2022 Ford Fiesta ST review
The shock departure of the Ford Fiesta ST was announced as the facelift arrived in Australia – and in our garage. We say goodbye to Ford’s last truly analogue hot hatch.
How much does the 2022 Ford Fiesta ST cost in Australia?
Meet the last analogue 2022 Ford Fiesta ST hot hatch.
This midlife facelift was expected to keep Ford’s smallest hot hatchback fresh in European and Australian showrooms for a few more years – and then send it out on a high note. Instead, the Fiesta’s run in Australia will be cut short.
Ford Australia announced earlier in August – while this car was parked in our garage – it would discontinue the Fiesta ST before the end of 2022. A year or two before Europe, as buyers continue to move out of small cars and into SUVs.
Don’t count on a next-generation model – here nor overseas – for myriad reasons, from sliding city car sales globally, to the rise of electric cars and SUVs. This is very likely to be the last Fiesta ST generation to be given the green light from Ford management.
But before the Fiesta nameplate departs Australian showrooms for good, Ford has treated its pint-sized hot hatch to one final facelift – albeit one that’s likely to be experienced by fewer than 150 local buyers.
What’s new? The three-cylinder engine develops 30Nm more (for total outputs of 147kW and 320Nm), a widescreen digital instrument cluster replaces the analogue dials, and there’s been a mild styling update with a new front end and wheels.
New front sports seats designed by Ford – in place of the earlier Recaros – and trick matrix LED headlights also now feature, replacing less advanced LED low beam and halogen high-beam lamps.
Semiconductor shortages mean blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert – some of the more useful advanced safety features – are no longer fitted, and look unlikely to return before production ends for Australia.
While order books have not closed (as of writing in early August 2022), Ford Australia advises any interested buyers not already in the queue to talk to a dealer – fast.
Full disclosure: I own a pre-facelift Fiesta ST, which I purchased new 18 months ago. I’ve used it as my one and only car ever since, and have come to learn and love (or hate) its features, quirks and, where applicable, flaws.
A few months ago, we pitched my pre-facelift Fiesta ST up against its chief rival, the recently launched Hyundai i20 N – and it came out as a dead heat, with a verdict dependent on how you use your car (more track days, or public roads only).
So has this updated 2022 Ford Fiesta ST done enough to swing the ledger in its favour and bow out at the top of its segment? We had one last go to find out.
While $33,490 plus on-road costs is what you’ll be quoted if you order one today, the car we’re testing is one of 73 in Australia with an unbranded six-speaker sound system – after a mix-up at the factory saw the 10-speaker B&O Play system not installed.
Ford Australia offered buyers $500 if they decided to take delivery of a car without premium audio – meaning the list price of this test car is $32,990 plus on-road costs.
This model-year 2022 car is also equipped with a black roof for an extra $500, and Boundless Blue metallic paint for $650 – taking its total price to $34,140 plus on-road costs, or about $38,250 drive-away with a Sydney postcode.
However, Boundless Blue and the black roof have been axed for the final run of cars (2023 models) – and the price of the remaining premium paint colours (Moondust Silver, Agate Black, Magnetic, and the hero Mean Green) has risen to $675 each.
Walking into a dealer today to buy a metallic-painted Fiesta ST would cost $34,165 plus on-road costs, or $38,269 drive-away in Sydney.
| Key details | 2022 Ford Fiesta ST |
| Price | $33,490 plus on-road costs |
| Colour of test car | Boundless Blue (no longer available for 2023) |
| Options | Metallic paint – $650 (now $675) Black roof – $500 (no longer available) Loses 10-speaker sound system – $500 |
| Price as tested | $34,140 plus on-road costs |
| Drive-away price | $38,250 (Sydney) |
| Rivals | Hyundai i20 N | Volkswagen Polo GTI | Suzuki Swift Sport |
How much space does the 2022 Ford Fiesta ST have inside?
The Fiesta ST’s cockpit is straightforward and well laid out, with a good mix of analogue and digital controls.
There are some hard plastics – on the tops of the doors, and lower down in the cabin – but they’re offset by faux leather (branded as ‘Sensico’) on the steering wheel, dashboard and armrests, matte carbon-fibre look trim across the dash, and a few metallic accents.
One of two big changes inside for the facelift are new front seats – now designed in-house, with Sensico and suede upholstery, heating, and 12-way manual adjustment.
They are more forgiving than the old model’s Recaro-branded seats, which were a tight squeeze, particularly around the thighs. The new seats still can be tight for larger frames, but on the other hand, they continue to deliver the lateral support you need during spirited driving.
The chunky steering wheel – which can adjust for tilt and reach – feels great, while the gearshifter (with a metal knob) is well weighted, though it may sit a touch too low in the car for some drivers.
The USB charging port and 12-volt socket beside the shifter mean cables plugged into them can sometimes get tangled around the gearstick. But storage is otherwise good for a compact car, with a wireless charging pad in front of the shifter, a reasonably sized centre console bin (with another USB port), two cupholders, and door bins large enough for 600ml bottles.
