-
Many people do not want to run big, large engined cars, even if they can afford it. The STs may not stand out, but you're comparing with real high performance items. Agree not special, but a Fiesta is perfectly capable on a motorway. As much as they don't excite me, the M140 is a good size with performance only a tiny minority of vehicles can match.
efb-
What I'm trying to say is, if you use an M140, a C63, an M3, or an E63 as a comparison, in that straight line drag out of a roundabout onto a dual carriageway, the Fiesta ST is going to be left behind. It doesn't stop it being a great car, that current car pitched against 10 year old big engined saloons would probably do really well, but against current cars it's not got punchy pace.
A car that's quick and good round corners but not fast has its place, that's why I own an MX5, it's great on a tight curvy road, and really fucking fun on a track.
However, compared to even your average hatchback or saloon accelerating out of a roundabout, it can barely keep up.
So if 90% of your driving, you're going to have to suffer medium performance, then you at least want decent comfort, which the Fiesta and Focus STs don't provide.
I think that's one of the things that make Alfas really desirable. They look beautiful standing still, they generally have really lovely interiors, they sound really good and the hot ones are fast otherwise they handle well with middling performance.
Problem with the M140 is that the interior is lower rent than the bigger models so the gap between something like the Focus ST and the M140 in terms of interior comfort is reduced.
NurseHolliday
Newest fiesta ST and focus ST get great reviews and are really light on their feet.
The problem with small cars that are quick but not fast is that the majority of driving is dual carriageways, roundabouts, and motorways, where cars like that with mediocre interiors do not stand out.
M140 isn't special but it's a proper M Lite.