As soon as Ford announced plans to build a hot version of the tiny Fiesta hatchback, we knew that it was going to be something special. With a starting price of just $21,140, the Fiesta ST was easily one of the best value hot hatchbacks on the market. It may not be as practical, as comfortable, or even as fast as some of the larger hatchback offerings, but the Fiesta ST made up for that by offering a classic driving experience that was basically unparalleled. Sadly that wasn't enough, and Ford has decided to discontinue it after 2017.
Ford has already announced the next generation Fiesta ST, which will be powered by 1.5-liter three cylinder turbo engine. This means that the current car with the 1.6-liter four-cylinder producing 197 hp, will be the final Fiesta ST offered in the US. We already think that the Fiesta ST is a performance bargain. For just over $20,000, you get a car that is basically full of the best options you can get on any Fiesta, as well as 197 hp and 202 lb-ft of torque going out to a one-choice-only six-speed manual transmission. This is the perfect recipe for an enthusiast, but sadly this is the opposite of how Americans like their cars; raised up, slow, boring and automatic.
The Fiesta's death in the US is a bit sad, but there is some good news that comes out of the whole situation. We have stated in the past that the Fiesta ST makes an excellent used purchase, with some examples already inching near the $10,000 mark. Now, Ford dealerships are stuck with leftover 2017 Fiesta models that still need to be sold. Since there is no 2018 replacement, Ford wants to do everything in its power to get rid of the leftover cars. This has resulted in some insane discounts on Fiesta models, including the ST. We have even found a couple of examples listed below $16,000. Ford is now discounting the Fiesta ST by up to around $6,000, which is incredible.
American automakers like Ford and GM like to do big sales. It is not uncommon to see discounts of up to $10,000 on high volume, high price vehicles like trucks, and even the Corvette. A discount like this is more rare to see on a low volume, specialty car like the Fiesta ST. The Fiesta ST doesn't carry the same margins as something like an F-150, so this discount could mean that Ford is willing to lose money on getting rid of these cars. Like we stated earlier, there doesn't appear to be an abundance of people in the US that want a turbocharged, manual hatchback with a small back seat. We called a couple of Ford dealerships to confirm the validity of the discounts, and all of them told us that the price was real.
Sometimes dealerships will mark a vehicle on clearance, then tell you that the price is only for people who qualify for every incentive. These are typically based on some ridiculous criteria that no one ever meets, like an incentive for having perfect credit or having three arms. Either way, we were shocked to find out that this type of trickery was not being employed, and it really is possible to get a brand-new Fiesta ST out the door for less than $20,000. The supply does seem to be a bit limited. however. We only found a handful of blue cars, while the majority of the leftover stock was either grey, black, white or an ugly shade of Molten Orange.
Some of the cars do come with the optional Recaro seat package (in grey or red), but we have found these seats to be too tight for our liking, and we would recommend trying them before you buy. The Fiesta ST was already one of the best values on the market, so we suggest you go pick one up as soon as possible before they are all gone.