£3k Hot-hatch Shootout - Ford Fiesta ST150 v Renault Clio182 v Skoda Fabia vRS. Who is the king?

[@markdowne863]

Only 1 car there puts a smile on your face!!...after market coilovers affected handling/ride...fabtastic😊

[@steveberridge4648]

We’ve had an ST150 for 9 years now - only broke down once when the alternator failed - which can happen to any car - it’s so reliable - passes it’s MOT every year and still worth most of what we paid for it. Not the fastest and not the most exciting but still a lot of fun and being a sporty Ford bound to go up in value eventually

[@garethvictor]

I've got a 172 cup as it come from the factory 47000 miles it's a go cart love it 😊

[@xHypnoToad]

the ST looks like its on standard ride height so I doubt its on coilovers, it's likely on original or very old shocks and springs and would benefit massively from new shocks and slightly lower springs, also a change of gearbox oil and a greased up gear selector arm judging by your description of the gearbox. stiff gear change is a common problem on them easily fixed by greasing up the gear selector arm on the front of the gearbox

[@broadkamikaze]

The 182 looked awsome in black 😍

[@WillyhoweGuitar]

Nice review! I've actually just purchased a Fiesta ST 150 a couple days ago. I had a Clio 182 in the past and a RS200 and they were both soo much fun! The only downside to the Clio for me was mine weren't very reliable... Ball joints made of chocolate , £600-£800 cambelt/dephaser replacement, Gearbox and electrical issues.. . I decided to go for an ST150 as the parts are just so much cheaper and easier to find! Cheaper to insure , Cheaper to run and also it's on a timing chain can't really go wrong! I think ford did a good thing on winding the power back for reliability and costs IMO. A fabia VRS was also on my list.. But trying to find one of those standard and not covered in rust is just impossible. Also not to mention majority have been to the moon and back. I still think the ST150 although being in 3rd place and down on power is the best bang for buck you can get... The Clio and Fab are great cars but for £3000 hard to find a good example nowadays.

[@r33kbo]

The st150s suffer massively from really bad rear axel bush failure to the point you can feel the body moving over the beam which lets them down, mine was the same around the bumps on corners, they step out a lot, since renewing them/suspension it handles like a new car.

[@Jay-ty6uj]

Fabia VRs for me Intercooler hybrid turbo 270bhp smoking gtis and remapped ep3 I’m sure it won’t be the best handling but I still get 60mpgs hard performance and reliability with tune ability

[@kpace8605]

Fabia is the best for torque reason and best built.Also most economical best for practical reasons and won't break down as often as the other two.

[@sidathwijeratne7168]

I’d have an EP3 over any of those, but it’s gonna be hard to find a clean one for sub-4k tbf

[@richardburns5925]

Forget the VW diesel and Clio. The best engine is the Fiesta 2.0 chain driven naturally aspirated. I'd advise anyone to buy one, I've had mine for 5 years, the first year I did 40 thousand miles without reply. Change the oil regularly and it's trouble free. You can pay 2 to 4 k for one of these or pay 20 to 26k for a mk 8, 3 cylinder drops down to 2 around town modern Ford woeful engine.

[@luk3_86]

Vrs 100% the best out of the bunch, high torque, and a very practical motor with decent boot space and 5 doors

[@jddr33]

I've owned my Fabia VRS for approx 10 years & its covered around 230k. Still makes me smile & also makes others very angry when they get dusted by a Skoda ! Badge snobbery 😂

[@luk3_86]

@@jddr33 very true😂 people always diss the skodas

[@Twongz_does_anything]

​@@jddr33i thought the vrs slower then 182

[@zulbeats]

Are you in the forest of dean? noticed in the fiesta you went past dean forest cycles in parkend lol took me by surprise

[@FastandFun]

Well spotted - yes i am 👍🏻

[@markgeehockney1412]

Great review Iv always said the German/Vag cars are really nice n comfortable and brilliant in a straight line but just boring on the B roads give me a st150 or clio 182 any day 😊

[@bassline2k10]

Clio 172/182 are in a league of their own, ran a 182 as a daily for 11 years it was by far the best driving experience i ever had and the best all rounder. I was so addicted i then bought a newer clio rs200 and its abit nicer to daily but its just not got that same level of rawness

[@konradoo10]

About 20 years later from their release, you should pick the one, which is in the best condition :)

[@AhamkarAlchemy]

Great review, i had st150 for a year, had always dreamed of it since my first car was a 1.4 fez. Then i had a focus mk1 1.6, then focus mk1 2.0 zetec. My take on the fords is this; There is a sweet spot for engines in the chasis and that is 1.6. When they put a bigger engine than 1.6, the whole handling magic of ford diminishes. The front end becomes too heavy, sure the chasis is capable of extra load and power. I had also stripped the whole interior of these cars which made it even worse. When i got back into a 1.6 again i felt the magic, front end just heavier enough which is needed for fwd cars. Im so much more confident in the 1.6, ive done so much drifting and close call manouvers which i could never do with the st150

[@Hogan-sw1py]

Interesting.... Yeah the zetec s does seem to handle slightly better and feel a bit more nimble in general just a damn shame they have no further potential. Solution would be the 1.6 ecoboost dumped in the ST150/Mk6 which is very tempting indeed!

