Format: bullet cues only, reference not read-aloud. Hosts riff from beats, never teleprompter the page.
Scored as: 2014-2019, 1.6 EcoBoost, 6MT · Total: 49/70 (PROPOSED, not ratified) · Target runtime: ~6:40, hard ceiling 7:00
Title (curiosity gap): "This 197 Horsepower Hatch Costs The Same To Fuel As A Miata"
Thumbnail word (emotion/verdict, zero overlap w/ title): "REGULAR" + big 49 on the Board
Order: Deal -> Drive -> Upkeep -> Risk -> Daily -> Limit -> Mods -> Board -> Verdict

---

Hook | One Sentence (~0:05)

1. "A 197 horsepower turbo hot hatch costs the same to fuel as a Miata, and it doesn't even want premium fuel."
2. "This is a two thousand seven hundred pound hot hatch, and the one thing that can kill it only happens if you neglect it."
3. "Seven thousand eight hundred dollars, and it ties a Supra on our Board."

Recommend #1: the fuel fact is genuinely surprising and it's double-verified. Cut straight to The Deal.

---

1 · The Deal, reveal 8 (~0:50)

Beats

• $7,800 · KBB private party, Good, 120,000 mi · range $6,175 to $8,200
• $39.6 per horsepower, almost exactly the Civic Si's position ($7,760 and $39.4)
• Comfortably inside the band, unlike its own Focus ST sibling which sits $230 over the ceiling
• Worth saying: the two Fords in this tier land in completely different places on price
• Nothing exotic about the number. This car's case is made in the next three categories

B-roll: live cars.com search, 2014-19 under $12k · screen-record the grid at edit time
On screen: the $7,800 plate · Fiesta ST vs Focus ST price split · $/hp ladder
Reveal line cue: "A clean fit where its own sibling isn't... The Deal scores an 8."

---

2 · The Drive, reveal 7 (~0:40)

Beats

• 197 hp / 202 lb-ft at 4,200 rpm · 2,742 lb · 13.9 lb/hp · 0-60 6.4s
• 2,742 lb, against the NC Miata's 2,480 and the GTI Mk6's 2,906, and that is the whole basis of its reputation
• Nice symmetry worth a beat: identical power-to-weight to the 128i, from completely opposite directions. A 2,742 lb four-cylinder hatch and a 3,208 lb straight-six coupe land on the same number
• The Focus ST, 350Z, G37 and Genesis Coupe are all faster
• What you get instead is a car that changes direction on 2,742 lb

On screen: weight bar chart with the Fiesta against the tier · 13.9 lb/hp shared with the 128i · corner b-roll
Reveal line cue: "The point of this one is how little of it there is... The Drive, a 7."

---

3 · The Upkeep, reveal 7 (~0:55)

Beats

• ~$4,556/yr: $1,448 fuel · $2,508 insurance · $200 tires · $400 service
• The headline, and it is double-verified: 29 mpg combined ON REGULAR

- both fueleconomy.gov and Edmunds give regular unleaded, 29 combined
- $1,448 a year in fuel, level with the ND Miata
- a 197 hp turbo hot hatch matching a 181 hp Miata on fuel cost is genuinely surprising

• It runs on REGULAR. The Genesis Coupe's version of this claim was withdrawn when Edmunds gave premium; this one holds
• And then the correction, which is the honest half of the segment:

- our research called this a cheap car to run. It is not
- MoneyGeek breaks out the ST trim at $2,508 a year, against the Focus ST's $3,516
- a $1,448 fuel bill, level with the ND Miata's, is cancelled almost exactly by that insurance
- insurance is 32.2% of the car's value, against the Focus ST's 34.4% and the 350Z's 34.1%

• Net result: mid-pack, just above the Civic Si

On screen: "REGULAR" pump stamp · fuel bar next to the insurance bar · the two cancelling out
Reveal line cue: "$1,448 of fuel, then $2,508 of insurance... The Upkeep, a 7."

---

4 · The Risk, reveal 7 (~1:10)

Beats (this segment is the review, protect it in the edit)

• Scope out loud first: 2014 to 2019
• The one severe item is a cracked 1.6 GTDI cylinder head, and the nuance is everything
• US recall on 2014-2015 cars, and the mechanism is narrow: IF the car is driven with insufficient coolant, the head may overheat and crack
• That is a consequence of neglect, not a spontaneous defect. A maintained car is fine
• Put it in tier terms: this is the Genesis Coupe's shape, where a serviced car is sound, not the G37's, where every car is exposed
• So the check is paperwork, not parts: recall completion records, then coolant history
• The rest is moderate and all detectable: transmission casing machining you can hear, cracked clutch plates that were mostly replaced under a warranty that has now expired, plus intercoolers, bushings, rattles and thin paint

