Ford Fiesta ST Brand and Image
Playing armchair product developer is the mark of a true petrolhead. Listing how you could easily and inexpensively improve any given car gives us a rosy glow of superiority and building these critical skills is a great foundation for any budding motoring journalist. The trouble is, we rarely get to see what goes on behind the scenes when building a new car, targeting it at a specific market and trying to second guess the competition. Fact is, its a lot harder than many of us would like to believe.
When Ford set out to bring a hot Fiesta to market, it not only had a lot of historical baggage to contend with, but the company also had to deal with the weight of expectation and a changing market.
| Build |  |
| Comfort |  |
| Depreciation |  |
| Economy | |
| Equipment | |
| Handling |  |
| Insurance | |
| Performance |  |
| Styling |  |
| Value | |
Cars like the Volkswagen Golf GTI and the Ford Fiesta XR2 set the tone. Unfortunately, their desirability eventually attracted undesirables and these cars became stolen more than any other. Insurance premiums consequently rocketed and by the start of the Nineties, the hot hatch market was virtually dead in the water. Customers gradually grew accustomed to bigger insurance premiums but the target clientele were, between 1995 and 2000, diverted by the flood of cheap Japanese imports flooding the UK market.
Its only been in the last few years that sporty hatchbacks have enjoyed a genuine renaissance. Ford seemed ideally positioned to capitalise on this market but were slow in offering convincing sports hatches. The Focus had been on sale for fully four years before the lauded RS Focus model was launched in 2002 and the Fiesta range fared even worse, the last really sporty variants rolling off production lines in 1995: thats a hiatus of a decade before the ST was unveiled. Still, better late than never and in the ST, Ford have brought a very competent car to market, and one that ticks all of the boxes required by its target customers.
"The Fiesta ST had to be affordable and desirable. Thats not always an easy circle to square"
First and foremost, the ST had to be affordable. Make no mistake, Ford could have created a 200bhp fire-breathing monster that would have graced the covers of the enthusiast press but who would have bought it? Its a position Renault find themselves in at the moment with the Cliosport 197 and I doubt this car will have anything like the success of its predecessor. That car retails at £15,995 and is rated at insurance group 15 whereas the Fiesta carries a sticker price of £13,795 and is rated at Group 13, a significant difference to the sort of buyers the car is targeted at. But just who are these customers? Ford reckons the average Fiesta ST buyer is aged between 25 and 34 years old, is overwhelmingly male, will earn between £20,000 and £30,000 per year and will buy the car because it represents an extension of their image aspirations.
That last section bears closer scrutiny. When manufacturers launch sports hatches, they tend to divide their allocation amongst the countries of Europe. While you might expect this allocation to be divided fairly amongst markets according to population, thats far from the truth. The Fiesta ST will be a relative sales flop in Spain and Italy whereas the UK will account for around 40 per cent of all production.
Whereas we see the car as an essential part of our self image, other countries view it as transport and little else. Italians, for example, spend double what we spend on clothes and almost three times as much on male grooming products. While theyre cleansing and exfoliating, were topping up with unleaded. Although the ST represents just five per cent of total Fiesta sales, its important not to underestimate its halo effect on the rest of the range.
With no dedicated sporting models for a decade, the Fiesta range had become boring and the image was becoming staid - despite the cars themselves actually being reasonably entertaining to drive. With a desirable model heading up the range, the Zetec-S versions suddenly start to appear on the shortlists of younger buyers whose budgets maybe cant run to an ST. Browsing Fords statistics for the ST is fascinating. When asked to specify the car, I opted for ultra-trendy white paint finish and the full stripe set but according to the Fiesta brand manager, only around one in twenty customers go for the full decal set.
Maybe its the £200 cost that puts them off, but more likely is the fact that having received the car, I can now accept that its a little outrĂ© for some of the more conservative aesthetes in the office. Id have liked to have specified black or anthracite alloys as well but this wasnt offered at the time. The most popular option set on the list is actually the heated leather seats. The 148bhp 2.
0-litre engine is a strange choice for this sort of car. Most car makers would opt for a smaller, more highly stressed powerplant, but the big engine/small car formula is rarely a bad idea. There are a couple of drawbacks though. Because of the large, transversely-mounted engine the turning circle of the ST is enormous and you may have to take a couple of bites at getting into a supermarket bay.
The other downside is fuel economy. Over a week of mixed driving, I was rather surprised to average less than 25mpg, not what you expect from a car this compact. Asked why Ford decided to go for this powerplant rather than the more commonplace multivalve 1.6-litre engine, the Ford oracle reckoned it was the best choice in terms of power, availability and cost.
The Fiesta ST isnt without its faults and the high seating position and the low gearing arent easy fixes. Nevertheless, as an all round package its very well judged. It doesnt stop me wishing Ford would bring out an even more powerful RS version but thats just me. And Im not signing the cheques.
As it stands, the Fiesta ST hits the nail squarely on the head.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Ford Fiesta ST
PRICE: £13,795 on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 13E
CO2 EMISSIONS: 179g/km
PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 7.9s / Max speed 129mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (urban) 27.2mpg / (extra urban) 49.6mpg / (combined) 38.2mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Driver's and passenger airbags, ABS
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: length/width/height 3921/1683/1468mm
