Used test: Ford Fiesta ST vs Hyundai i20N costs

Buying and owning

Costs, equipment, reliability, safety and security

At two years old, the Ford Fiesta ST will set you back around £20,000 while the Hyundai i20N (which is a few years fresher to the market) is quite a lot more at around £23,000. The Fiesta ST has actually held on to its value well over the first two years and we'd expect it to hold on to a similar amount over the coming years too. However, the relative scarcity of the i20N on the used market, and its popularity, have kept residual values high, such that when bought at this age there's not much off the price of a new one.  

Both cars averaged the same 40mpg figure in our real-world fuel economy test. The Fiesta ST belongs to insurance group 28, so expect costs to come in at around £765. The i20N, in group 27, should cost you ever so slightly less at around £741. 

We couldn't get a service plan quote directly from Ford, but a franchised dealer quoted us £741 for three services of the Fiesta ST. For three services of the i20N, Hyundai quoted us £899.

What equipment do you get for your money? Well, these two are pretty much even-stevens. Each car comes with a heated steering wheel, heated front seats, 18in alloy wheels, automatic climate control, keyless entry and power-folding door mirrors. The ST adds a heated windscreen and an auto-dimming rear-view mirror.

During safety testing conducted by Euro NCAP, the Fiesta (in its regular form) earned the maximum five-star rating. The i20 earned four stars, although it's important to remember that it was tested in 2021 – the rules were stricter than when the Fiesta was tested in 2017. 

In our latest What Car? Reliability Survey, the Fiesta (again, in its regular form) performed poorly. It placed last out of 28 cars in the small car class. The current-gen i20 was too new to feature. As brands, Ford ranked 27th out of 32 manufacturers featured. Hyundai came fifth. 

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