[@steveberridge4648]

Totally agree if we’re taking about a focus mk1. Can’t say our ST150 feels nose heavy? But yeah the 1.6 zetec engined Ford of the early 2000s is a sweet car in any application

[@JAYGUN420]

Put some nice 16 inch wheels on the st and it will feel alot better its the wheels and low pro tyres that make it feel scatty

[@PUNKF001]

The clio is the hero, easily the best, the fabia is a typical VAG product and very vanilla (but probably the best all-rounder) the st150’s are available for pennies (relatively speaking) and have loads of options for cheap modifications. I’ve got an st150 but i’d want the clio if they were the same price 😂

[@gasmonkeywilson]

The vrs is the best all rounder the reason it doesnt take bunps as well as clio is that it doesnt have anti roll bars

[@gp8563]

Clio sport is by far the most exciting. Awesome cars. Never see the likes of them again. ST was a decent motor too.

[@amnril]

I’ve not owned any of these cars but as soon as the video landed I laughed and thought, the 182 is the best of that bunch by a country mile. I’m about to watch the video and see if I was correct or totally wrong… 😂👍

[@RosskoPeeko]

Let’s face it, if you had 4K to spend your buying the Clio. Nothing else is catching them on a track.

[@rickybaskerville4489]

R53 Mini would of been a good 4th in this comparison

[@matuhirst7500]

R53 would have killed all the in both performance and handling

[@rickybaskerville4489]

@@matuhirst7500 miss mine, so much fun

[@scotstrowger3885]

Pity the Cooper "S" R53 isn't in the mix but a good vid!

[@MrWilliam.Stewart]

And the winner is, The Sukuki Swift Sport.

[@Hogan-sw1py]

Regardless of review ST150 is waaaaaay more desirable! Out and out driving fun would be clio, quick fix fabia but long term ownership (potential/looks) goes to the ST. Fabia will be forgotten quickly regardless of cheap diesel power and clio is pretty much extinct now.

[@eoghanmacdonald]

St150s mods probably not enough to make it feel much different from standard even with a remap. I have an st150 with a k&n induction kit and full Milltek front to back and it definitely makes a big difference even without a remap. Manifold and sports cat help it all the way from 3k revs to the 6500rpm redline whereas before it would give up just before 6k. Clio still the better drivers car no doubt and I’m not sure about the vrs, torque is all well and good but there’s something about chasing the redline in a naturally aspirated petrol hatchback that I don’t think a diesel could match even if its quicker in a straight line.

[@FastandFun]

Even though I drive a vRS as a daily, I fully get you that it’s not all about acceleration and there’s something intoxicating about chasing high revs in a petrol NA 👍🏻

[@Hogan-sw1py]

Agree, a few basic mods on the ST to take it up to around 170bhp and improve the handling a tad then it becomes a proper contender! Standard/ish they are just a very nice looking shopping cart 😅

[@ItsBuster]

Ep3 type r can be around that price range too

[@Twongz_does_anything]

Not a clean one

[@wiciuwiciu2783]

My neighbor, who is a mechanic owns ALL THREE of them xd But he sold Fiesta due to it's being his first car

[@FastandFun]

He must like his hot-hatches then! 😂

[@wiciuwiciu2783]

@@FastandFun oh he does! When I bought Fiesta (exactly the same as in Your video) he literally congratulated me xDDD

[@scottmartindale2316]

If you asked me which of the 3 I'd have back in the day I would've said the ST150. If you ask me now I'd say the 182 👌

[@PureLeeful]

If you like driving you'd pick the Clio.

[@Jay-ty6uj]

If you like wining you pick the fabia

[@markdowne863]

​@@Jay-ty6uj😂

[@PureLeeful]

@@Jay-ty6uj Whining or winning?

[@Jay-ty6uj]

@@PureLeeful both

[@PureLeeful]

@@Jay-ty6uj ok.

[@giggggg2344]

Fabia vrs everyday

[@kpace8605]

Yes the Fabia is the best.I own a 1.2 htp and i love it.I only brought it for the short term but now had it for 3 years.No issues reliability wise.Just tyres.As the VRS is the same basic car practically and reliability should be the same.

[@robinmarples5198]

How on earth you have so cheap cars in england...in france a 182 is a least 12 grand nowadays

[@FastandFun]

£12k for a 182?!?! 😳

[@robinmarples5198]

@@FastandFun of course . A nice one for sure, but not less.

[@Davoxic]

In Italy they cost even 15k euros , I still don't understand lol, for 2k more you can get a brand new mk5 Clio 0km though it's not sport, idk why the world is like this

[@FastandFun]

@@Davoxic 😯

[@aleddavies770]

Hate the Clio and Fabia. Just no magic in either

[@FastandFun]

You can’t have ever driven a Clio182 then because they are the definition of “magic”! 🤷‍♂️

[@davemonday5381]

Well a fiesta with a drainpipe for an exhaust killing any chance of torque and half the seats missing. Not really a honest test to be fair is it. You don’t even know what aftermarket cheep wrong suspension it has. And I’m not knocking the Renault just don’t use a total shifter has a comparison a st gear box is sharp and locks into position precisely it’s a Ford . It doesn’t feel like treacle. Not impressed you using a scrapyard car. If you’re going do it. Do it right and fairly. Don’t use a shit bag on its last legs. Love to know how many abusive mile that trackday wreck has done. Back at ya

[@FastandFun]

Tbf all x3 cars had each covered +100k miles so was a good comparison test for a group of well used hot-hatch’s. You will always get variances in the same cars due to fair wear ‘n’ tear of components, modifications, tyres, etc, but stripping the back seats out has little effect on how the car drives. I can only review and say what I experience when driving all three back-2-back on some great b-roads. And in the review, the difference was bigger than I had expected.