hiya conor, i test drove the ST and whilst it felt nippy, you would have to thrapse it in every gear to get anywhere, and be in the correct gear for in gear acceleration, where as with the GP Sporting (diesel one at least anyway!) it pretty much goes in any gear at any speed providing it aint 6th at 30mph! lol. the thing i found the Fiesta lacked was a 6th gear. at 70mph on the motorway the engine is revving at 3200rpm, and whilst it doesn't sound alot, it sounds alot when you're driving a long motorway journey... it would soon get on you t1ts! the GP Sporting is revving at about 2,050rpm, which is amazingly quiet. you think of a diesel and think noisy, but god it is extremely refined, you can hardly hear it on the motorway.
another thing to consider is the insurance, tax and running costs, the fiesta st i would imagine would only be averaging about 28-29mpg around town where as my GP is doing 44, and upto 60 on the motorway where as in the fiesta you would pushing to get 42ish...
imho, with the remap that is available for the GP, i wouldn't see any logic in getting the ST, other than the n/a petrol engine/exhaust note the GP imo out weighs the ST in all other area's and will save you fortune whilst giving you more than likely just as much or maybe more fun/thrills.
also, the GP is far better looking!!! :devil:
just my opinion buddy, but as said, go for test drives, and see what you like... i also found that the corolla t sport offered a good alternative to the ST, as does the Celica, and their exhaust note is awesome, sounds very reminiscent of a 750 motorbike! lol.