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Approaching 5K miles--likes and dislikes...

Messages
73
Likes
33
Location
Atlanta
#1
I'm getting close to 5K on my ST (base model). Overall I love this car. I'm curious if others have similar likes/dislikes.

Likes:
1. The overall power train performance is fantastic! The car has just the right amount of power to be fun, but not land me in a ditch, court, or jail. As an avid motorcycle rider/racer, I really appreciate the broad powerband produced by the turbocharged engine. Unlike the bikes I ride, you get good forward thrust even at a relatively low rpm. The clutch action is nice and light with smooth engagement, shifting is super easy, and the transmission seems to have a good ratio for every driving situation. My wife’s benchmark for manual transmissions was always her Honda, but she likes this just as well.
2. The steering is super precise! The car corners like it is on rails, and I love how the car responds to steering inputs. It is a go kart that you can legally drive to work!
3. Brakes are outstanding. They seem a little “touchy” (see below), but the stopping power is there for sure.
4. It is surprisingly comfortable even on long drives! My first trip in the car was bringing it home from the dealer (about 4 hours). I actually felt a little car sick at points due to the stiff ride and rough highways. I must have adapted however, because several other 4ish hour drives have been very pleasant, and I felt great upon arrival. The ST is MUCH better in this regard than my NA miata, which could make a 2 hour drive feel like a 12 hour drive. I will not hesitate to use the fiesta even for cross-county trips. I’m also kind of glad I did not spring for the Recaro seats. They don’t seem like they would be comfortable on a long drive.
5. It is practical. Unlike my miata, the ST is a car I can use every day in every weather condition with no worries, and I can take a fair amount of stuff with me.

Dislikes:
1. Pedal placement sucks. My miata allowed effortless heel-toe shifting, whereas the ST does not. I’ve added “nopistons” pedal spacer (great quality, fast service, great price) and it has helped, but I still find the gas pedal to low for my skinny feet. Suggestions are appreciated! I want to fix this.
2. Brakes are outstanding in terms of stopping power, but kind of touchy. Perhaps it is a necessary consequence of electronic intrusions in modern vehicles, but neither the ST nor anything else I have ever driven brakes like my old NA miata. It had a perfect linear relation between pedal effort and stopping power, right up until the wheels lock. I’m not going to try anything soon as the ST is still “new” for me, but at some point I may try different pads that have less bite.
3. I can’t hear the blinker, and don’t notice the dash flasher, when driving. A minor annoyance for sure, but after the lane change I often end up driving for miles with the turn signal on.
4. This would exacerbate #3, but the exhaust could be a little louder, maybe something like the sound of that little Fiat hot hatch. I’m sure I could get what I want with the aftermarket, but prices seem kind of steep to change the exhaust note. I will likely keep my money and the boring stock exhaust.
5. What is with the damn double horn beep when you shut the door with the engine running? It startles me every time it happens and is super loud in the garage. Is there any way to disable that particular function?
6. Not a convertible. I probably should have looked for one with a sunroof to get at least a little of that convertible feel. Oh well…

Anyway, I am really glad I bought this car rather than another miata. I do miss the drop top, but the other benefits of the ST are a good trade-off. I have a few dislikes, but the only one I really want to fix immediately is the pedal spacing.
 


felopr

Senior Member
Messages
815
Likes
370
Location
JD
#2
I'm getting close to 5K on my ST (base model). Overall I love this car. I'm curious if others have similar likes/dislikes.

