Geneva 2012: Ford Fiesta ST

by Derek Kreindler

Published: March 7th, 2012

Can we just get this in a five-door? Even though Fiesta sales aren’t as great as Ford would hope, I quite like this ST version.

With a 1.6L Ecoboost 4-cylinder making 180 horsepower and 177 lb-ft, the Fiesta ST also has chassis improvements, Torque Vectoring Control, programmable stability control and Recaro bucket seats. I’m not too optimistic about this car’s chances in North America, but wouldn’t it be nice nonetheless…

#2012GenevaAutoShow #2013FordFiestaSt #Ford #FordFiesta #FordFiestaSt #Geneva2012

Derek Kreindler

More by Derek Kreindler

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 37 comments

Jollyjerry on Mar 08, 2012

The normal Fiesta doesn't excite me, but the tweaks on this hot hatch version are really working for me. If it does make it across the Atlantic, I think this could become a modern day CRX for me.

Like Reply
Les on Mar 08, 2012

I like the cut of this car's jib, it's two-door styling reminds me of the Ford Focus RS that Clakrson ran around the TG test track back on '09. I was very much getting interested in dumping my 12-year-old 4-door S-10 Blazer by then, wanting something a bit shorter.. like the Focus RS.. with two doors.. like the Focus RS... with a bit better mileage... like the Focus RS... and a bit 'peppier'... like the Focus RS.. and I just flat liked the styling of the Focus RS, and the version on that episode was left-hand drive so how was I to know what awaited me when I went down to the nearest dealership and said, "Show me your Focuses." What they showed me was this sad.. sad.. SAD little sedan, so sad I could feel everything that was hopeful and happy and alive within me being drawn out and absorbed into this black pit of automotive despair.

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Kjhkjlhkjhkljh kljhjkhjklhkjh A prelude is a bad idea. There is already Acura with all the weird sport trims. This will not make back it's R&D money.
Analoggrotto I don't see a red car here, how blazing stupid are you people?
Redapple2 Love the wheels
Redapple2 Good luck to them. They used to make great cars. 510. 240Z, Sentra SE-R. Maxima. Frontier.
Joe65688619 Under Ghosn they went through the same short-term bottom-line thinking that GM did in the 80s/90s, and they have not recovered say, to their heyday in the 50s and 60s in terms of market share and innovation. Poor design decisions (a CVT in their front-wheel drive "4-Door Sports Car", model overlap in a poorly performing segment (they never needed the Altima AND the Maxima...what they needed was one vehicle with different drivetrain, including hybrid, to compete with the Accord/Camry, and decontenting their vehicles: My 2012 QX56 (I know, not a Nissan, but the same holds for the Armada) had power rear windows in the cargo area that could vent, a glass hatch on the back door that could be opened separate from the whole liftgate (in such a tall vehicle, kinda essential if you have it in a garage and want to load the trunk without having to open the garage door to make room for the lift gate), a nice driver's side folding armrest, and a few other quality-of-life details absent from my 2018 QX80. In a competitive market this attention to detai is can be the differentiator that sell cars. Now they are caught in the middle of the market, competing more with Hyundai and Kia and selling discounted vehicles near the same price points, but losing money on them. They invested also invested a lot in niche platforms. The Leaf was one of the first full EVs, but never really evolved. They misjudged the market - luxury EVs are selling, small budget models not so much. Variable compression engines offering little in terms of real-world power or tech, let a lot of complexity that is leading to higher failure rates. Aside from the Z and GT-R (low volume models), not much forced induction (whether your a fan or not, look at what Honda did with the CR-V and Acura RDX - same chassis, slap a turbo on it, make it nicer inside, and now you can sell it as a semi-premium brand with higher markup). That said, I do believe they retain the technical and engineering capability to do far better. About time management realized they need to make smarter investments and understand their markets better.