Two storage touches owners will come to appreciate: a handy slot beside the cupholders for car park tickets, and a coin (or key fob) holder alongside it.
Single-zone automatic air-conditioning, keyless entry (a proximity key) and push-button start are standard, as before
However, owners of the outgoing Fiesta ST will notice two curious omissions: power-folding mirrors, and auto up/down for all windows (now only auto down on the driver’s side).
While there’s enough space in the front for tall drivers and passengers, it’s a tighter affair in the rear, where adults will struggle for head, shoulder and knee room – despite cut-outs in the backs of the front seats.
In a Hyundai i20 N, I can sit comfortably behind my 183cm driving position, but in the Fiesta, with 90mm less space between the front and rear wheels, I find my legs and head squished into the front seats and roof. The integrated headrests in the new front seats also make it harder for rear passengers to see the road ahead.
There are no air vents or USB ports in the rear, nor a centre armrest, but map pockets feature on each seatback, and there are ISOFIX anchor points in the outboard seats.
Ford quotes 311L of boot space with the seats up, and the rear seats can fold in a 60:40 split. There’s a space-saver spare wheel under the boot floor.
| 2022 Ford Fiesta ST | |
| Seats | Five |
| Boot volume | 311L seats up 1093L seats folded |
| Length | 4091mm |
| Width | 1735mm |
| Height | 1495mm |
| Wheelbase | 2493mm |
Does the 2022 Ford Fiesta ST have Apple CarPlay?
The other key addition in the cabin for the 2022 facelift is the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, which replaces two analogue dials and a small 4.2-inch display.
While the new cluster delivers superior showroom appeal, there’s room for more customisability, as colours and background are all that change between drive modes – rather than the layout of the screen – and there’s no way to show a full-screen map, as is possible in some Volkswagen models.
There’s also a slight delay in the animations between drive modes, and the tachometer needle under hard acceleration. It’s only a minor annoyance, but it’s one you can’t level at the old analogue dials.
The 8.0-inch touchscreen is the same as before, running Ford’s Sync 3 infotainment software with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, in-built satellite navigation, Bluetooth, and AM, FM and digital radio.
While Sync 3 is a generation behind the Sync 4 software in Ford’s latest models, it’s still easy to use, with clear menus, clean (if slightly older) graphics, and a range of physical switches controlling the system.
Support for the FordPass Connect app is also available, which allows you to track the car’s location, check fuel levels and tyre pressure, determine when the next service is due, and remotely unlock or lock the doors.
Our test car is one of 73 in Australia with an unbranded six-speaker sound system in place of the planned 10-speaker B&O Play stereo. If you’ve never experienced the B&O system – or are coming from another car without premium audio – the standard speakers are fine. But having spent plenty of time with the B&O stereo in my pre-facelift Fiesta ST, it’s worth the extra $500 to me.
Is the 2022 Ford Fiesta ST a safe car?
The current-generation Ford Fiesta range doesn’t carry an ANCAP safety rating; however, it was awarded five stars by ANCAP’s European counterpart, Euro NCAP, in 2017, with good performance noted across most areas of testing.
All Ford Fiesta STs in Australia are equipped with six airbags, tyre pressure monitoring, a reversing camera, and rear parking sensors.
Advanced safety technologies fitted as standard include autonomous emergency braking, lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, manual (not radar-guided) cruise control, speed sign recognition, a speed limiter, and a hill-start assist system.
However, two key omissions are blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert. Both systems were fitted to the pre-facelift 2020–21 Fiesta ST, but were removed from 2022 cars onwards to help keep production lines rolling amid the ongoing semiconductor shortage.
While these systems aren’t designed to replace careful driving and glances over your shoulder, they’re some of the more useful advanced safety systems available.
| 2022 Ford Fiesta ST | |
| ANCAP rating | Unrated |
How much does the 2022 Ford Fiesta ST cost to maintain?
The Fiesta ST matches other Ford passenger cars with a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty.
It requires services every 12 months or 15,000km, the first five of which are capped at $329 – $30 more than the 2020–21 Fiesta ST – for the first four years or 60,000km.
The car’s factory-fitted 205/40R18 Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres – or their replacement, the Pilot Sport 5 – aren’t the most affordable to replace, costing about $350 each (as of writing) at most major retailers.
For comparison, a Hyundai i20 N costs $309 every 12 months or 10,000km for the first five years (for a total of $927 for three years, or $1545 for five), while a Volkswagen Polo GTI is available with a three-year pre-paid servicing plan for $1400, or five years for $2750.
A year of comprehensive insurance coverage will cost about $1150 per year, based on a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male driver living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.
| At a glance | 2022 Ford Fiesta ST |
| Warranty | Five years, unlimited km |
| Service intervals | 12 months or 15,000km |
| Servicing costs | $987 (3 years) $1676 (5 years) |
Is the 2022 Ford Fiesta ST fuel-efficient?
Ford claims a fuel economy rating of 6.3 litres per 100km in combined driving – meaning a mix of urban and highway use.
In our time with the car, we achieved a real-world figure of 8.1L/100km with a skew towards suburban (60km/h) streets and highway use – plus some enthusiastic driving on back roads.
