Well, yesterday I got the itch to drive a Fiesta ST. I actually went there with full intentions to buy it. I decided maybe you guys would like to hear how I believe the car is, especially compared to the RS Sonic.
Price/Value:
I am going to hit this one right away. The 2014 Fiesta ST was optioned out with a sunroof and the touchscreen radio with nav. It had the standard cloth seats. The price the dealer wanted, with discount, was $23,900. The ST comes with 197? HP and a sport suspension and such.
In comparison, a MANUAL transmission sonic, comes standard with leather heated seats AND a touch screen radio as well as heated outside mirrors and a backup camera. Though, our Nav isn't the same. The only option to check for the Sonic to make it comparable is the sunroof. I just built one, optioned out like the ST and it came to $22k even without any rebates and such. I know I bought by 13 RS for $19k after rebates with the extra cost black color and the sunroof. For what you get in the RS, it's a better value if power isn't your biggest concern. To get the fancy seats in the ST so it has the same equipment, you have to had a grand or more...
Engine/Drivetrain:
The ST engine is more powerful, feels more powerful, and as a result is faster than the RS. I don't know if anyone argued otherwise
The ST engine does NOT like to be lugged around in lower RPMS. It needs to rev otherwise you fall on your face. The 6speed shifts much more smooth than the RS and it overall is a better M/T in terms of shift feel and ease of use. Once you get around 3k RPMs though, the ST pulls pretty good. Not as good as all the hype, and it doesn't seem like it has almost 200 HP... A civic SI, GTI, and my old SS/SC all registered much higher on the "butt dyno" when pushed. Also, I believe Ford pipes in some "sound" or something into the passenger compartment. At first, when you push it, it sounds cool. But sometimes if you just use the throttle a little bit, it sounds almost artificial. Almost fake. Then again, this is subjective and I am sure people would disagree. The RS feels much more drive-able in regular driving. The short gearing allows for quick spooling and squirting in and out of traffic. The RS falls flat on it's face though in the upper RPMS where the ST would just pull right on by. The RS transmission, shift feel, and clutch all suck compared to the ST. In this area, the ST would win for sure. Didn't test MPG. Didn't really care I guess. :banana:
Interior:
Climbing into the ST, the first think you notice is that the regular seats suck. Flat is the word to describe them. Then you notice that the interior feels much more cramped than the RS. This is amplified when you climb back into the RS. The RS feels like a midsized car compared to the ST. The ST interior has the same hard plastics as the RS, with the exception of an area on the dash with soft touch. The ST comes ahead in this area for the following reasons: 1. Soft armrest for driver and passenger on doors. 2. Soft center armrest for both front passengers. Now for the bad. The switchgear is awful. Lightswitches, Fan controls, ect... all feel like they will fall off if you are too rough. The sunroof also is the same. You tap on the sliding door and you are greeted with a tinny, "tink tink tink" sound. This is very evident when you open or shut the sliding door. Sounds like they used a bake pan for cookies. The touch screen for the ST is nice, but it's in an awkward position. The steering wheel looks and feels stupid. It's very large for the car. The ST gauges also weren't the great. They both looked very cheap and the digital readout wasn't all that great. Though, a bonus is that the ST had a temperature gauge even if it was digital. In this area, I feel the RS has a better interior. Seats are more comfy, more space, more cubbies to throw things. Better visibility. Better center layout. Better gauges and stereo. Maybe the Recaros make the ST better, but sadly I couldn't test one with them.
Comfort/Drive:
In terms of comfort, the RS is winning with more space and better seats while the ST has more comfortable armrests. Yet on the road, they are pretty comparable. Both are quiet and both take bumps pretty well. The ST is much rougher on bumps, but it's to be expected with the sportier suspension. Really, you could probably commute in both of these cars just fine. No clear winner here.
Handling:
I didn't get to push the ST as much as I wanted in the corners, but it was pretty fun to drive in the twisties. Body roll was very minimal and it was very controlled. The steering was very light on the ST. Summer tires come on the ST. The RS handles well, but leans more in turns. In a full blow course, I am sure the ST would walk away from the RS considering the RS comes with those poopy hankooks or whatever. How much though, I don't know. The RS had better steering feel. It felt more substantial and "real" than the ST. Both were fun cars to drive, but I would give the edge to the ST based on the control you get.
Braking:
The ST has very touchy brakes. Really, the cars braked very well. Brake feel was the same. I did like the RS brakes more. Just though maybe they stopped a little better. Then again, there is NO evidence on that just the impression I got from the drive.
Outside:
I like how the front of the RS looks. I like how the back of the ST looks. The ST looks more boy racer, the RS looks more "grown up." It's a wash here.
So, who wins? From an enthusiast standpoint, the ST does. The engine is more powerful and the whole car likes to be pushed. I did feel like I could throw it around more. From a comfort and utility standpoint, the RS wins. It has much more space and both the front and back seats are a much better place to be in. The thing that made me walk away was the price difference. People like to compare a fully loaded "automatic" RS versus a base ST when they look at price which just isn't fair. In order to get all the same equipment as the RS, you need to spend upwards of 25k which to me is a very large amount of money for a fiesta. With a price difference of a couple g's I think you could buy an RS and make a faster car while still keeping comfort and room. After driving my RS home from the dealership, both my wife and I decided that the ST wasn't worth the money and that the RS was the better car to live with. My faith and happiness in my RS has been restored after driving a competitor.