Likes:
1. The overall power train performance is fantastic! The car has just the right amount of power to be fun, but not land me in a ditch, court, or jail. As an avid motorcycle rider/racer, I really appreciate the broad powerband produced by the turbocharged engine. Unlike the bikes I ride, you get good forward thrust even at a relatively low rpm. The clutch action is nice and light with smooth engagement, shifting is super easy, and the transmission seems to have a good ratio for every driving situation. My wife’s benchmark for manual transmissions was always her Honda, but she likes this just as well.
2. The steering is super precise! The car corners like it is on rails, and I love how the car responds to steering inputs. It is a go kart that you can legally drive to work!
3. Brakes are outstanding. They seem a little “touchy” (see below), but the stopping power is there for sure.
4. It is surprisingly comfortable even on long drives! My first trip in the car was bringing it home from the dealer (about 4 hours). I actually felt a little car sick at points due to the stiff ride and rough highways. I must have adapted however, because several other 4ish hour drives have been very pleasant, and I felt great upon arrival. The ST is MUCH better in this regard than my NA miata, which could make a 2 hour drive feel like a 12 hour drive. I will not hesitate to use the fiesta even for cross-county trips. I’m also kind of glad I did not spring for the Recaro seats. They don’t seem like they would be comfortable on a long drive.
5. It is practical. Unlike my miata, the ST is a car I can use every day in every weather condition with no worries, and I can take a fair amount of stuff with me.

Dislikes:
1. Pedal placement sucks. My miata allowed effortless heel-toe shifting, whereas the ST does not. I’ve added “nopistons” pedal spacer (great quality, fast service, great price) and it has helped, but I still find the gas pedal to low for my skinny feet. Suggestions are appreciated! I want to fix this.
2. Brakes are outstanding in terms of stopping power, but kind of touchy. Perhaps it is a necessary consequence of electronic intrusions in modern vehicles, but neither the ST nor anything else I have ever driven brakes like my old NA miata. It had a perfect linear relation between pedal effort and stopping power, right up until the wheels lock. I’m not going to try anything soon as the ST is still “new” for me, but at some point I may try different pads that have less bite.
3. I can’t hear the blinker, and don’t notice the dash flasher, when driving. A minor annoyance for sure, but after the lane change I often end up driving for miles with the turn signal on.
4. This would exacerbate #3, but the exhaust could be a little louder, maybe something like the sound of that little Fiat hot hatch. I’m sure I could get what I want with the aftermarket, but prices seem kind of steep to change the exhaust note. I will likely keep my money and the boring stock exhaust.
5. What is with the damn double horn beep when you shut the door with the engine running? It startles me every time it happens and is super loud in the garage. Is there any way to disable that particular function?
6. Not a convertible. I probably should have looked for one with a sunroof to get at least a little of that convertible feel. Oh well…

Anyway, I am really glad I bought this car rather than another miata. I do miss the drop top, but the other benefits of the ST are a good trade-off. I have a few dislikes, but the only one I really want to fix immediately is the pedal spacing.
-i know what you feel with the pedals, i do have also the nopiston extension, but i wish it could be a little bit higher and make it easy to heel-toe, i just over the years adapt to it
-The touchy brakes are just the pads, they are like that with a huge initial bite, dusty, and wear fast imo (TC shinanigans maybe), my front one lasted like 22k-24k, rear lasted 34k-36k. Couple of people have used the hawk 5.0 brakes pads, they said is the perfect DD pad, with less initial bite but the same oem brake feel and less dusty, i cant really compared, havent used them yet but that is what i will go and try when my brake pads are done.
-IF you want more exhaust note but dont want a catback right now, you could always try and remove the resonator, a resonator/muffler delete with a vibrant ultra quiet resonator, etc. IT wakes up the car a little in exhaust note, go look on youtube if that is ur liking.
-the double horn it remind yourself that you let the engine running and the keys inside,so the car wont lock urself out, something like that. if you keep the key in ur pocket , it wont do it, well for me it doesnt do it
-the moonroof part you just got to live with it i guess lol
 


M-Sport fan

9000 Post Club
Messages
13,996
Likes
6,697
Location
Princeton, N.J.
#3
For what it is, and what one gets with this car for it's price, I like EVERYTHING about this car.

