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head west & prosper – a brief review of the Mk8 Fiesta ST.

There is no logical reason your daily driver hatchback needs a limited slip diff or launch control. It doesn’t improve fuel economy, it likely increases tyre wear (especially combined with Ford’s torque vectoring) and it makes the front end skittish in the wet.

But it is FUN. Being stuck in traffic and activating launch control is absolutely stupid, but it is glorious fun. Sick of acting like a child and want to cruise quietly? Switch back to ‘normal’ mode and be boring I guess, that’s what the switch is for. Let’s rename the modes for accuracy – Normal = Boring, Sport = Fun, Track = Fun+. And that sums up living with the Fiesta ST quite nicely – FUN.

…but with manners. I owned a Mk7 ST and it was like owning a jack russell – all the energy in the world combined with a complete inability to chill the fuck out. The suspension was always stiff, being a 3 door made it useless in carparks (and for child seats) and a very quiet stock exhaust required me removing the mid muffler to get some note – at the cost of a mild drone at highway speeds.

It was a glorious car, but compromised as a daily driver. The Mk8 seemingly fixes all issues with the prior mode – 2 modes for the exhaust, suspension that is surprisingly compliant but still provides confidence, 4 doors and enough modern tech to make it a breeze on the highway.

Somehow, it’s also a better sports car. The front end is borderline telepathic, with the combo of a Quaife limited slip (Australia only got the full spec model) with a quicker steering rack and throttle response is frankly faster than my brain around corners. Gearing is shorter than the Mk7, which is perfect for the only good road around Central Queensland. The rear end is the only interesting change – it is looser in rear grip than the Mk7, which allows you to pitch it into a corner hard and let the front pull you through as the rear chases. A bit like a jack russell trying to round a corner on tiles..

Is it reliable? Well mine sheared the bolts for the high pressure fuel pump at 60,000kms and in their infinite wisdom Tropical Auto Group decided to not refit the bottom fascia for the windscreen properly – which lead to 30,000 leaves being sucked into the aircon and a soaking drivers floor (fun fact a sneaky cable tie under the centre console will unblock this). But that’s less issues than my last two cars so I’m happy with that.

What could be better? The exhaust manifold is integrated into the head, which makes any exhaust note tuning borderline impossible – it would sound much better with an equal length manifold. As with the prior model, the torque vectoring absolutely hammers the brake pads so the wheels are constantly dirty.

Overall as a daily and something to rip up Mount Morgan it’s a solid 9/10, and frankly a massive shame Ford stopped making them.