How my MK4 Prelude turned into a MK6 Fiesta ST

About a little over 6 months ago I saw a MK4 Honda Prelude Si going for peanuts online. I couldn't believe my eyes... A chance to own one of my own pieces of 90's JDM nostalgia.

I had to jump on the opportunity. So I took out a loan (without even seeing the car first mind you) and promptly made my way to the dealership. But as soon as I arrived at the dealership I was absolutely mortified at what I saw...

I had never in my life seen so many mismatched shades of white on a vehicle, there was probably more body filler on the car than there was of the original bodywork left.
As I opened the hood of the car my mortification only grew.
The left chassis leg was crumpled and twisted, I laid down on the floor to inspect underneath the vehicle only to have my worst fears confirmed.
If I took that car around the bend it most likely would've snapped in half.

So with my dreams of owning an awesome (and completely underrated) 90's JDM nostalgia-mobile down the drain, I had to start considering alternatives seeing as though the loan had already been taken out.

I had to ask myself: "What was it that I truly wanted out of a car?"

And it came to me. I wanted a daily driver that was just plain fun to drive, something I could chuck around a corner and it would happily gobble up bends like a treat.

So with that criteria sorted a few cars had popped up in my mind, the first of which was of course a Mazda Miata, but to find one in an amicable condition within my price range was easier said than done. Another car I considered was of course a Polo GTI but they were definitely out of reach for my pocket.

And then it hit me, the car that literally had "party" as it's name...

The Ford Fiesta ST! 

This car came to me like an epiphany on wheels. I had to sneak out of work to go view and test drive this car in person. When I got to the dealership and asked for the car they had to take it out of storage. When the car eventually rolled up I felt excited, hopeful even.

There were a few blemishes here and there on the body. The car had (has) dents, a few scratches and even a crack in the front bumper. The A/C doesn't work and it's obvious the little party machine had a confrontation with another hard object at some point in it's life. But the chassis was straight and strong, when you turned the key it started with no complaints and the engine sounded healthy and raring to go.

Everything that needed to work on the car, just worked. There was no doubt in my mind, although the car wasn't perfect, it was something I could eventually turn into my own little pocket monster and it fit perfectly into my budget. I was sold. I bought the car, sorted out the paperwork and about a week after went to pick up the car.

I was now the owner of a 2008 Frozen White Ford Fiesta ST150

As the name would suggest the car is unbelievably fun to drive. Small and twisty back-roads is where this little machine feels most at home. I've yet to find a corner to chuck this car at where it just doesn't happily devour it. A relatively short gear ratio, a light body and a naturally aspirated 2.0l 4 cylinder engine pushing about 150bhp is the perfect fun-to-drive little hot hatch recipe that makes this car so great.

When you step on the gas the car emits a beautiful and angry noise from the back-end. It has a wasp-like noise for an exhaust note earning the car it's nickname of the "White Wasp"

As a daily driver the car also performs really well in the practical sense (If you don't have a full-sized family that is). It has a decent amount of boot space to pile your weekly groceries into or baggage for that weekend trip to the countryside.
The car easily accelerates on an incline, even in 5th gear which makes passing slow moving vehicles on the highway a breeze.

Dicing other cars on the highway is one of my favorite pastimes when driving. The car easily zips in between vehicles thanks to it's small and lightweight body, Allowing me to surprise a few 1 series BMW's and VW Golfs with the little Ford when giving it a go on the highways and back-roads.

In conclusion:

There's not a day when I regret buying this car. The car hasn't been without it's issues but I bought the car knowing that it wasn't going to be smooth sailing all the way.

Either way I've never in my life driven a car with so much character. It truly just wants to go, every time you put your foot down the car happily replies with it's angry exhaust note and a burst of acceleration. There's still much I need to do on the little fez. But to anyone reading this and is considering picking up one of these ST150's my only advice to you is to pull the trigger. This car rivals the Miata in how fun it is to drive.