I am sure you can find cheaper or more expensive versions of each car. I am just using the only one I could find in my area as comparison. Which was about 15 miles from where I bought my RS so area pricing would be very... very similar.
Price/Value:
I am going to hit this one right away. The 2014 Fiesta ST was optioned out with a sunroof and the touchscreen radio with nav. It had the standard cloth seats. The price the dealer wanted, with discount, was $23,900. The ST comes with 197? HP and a sport suspension and such.
In comparison, a MANUAL transmission sonic, comes standard with leather heated seats AND a touch screen radio as well as heated outside mirrors and a backup camera. Though, our Nav isn't the same. The only option to check for the Sonic to make it comparable is the sunroof. I just built one, optioned out like the ST and it came to $22k even without any rebates and such. I know I bought by 13 RS for $19k after rebates with the extra cost black color and the sunroof. For what you get in the RS, it's a better value if power isn't your biggest concern. To get the fancy seats in the ST so it has the same equipment, you have to had a grand or more...
Engine/Drivetrain:
The ST engine is more powerful, feels more powerful, and as a result is faster than the RS. I don't know if anyone argued otherwise
The ST engine does NOT like to be lugged around in lower RPMS. It needs to rev otherwise you fall on your face. The 6speed shifts much more smooth than the RS and it overall is a better M/T in terms of shift feel and ease of use. Once you get around 3k RPMs though, the ST pulls pretty good. Not as good as all the hype, and it doesn't seem like it has almost 200 HP... A civic SI, GTI, and my old SS/SC all registered much higher on the "butt dyno" when pushed. Also, I believe Ford pipes in some "sound" or something into the passenger compartment. At first, when you push it, it sounds cool. But sometimes if you just use the throttle a little bit, it sounds almost artificial. Almost fake. Then again, this is subjective and I am sure people would disagree. The RS feels much more drive-able in regular driving. The short gearing allows for quick spooling and squirting in and out of traffic. The RS falls flat on it's face though in the upper RPMS where the ST would just pull right on by. The RS transmission, shift feel, and clutch all suck compared to the ST. In this area, the ST would win for sure. Didn't test MPG. Didn't really care I guess. :banana:Interior:
Climbing into the ST, the first think you notice is that the regular seats suck. Flat is the word to describe them. Then you notice that the interior feels much more cramped than the RS. This is amplified when you climb back into the RS. The RS feels like a midsized car compared to the ST. The ST interior has the same hard plastics as the RS, with the exception of an area on the dash with soft touch. The ST comes ahead in this area for the following reasons: 1. Soft armrest for driver and passenger on doors. 2. Soft center armrest for both front passengers. Now for the bad. The switchgear is awful. Lightswitches, Fan controls, ect... all feel like they will fall off if you are too rough. The sunroof also is the same. You tap on the sliding door and you are greeted with a tinny, "tink tink tink" sound. This is very evident when you open or shut the sliding door. Sounds like they used a bake pan for cookies. The touch screen for the ST is nice, but it's in an awkward position. The steering wheel looks and feels stupid. It's very large for the car. The ST gauges also weren't the great. They both looked very cheap and the digital readout wasn't all that great. Though, a bonus is that the ST had a temperature gauge even if it was digital. In this area, I feel the RS has a better interior. Seats are more comfy, more space, more cubbies to throw things. Better visibility. Better center layout. Better gauges and stereo. Maybe the Recaros make the ST better, but sadly I couldn't test one with them.
Comfort/Drive:
In terms of comfort, the RS is winning with more space and better seats while the ST has more comfortable armrests. Yet on the road, they are pretty comparable. Both are quiet and both take bumps pretty well. The ST is much rougher on bumps, but it's to be expected with the sportier suspension. Really, you could probably commute in both of these cars just fine. No clear winner here.
Handling:
I didn't get to push the ST as much as I wanted in the corners, but it was pretty fun to drive in the twisties. Body roll was very minimal and it was very controlled. The steering was very light on the ST. Summer tires come on the ST. The RS handles well, but leans more in turns. In a full blow course, I am sure the ST would walk away from the RS considering the RS comes with those poopy hankooks or whatever. How much though, I don't know. The RS had better steering feel. It felt more substantial and "real" than the ST. Both were fun cars to drive, but I would give the edge to the ST based on the control you get.
Braking:
The ST has very touchy brakes. Really, the cars braked very well. Brake feel was the same. I did like the RS brakes more. Just though maybe they stopped a little better. Then again, there is NO evidence on that just the impression I got from the drive.
Outside:
I like how the front of the RS looks. I like how the back of the ST looks. The ST looks more boy racer, the RS looks more "grown up." It's a wash here.
So, who wins? From an enthusiast standpoint, the ST does. The engine is more powerful and the whole car likes to be pushed. I did feel like I could throw it around more. From a comfort and utility standpoint, the RS wins. It has much more space and both the front and back seats are a much better place to be in. The thing that made me walk away was the price difference. People like to compare a fully loaded "automatic" RS versus a base ST when they look at price which just isn't fair. In order to get all the same equipment as the RS, you need to spend upwards of 25k which to me is a very large amount of money for a fiesta. With a price difference of a couple g's I think you could buy an RS and make a faster car while still keeping comfort and room. After driving my RS home from the dealership, both my wife and I decided that the ST wasn't worth the money and that the RS was the better car to live with. My faith and happiness in my RS has been restored after driving a competitor.
I am sure you can find cheaper or more expensive versions of each car. I am just using the only one I could find in my area as comparison. Which was about 15 miles from where I bought my RS so area pricing would be very... very similar.
