ralliart I had a lot to consider.

I knew my haves were more space and practicality. Oh, and it had t be white. It as always had to be fun. Hot hatches are hot right now in America and rightly so(finally). We missed the real UK Escorts and it was an American brand, why these too? Right?!?

I was right!

I tried the Focus ST and it made me feel tiny. I'm already small.
I tried the Veloster Turbo. Great fit. Less rear room.

The Fiesta was a literal fit for my frame and a rear seat delete makes it the biggest cargo area to dollar that I have owned since my 1993 Ranger Fleet truck.

Have NOT looked back.

 

[IrishST]

I was all about the Fiesta last summer since everything I read said it was the more fun car of the two and was the better handler, even if the Focus was faster around a track. My wife insisted that the Fiesta would be too small and that considering the price was so close, I should only look at the Focus. All my local Ford dealers were 100% Fiesta-less and only a few had '15 Focus STs so I went and drove one. I got caught up in the emotions of a new car and the dealer was super awesome with my less than ideal trade situation, combined with my wife pushing for the Focus since it was bigger so I bought it the next day and about 2 days later I realized I made a mistake and now that I own a FiST I know I wasn't wrong and that I would have not given the Focus a second look had I actually gotten to drive a FiST at that time.

What I didn't like about the Focus...

- It felt heavy and I feel like that hurt it's handling feeling.

- It felt like a bigger car than it was, and not just in weight, but all around, which is really weird considering my next point...

- Despite feeling like a much bigger car overall, the inside never felt roomy and I always felt cramped, and my kids didn't have much room in the back either. Now that I have a FiST to compare to, I would say they only had maybe another inch or two of knee room in the Focus and my Focus didn't have the Recaros where my FiST does. I think it has something to do with the way the console and dash wraps around you in the Focus but is more open in the FiST. I know the FiST is a smaller car overall, but I truly don't feel like I have much less room inside compared to the Focus with the exception of hatch space.

- It never felt all that fast. I checked all my clamps and hoses, everything was tight and in order, but it just didn't feel as fast as I thought it should have after reading countless reviews, both professional and from forum posters. The FiST is slower, I don't deny this, but it's lightweight and the way the power is delivered sure seems to make it FEEL faster than the Focus did and when you're not racing to feed the family, FEEL is what it's all about.

Anyway, I only had the Focus for about 4 months when all is said and done and while it is a great car, it just wasn't a great car for me and I much prefer the FiST. So while I didn't test drive a Focus and end up in a FiST, and my route was way more expensive , I did end up in the same place.

 

[RPM ST]

I loved my Fost when I first got it but after a few months it started to feel big to me. I thought it was all in my head, but it even looked big in my garage. Still I had fun driving it and getting to know its personality... Then on a whim I decided to go test drive a FiST just for kicks. It was like sitting at a picnic table on top of a speeding train with your hair on fire. Needless to say this little car now sits in my garage.

 

[2Cool]

If by "test drove" you mean "owned a 2014 FoST ST2 for a year", then yeah, I did.

 

[Ryephile]

I like the Focus ST quite a bit, IMO it's the GTI hot hatch that VW should've made. I was seriously shopping for a Focus RS but decided against doing yet another buy-then-drive scenario that's burned me in the past. Not to say the RS won't likely be amazing, I just want to drive it first.

All that said, another reason cropped up: the Focus is generally bigger than I prefer. The FiST feels "right sized" for me. So it's not that I don't like the Focus, I just feel more comfortable in the Fiesta.