Buyers expecting to spend more time in stop-start, low-speed city driving should expect a real-world fuel-use figure closer to 9.0L/100km or 10L/100km – based on past experiences with my pre-facelift Fiesta ST (though the updated model’s higher-output engine tune may affect real-world fuel economy).
The Fiesta ST requires 95- or 98-octane premium unleaded petrol, in part due to its use of a petrol particulate filter (as with the pre-facelift model), a device used in Europe to meet stringent emissions regulations. For more details on how it works, click here.
Fuel Consumption – brought to you by bp
| Fuel Useage | Fuel Stats |
| Fuel cons. (claimed) | 6.3L/100km |
| Fuel cons. (on test) | 8.1L/100km |
| Fuel type | 95-octane premium unleaded |
| Fuel tank size | 45L |
What is the 2022 Ford Fiesta ST like to drive?
The key mechanical change for the updated Ford Fiesta ST is under the bonnet, where the 1.5-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine gains an additional 30Nm, for peak outputs of 147kW and 320Nm.
While it’s a 10 per cent boost in torque on paper, it isn’t a night-and-day difference, and most drivers are unlikely to notice it without a back-to-back test between old and new models.
The rest of the updated Fiesta ST’s mechanical components have been carried over from before, and (in most cases) that’s not a bad thing.
The three-cylinder is one of the smaller engines in its segment, but with strong quoted outputs and just under 1200kg to get moving (excluding driver and fluids), it makes for one quick small car.
Peak power and torque officially arrive at 6000rpm and 4000rpm respectively. But whether you’re in the right gear at the engine’s sweet spot, or eye a gap in traffic while at low revs in second or third, plant the throttle and the 1.5-litre motor is happy to oblige – often with a dash of torque steer, and in the wet, a blink of the traction-control light.
A tuneful thrum emerges from the three-cylinder engine thanks to a sports exhaust system switchable between Normal mode – quiet enough not to annoy the neighbours – and a louder Sport setting that delivers a few smile-inducing pops between gears under hard acceleration.
The claimed 0–100km/h sprint time of 6.5 seconds hasn’t changed with the facelifted model. You still need to shift into third to eclipse 100km/h, but short gear ratios mean the engine is almost always near its peak power band, so the car feels quicker than its on-paper times suggest.
The six-speed manual gearbox (no auto is available) is a delight, with a slick, well-weighted shift action. The clutch is light and bites only a few centimetres off the floor – something drivers will come to love or loathe.
Slot the car into sixth gear and it will happily sit at a tick over 2000rpm at 110km/h.
New for 2022 are the matrix LED headlights, which can blank out a portion of their high beams to avoid blinding oncoming traffic. They’re a big step forward from the previous model’s LED low beam and halogen high-beam lights.
As you might expect of a hot hatch, the ride is taut rather than firm – but not overly so, and is perfectly liveable if most of your driving takes place across potholed urban roads. That’s unlike a Hyundai i20 N, which tends to crash over bumps with less finesse.
The turning circle (11.0m) is larger than you’d expect of such a small car due to the relatively wide front wheels and tyres.
The stiffer suspension also results in a brilliant driving experience when the road gets tighter, with a steering that’s light in some modes – but quick and accurate in both Normal and Sport – and brakes that are easy to manage at higher speeds on the road.
It’s fun to drive. Tip the car into a tight corner at the right speed and it’ll lift the inside rear wheel. Floor the accelerator on corner exit and the wheel will tug in your hands, before the tyres and mechanical limited-slip differential put the power down.
What’s not so good? While the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres offer plenty of traction for most driving scenarios, the compromise is a fair amount of road noise on freeways and coarse-chip country roads.
My time with the car didn’t include testing on a racetrack, but given the updated Fiesta ST’s brakes have been carried over from the outgoing model, complaints of fade at the end of a track-day session are likely to remain.
For owners who enjoy their car primarily on public roads, the brakes will be fine.
| Key details | 2022 Ford Fiesta ST |
| Engine | 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol |
| Power | 147kW @ 6000rpm |
| Torque | 320Nm @ 4000rpm |
| Drive type | Front-wheel drive |
| Transmission | Six-speed manual |
| Power to weight ratio | 123kW/t |
| Weight (tare) | 1191kg |
| Spare tyre type | Space-saver |
| Turning circle | 11.0m |
Should I buy a 2022 Ford Fiesta ST?
If you’re looking for a city car under $40,000 that’s quick, fun to drive, easy to live with, and offers plenty of technology for the money – and can drive a car with a manual transmission – the answer is a resounding yes.
For all its merits, it’s not perfect. Larger brakes would make it better suited to track days. The rear seats are cramped compared to other cars in the class. The technology can be improved, the missing safety features need to be reinstated, and some useful features have been removed for the facelift.
But in the end, it’s all a moot point, because in a matter of weeks or months you won’t be able to buy a new Ford Fiesta ST in Australia anymore.
The Ford Fiesta ST’s run might be coming to an end, but what a high to go out on. For buyers already in the queue – or the remaining few able to sign up before orders close – you may well be on to a future classic.
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