THE UK TRAP - and it is a new lesson for us

• Search this car and the top results are all UK sites: ClickMechanic, WhoCanFixMyCar, MCS Performance, Autocar
• They describe UK-market cars, UK recalls and UK engine variants, including the 1.0 EcoBoost that was never fitted to any ST
• For a US buyer that is the wrong country's car
• We have had generation blending, model-wide cost averaging and body-style blending. This adds region. Check the source's market, not just the model year

PPI CHECKLIST - hold it on screen

1. Recall completion records for the 1.6 GTDI cylinder head
2. Coolant level and history. The failure is neglect-triggered, so this is the real check
3. Listen to the gearbox in every gear
4. Clutch engagement height
5. Intercooler condition

YEAR-ONE COST

• Typical ~$1,900-2,500, which is 24-32% of the $7,800 buy-in
• One of the smaller year-one bills in the tier, and there is no catastrophic line in it provided the recall was done

On screen: recall document close-up · coolant reservoir · UK-vs-US flag split over the search results · year-one bars against the tier
Reveal line cue: "The one thing that can kill it only happens if you let it... The Risk, a 7."

---

5 · The Daily, reveal 6 (~0:30)

Beats

• Five doors, folding seats, a genuinely practical shape. Same bracket as the WRX and Mazdaspeed3, not the coupes
• But it is a small car, and the back seat is a compromise
• That is what pulls it back level with the coupes rather than up with the bigger hatches
• No CarPlay in these years
• The honest line: the right shape, in the smallest possible size

On screen: back seat and boot against the Civic Si's and WRX's · size comparison across the tier
Reveal line cue: "The right shape, in the smallest possible size... The Daily, a 6."

---

6 · The Limit, reveal 7 (~0:35)

Beats

• SCCA H Street, and it carries an asterisk. Our own research couldn't settle it
• The Appendix A grouping puts Fiesta ST and Focus ST with the 500 Abarth, Civic Si, Veloster Turbo, Mazda3 Turbo, Mazdaspeed3, Lancer Ralliart and Juke, with no running header visible
• The file's own guess of G Street was inference on inference, so we're taking H Street from the tier brief and flagging it
• What the score actually rests on: 2,742 lb. 2,742 lb, against the Focus ST's 3,223
• The chassis is the entire reputation of this car, and it is the reason people who have driven one talk about it the way they do
• No instrumented grip or braking figure for the scored car

On screen: weight against the tier, lowest by a margin · autocross b-roll · "H STREET *" with the asterisk explained
Reveal line cue: "Two thousand seven hundred pounds, and it knows it... The Limit, a 7."

---

7 · The Mods, reveal 7 (~0:30)

Beats

• Elite aftermarket, deep and mature, and the 1.6 EcoBoost responds well to a flash
• The first mod that matters is suspension and bushings, not power - which is unusual for a turbo car
• Compare with its own sibling: on the Focus ST the first mod is a rear motor mount, because that car has a real hardware weakness. This one doesn't
• `modsAccelerateFailure` = No. There is no pressure-fed failure chain here to make worse, unlike the Mazdaspeed3, the WRX or the Focus ST
• No installed price sourced for a flash package, so we're not quoting a cost per 100 whp

On screen: suspension parts wall · Fiesta-vs-Focus first-mod split · "NOTHING TO ACCELERATE" stamp
Reveal line cue: "Deep parts shelf and nothing fragile to ruin... The Mods, a 7."

---

The Board + Verdict (~0:50)

Beats

• Total lands: 49 / 70, and it is a proposed score
• Ties the Civic Si, the GR86 and a $42,000 Supra
• The shape: a $1,448 fuel bill level with the Miata's, 2,742 lb, one severe failure that needs neglect to trigger, and $2,508 of insurance
• The honest summary: it has a real claim to being the sensible answer at $7,000, and that is not where we expected this to land
• VERDICT: "Buy one with the recall done and a clean coolant history."
• Skip case: you need the back seat, or your insurance quote comes back as bad as our figure suggests. Get a quote before you buy this one

On screen: the 49 landing level with the Supra · $7,800 vs $42,000 · Buy stamp with the recall condition
Close cue: one line pointing at the Civic Si review · end

---

Runtime + notes

• Sum ~ 6:40. The Risk carries the extra runtime, and the UK-trap beat sits inside it. If it runs long, pull from The Mods.
• All seven scores are proposals. The Upkeep (7) is the interesting one: it would be a clear 8 on fuel alone, and the insurance figure drags it back to mid-pack.
• Do not say on camera: that this is a cheap car to run (it is not, the insurance kills it), H Street as settled, or any grip or braking figure.
• Tell people to get an insurance quote before buying. At 32.2% of the car's value it is the single most likely thing to change someone's mind, and it is the kind of advice nobody else gives.
• B-roll warning: listings are asking prices, the $7,800 is KBB private-party. Name which is which.
• Title and thumbnail share zero words per channel rule.