Thank you for this wonderful review. Tears in my eyes. Ford is making a massive mistake imho, this run towards 100% EV is asinine if you ask me.

Nice review, i will get mine in 2 weeks. Will be mine third ST. Best car ever.

i have a mk8 st, loads of mountune bits fitted and stage 1 map on mine so its 250bhp, milltek exhaust as well, a map transforms them and they really fly. mountune short shifter improves the gearchange a lot, had mine nearly 4 years now and still puts a smile on my face.

Got one of the last ones last week. 23 plate in black with winter pack. Had one before but moved to focus st. Worst mistake i made. These are fun and economical. So glad picked one up before it was to late.

Indeed, it's the same if not little bigger than a Mk1 Focus 😄 It's like a Mk1 Focus RS. The Mk8.5 did come in a 3 door, it was stopped last year, and only 5 door is now available. I got very lucky and managed to get a 3 door ST-3 last year in boundless blue 🙏

I traded in my MK7.5 ST200 for the MK8.5ST ultimate (Full option) Mean Green, received it last week. Despite my previous Fiesta being 7 years old, the leap in electronics, media and interior is amazing. It's basically has at least as much power as the ST200 but it's more mature to drive. I wasn't planning on switching, but this is the last fun Fiesta ST. There is no way I will be wooed by a fiesta badged ID2 EV.

I bagged an unregistered showroom car in March, a 24 plate Fiesta ST. Love it to bits

Don't understand the gearbox criticism, unless you had a duffer, it's super smooth & slick and certainly not too low imo. Good review though.

Great review Rich - took it up to the lakes last week and double the mileage! Breaking in nicely.

i drove it on Spa, very good handling; braking, very precise steering0 Soon video here

Great video.They are epic cars and will be missed. I agree with you on remaps. The stock engine is terrific and is plenty quick enough. I've now got the Puma ST and it too is brilliant to drive and surprisingly nimble.

I own a 2020 ST2 with Performance pack......previously I have owned 3 Renaultsports and 2 Seat Cupra's. I would honestly say my current MK8 ST is the best of the lot. I cannot find a single fault with it. Even the interior is absolutely rock solid and certainly of a good enough quality, especially the Recaros, best seats I've ever sat in. I had a CUPRA 290 directly before my ST and by comparison the ST feels like a bespoke sports car. I've owned it for 18 months now and every single morning I cannot wait to get in it and the first few hundred yards still feel amazing each morning. I just cannot see how another 25k hot hatch could match one of these

Good review ! I’m lucky to have one it’s a great drivers car. But 100% agree with you about the low position of the gear lever.

Great vid man👍 im ordering one 2mo for shore 😎👍💯

I get mine next friday 15th dec. ST3 winter pack, cannot wait to sample the LSD.

The one i would take is the 7 over this one. The st200 edition. More simpler dashboard and analog, smaller but still modern and performant

We have a mean green Performance and winter pack coming in a few weeks, maybe really the last off the production line!?

thanks, great review - just ordered mine although no longer can get it in the green, sob, sob - its going to be the grey one!!!

Nice to see the Fiesta review. Just such a shame Ford scrapped it for the ev era. I have a 2020 Fiesta ST although doesn't have the lsd unfortunately as i got second hand. Still enjoying it though and will hold onto it for sure

Got mine in April 23, great change from a normal Fiesta mk5. Dont like the digital speedometer and that you cant plug horizontally any normal 6'' phone to charge, apart from that, great car, sporty and a thrill to daily drive. Any forum that people can recomend?

I have a 3 door they just stopped production early on so hard to get hold of

Got mine few weeks ago, it's amazing in everything, also managed to average 18km/l on a 600km trip😂. I still need to find a way to get out of the car without stressing the seat.

Get the Mountune (or alternative) short shifter! Throw reduction is about 25% but the real benefit is in how accurate and smooth the gear changes are when fitted. It's not bad in it's standard form but much much better afterwards! I don't like the look of those seats but most folks say they are more comfortable. They look a bit like Dracula's cloak to me (?) I also heard the side bolsters get in the way of your arm when gear changing - is this true?

Gear lever requires a little stretch to change gears little notchy as well,l also find the seat is a little too high even at its lowest setting my Mrs has had her ST3 for 2 weeks, we paid £29k for ours with metallic paint and winter pack Sync 3 ie is £600 extra but Ford build all the ST3"s with it

This is not the last one, this is the lull before the jump. Ford is obliged to make a hot electric Fiesta new generation. I really hope so

Watching kinda-US car makers give up on anything that isn't an EV/crossover/pickup trying to chase whatever looked like the most profitable platform two years prior is one of the most soul-sucking transformations of the auto industry.

No sync 4 screen

I had a megane rs 250 tuned to 320 bhp but had to sell it because of family commitments, now my daughters 4 and theres a family car these mk8 fiesta sts keep grabbing me. If its anywhere as good as the megane rs 250 i had then im going to buy one.

I just don't trust Ford Fiestas, had 3 and ALL had camshaft head gasket issues. I stay away because sick of constantly overheating and mayo on oil cap issues...

No one pays this amount for it. 99% of them will be taken with a leasing contract.

It's a shame that Ford stop the fiesta production (standard model or st): very nice, efficient car. 185.000 km during five year with one 1.0 100 manual gearbox (3 door ans panoramic roof). And always the same pleasure. really bad new. We get all in the wall with this F.. EV mode.

Completely lost those mean looks with this latest version.

They probably are good cars but I just can't take fiestas seriously, driven by little boys usually that think they are the quickest thing on the road lol

I have the 8.5 and it’s the worse car I’ve ever had. I’ve had the mk7 STand the mk8 ST. The 8.5 feels like a parts bin car. More expensive but less features: no heating seats, no heated steering wheel, no power fold mirrors. Seats are shoddy and poorly made, much worse than recaros due to poor build quality and extremely uncomfortable. Performance wise the car is very flat in every mode. Put your foot down in sport mode and nothing happens other than those fake chavvy pop sounds. Gear box is awful and clunky. Looks wise I hate new exterior and new alloys as well. It’s telling that I’ve never bothered to d taking photos of this car or even cleaning it inside or out after 12 months of ownership, whereas I enjoyed taking care of the mk7. A sad pathetic end to the long history of the fiesta really.