As far as dislikes go, they are NOTHING I can blame on the car itself, but only MY preferences;
1. ONLY available here in a 5 door
2. FWD vs. AWD (That I even think this at all, is a REAL issue with many others on here, but I STILL would love this thing all that much more IF it had a REAL, but not 'boat anchor' weight AWD system available.)
3. NO limited slip diff available from the factory.

The car was SO quiet with the factory exhaust system that I was burning up the clutch due to not being able to hear how much I was revving the engine on 1st gear takeoff, so yes, I DID opt for a much louder aftermarket system (CP-E Nexus).
My hearing is REALLY bad compared to almost everyone on here, so yes, this WAS a necessity for me. ;)

Due to the above mentioned hearing woes, I also cannot hear the blinker flasher, but it is a minor bother to me, as is the double beep thing, albeit YES, annoying.

The car could sit a little bit lower in ride height from the factory, but I do understand why they did not do this (liability, owners tearing the sumps off on sharp speed bumps/dips/compressions/etc., high centering on snow/ice, bottoming out both the unibody and the dampers on bad roads, etc.).

I have NO complaints about the; overall size (It could even be a little smaller/lighter as far as I'm concerned!), the base seats (except for not being 'racy' styled/bolstered enough for me, but still very comfy IMO), the factory 'ride' comfort/lack of 'cushiness'/damper valving, or any of the other little minutia a lot of others complain about. [:)]
 


Messages
78
Likes
64
Location
Destin
#4
-the double horn it remind yourself that you let the engine running and the keys inside,so the car wont lock urself out, something like that. if you keep the key in ur pocket , it wont do it, well for me it doesnt do it

I've got a 17 and it does the double horn to me whenever I exit the car and shut the door, I always keep my keys in my pocket. You can disable it with forscan, there's a big thread or two about all the stuff you can change on here.
 


felopr

Senior Member
Messages
815
Likes
370
Location
JD
#5
I've got a 17 and it does the double horn to me whenever I exit the car and shut the door, I always keep my keys in my pocket. You can disable it with forscan, there's a big thread or two about all the stuff you can change on here.
Oh, i have a 15 and doesn't do those shinanigans
 


zanethan

Active member
Messages
557
Likes
192
Location
Charlotte
#6
Oh, i have a 15 and doesn't do those shinanigans
Same here. No double beep for me.

As for the blinker being left on when changing lanes, if you just tap the blinker stalk rather than fully "lock" it on, it will do a 3 blink sequence then turn off automatically. It takes some getting used to but once you do you'll love it, at least I do.
 


M-Sport fan

9000 Post Club
Messages
13,996
Likes
6,697
Location
Princeton, N.J.
#7
As for the blinker being left on when changing lanes, if you just tap the blinker stalk rather than fully "lock" it on, it will do a 3 blink sequence then turn off automatically. It takes some getting used to but once you do you'll love it, at least I do.
I use this feature when getting out of my neighborhood where there are some no stop sign turns in quick succession, with usually nobody coming in any direction. [:)] [thumb]
 


green_henry

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,028
Likes
757
Location
Pleasant Hill, CA
#8
I love mine so far and I am very impressed with the aftermarket tuning options. However, I'm very surprised nobody has mentioned the stereo, which is very disappointing (particularly because of the proprietary head unit and lack of a DIN mounting option).
 


Messages
44
Likes
4
Location
Sacramento
#9
I love mine so far and I am very impressed with the aftermarket tuning options. However, I'm very surprised nobody has mentioned the stereo, which is very disappointing (particularly because of the proprietary head unit and lack of a DIN mounting option).
I agree, the sound quality from the stereo is very poor, even with adjusting the eq it still sounds thin with almost no bass can be heard when driving. My Wife's FoST is miles better, and even our old 2005 Focus had a very nice sounding factory stereo.
 


Messages
257
Likes
73
Location
Vancouver
#10
I too wish the stereo had more bass and "feel" to it. The clarity is on point and cranked way up it sounds pretty good but I also hate having it that loud. If someone has a cheap-isa and clean solution for more bass I'm all ears (see what I did there...lol)
 




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