Fiesta ST Set to Rattle the Gti [Sydney Morning Herald]

[Mi16 Man]

.....the Clio RS and the Mini but both of these strike me more as enthusiast and/or yuppy toys.

RSC 172/182/197/200 are not yuppy cars....they are true enthusiast cars.

Mini however appeals to the mainstream 'style' crowd. Make mine a JCW Works however but, at double the price of a 6N GTI....

[Buller_Scott]

our local motorsports will regain some excitement with real multi marque racing

i cant believe you just uttered the "words that must not be said"!!!

i dont think australia has the manpower nor resources to clean up the trillions of hairballs covering each race venue, after all the for'den fans have torn their hair out whilst watching their favorite fleet / taxi / family cars being beaten by other marques...

surely our beloved v8 racing scene has proudly proven to the world just how redneck we really are! we can't renege on that!

[Corey_R]

Even NASCAR let Toyota in....
... and the fans got over it and even embrace it. Australian V8 Supercars need a change in administration so that they stop penalising and/or putting drivers on probation for sneezing! It don't have to get to "boys have at it" or even "rubbing is racing", but geez, sometimes cars touch... deal with it. lol

[Hail22]

Just let a DTM Audi/Merc Vs the V8s muhahah it will be like when the R32 Godzilla chewed up the ford and holdens each race xD

[Buller_Scott]

Australian V8 Supercars need a change in administration so that they stop penalising and/or putting drivers on probation for sneezing! It don't have to get to "boys have at it" or even "rubbing is racing", but geez, sometimes cars touch... deal with it. lol

then again, we ARE a nation which has cities that are trying to introduce fines for texting whilst walking, as well as swearing in public (with the exception of the word "bloody", which the media will have us believe is a word that should bolster nationalistic pride and empowerment of some sort) lol

[stickshift3000]

I think 6/8 cyl Falcodores are destined for the history books. Even GM sees the potential/future here in Aust due to their decision to trade OPEL branded small/medium sector cars here, even then thats most prob a counter attack on Fords Euro-brigade entering the wire!

Too true.

Holden have considered building a 4 cylinder commodore, and ford are planning a 4 cylinder falcon and territory in the near future.

Ford Australia to build four-cylinder Falcon and diesel Territory - www.drive.com.au

Much, much too late. By then most potential customers will have found and bought superior products... there's no winning those customers back!

[babs]

Sounds like it's a long way off but by the time Volkswagen actually fulfills the orders it'll probably be here.

haha so true. still don't think it's gonna overtake gti orders anytime soon.

[Sword_Dude]

I test drove a Fiesta when I was looking at what to replace my old car with and eventually decided on the Polo.

I think we are being a bit harsh here, the Ford has really good driving characteristics, and I haven't heard many complaints from owners.

While the styling doesn't suit me (I too think that front end is FUGLY) I think the competition will do VW and others some good in the "light" hot hatch segment.

cheers

[DoggieHowser]

FWIW I hope the Fiesta ST doesnt use their current implementation of DSG. It feels way more sluggish than the brilliant one in the VW.

[kaanage]

GM Holden can see the writing on the wall... that's why they are building the Cruze here (underneath it is essentially the astra). As such it can house all the engines that the Astra can as well as Volt derived drivetrains.

Much, much too late. By then most potential customers will have found and bought superior products... there's no winning those customers back!

I wonder if the bright spark who decided that Ford should further develop their inline 6 cylinder engine rather than build the Focus locally back in 2007 is still around

306 XSi and GTI6 (one of the best ever)

Yep, my S16 (GTI16 with a few less kW, slightly smaller brakes and a MUCH smaller right hand turning circle) is still the beat handling FWD car I've driven (along with the original Focus) - why Peugeot can't make their newer small cars handle like that is a continuing disappointment.

Back on topic - I think the Fiesta ST will be a great addition to the local market and do very well, given the number of outlets.

[pog]

I'll agree. I think the Fiesta ST will be a great addition to the Ford line up and will definitely give the Polo GTI a run for it's money. For goodness sakes, it's turbo-charged and perhaps a similar 'flash' will give it some sexy back.

If they give it a similar suspension they had on the XR4, I'm sure it'll handle just as well.

[Miles Away]

let me guess, battery issues, alternator problems, cpu malfunction and loads of wait time at the service centre while brainless monkeys figure there is a seal missing from the engine block.

This sounds very familiar...ahh that would be because the last part has happened multiple times since VW have had my car since mid august. I think we are throwing stones from glass houses don't you think.

[triode12]

This sounds very familiar...ahh that would be because the last part has happened multiple times since VW have had my car since mid august. I think we are throwing stones from glass houses don't you think.

What problems have you had with yours Miles Away?
I've heard of problems with the 1.4TSI engine running too lean and problems with the new 7spd dry clutch DSG.

[kaanage]

Look here
And posts by him in the http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/foru...ion-56423.html thread - pretty sad reading

[pologti18t]

This sounds very familiar...ahh that would be because the last part has happened multiple times since VW have had my car since mid august. I think we are throwing stones from glass houses don't you think.

He likes throwing stones