I'm about to hit 5000 miles on my 2018 FiST, and thought I'd post my thoughts so far. First off, a little about me. I'm mid-50's and my last two cars were a Honda Fit and VW Jetta with the 1.4t. Pretty basic cars.
Exterior: I like the understated look of our cars. Mine's black, with the dark rims/red calipers, and I think it looks really sharp, but it almost never gets a second look, which is fine with me. I've only seen one other FiST, and one other FoST, since I got mine, so most people don't know what it is. Again, fine with me. I've already had a couple of chips in the paint, rocks I guess, and they really show up with the black finish. I need to get some touch-up at the dealer. I wish we had more options for mud flaps, but I guess I'll break down eventually and get some Rally Armors.
Interior: Not bad, at least for the passengers in the fronts seats. I have the standard, (non-Recaro), seats and find them pretty comfortable. I drove one with the Recaros and could have lived with them, but my wife would never had ridden with me if I'd gotten them. She's claustrophobic. Also some other members of my family are pretty big dudes, and it just wouldn't have worked. I do miss the extra bolstering occasionally, but find the stock seats work for me. They are a LOT better than the seats in the Jetta. In fact that was the biggest reason I traded it. I couldn't sit in them for more than an hour. They were just terrible. The rest of the FiST's interior is pretty standard economy car, mostly functional with a few odd quirks. The stalks on the steering column seem a little far away, and using the touchscreen is a reach. I also wish it had a more pronounced dead pedal area. But all in all, it's comfortable and functional in a simple kind of way, which is what I like. I've also had no rattles or squeaks so far. The back seat works for my grandkids and my dogs, and that's about it.
Engine and transmission: I know I'll eventually get a tune, but I'm pretty happy with the stock power. It still makes me smile, and it's nice to have power to pass when I need to. My jetta's 1.4t was smoother, though of course didn't make near the power. I like the transmission and the shifter, though I'm still trying to get things dialed in. I put a Mojo Manufacturing shift kit on, which makes some difference, but I'd like to see what else I could do make the shifts a little shorter. I may try a different shift knob, too. I also did the $3.50 stealth symposer delete as I got tired of pumped in sound. Made a big difference, and I would highly recommend it. I don't drop the clutch or drag race, and have had no issues with the rear motor mount, either. I'm averaging 29-30 mpg, which is not bad considering I tend to get in the turbo a lot.
Handling: The only other car I've owned that compares is a Ford Contour SVT I briefly had years ago. This thing is a go-kart. There are plenty of curvy roads near where I live and I am having a blast so far. I'm no where near the car's limits, in fact I still have the, "Training wheels," on, (Stability Control), but I'm still learning. I was a little concerned about the ride, having read some negative comments, but I really haven't found it to be too bad. I guess I'm lucky that the roads around here are in pretty good shape. I like the fact that I feel the undulations and irregularities; makes me feel more engaged. The handling is definitely the high point of the car so far.
Sync/audio system: ...And now for the low point. In short, the sound system stinks. It's not as good as the one in my Fit or my Jetta. I bought an underseat sub but haven't installed it yet, and will be replacing the door speakers. And my Sync is wonky. I'm taking it in this week to have it looked at. It died completely the other day, and has had other issues. Ugh.
So to sum up, I really, really, like my ST. Our relationship is off to a great start, and with a little work on the sound system I think I could be falling in love!
So tell me what you think of your FiST.
Exterior: I like the understated look of our cars. Mine's black, with the dark rims/red calipers, and I think it looks really sharp, but it almost never gets a second look, which is fine with me. I've only seen one other FiST, and one other FoST, since I got mine, so most people don't know what it is. Again, fine with me. I've already had a couple of chips in the paint, rocks I guess, and they really show up with the black finish. I need to get some touch-up at the dealer. I wish we had more options for mud flaps, but I guess I'll break down eventually and get some Rally Armors.
Interior: Not bad, at least for the passengers in the fronts seats. I have the standard, (non-Recaro), seats and find them pretty comfortable. I drove one with the Recaros and could have lived with them, but my wife would never had ridden with me if I'd gotten them. She's claustrophobic. Also some other members of my family are pretty big dudes, and it just wouldn't have worked. I do miss the extra bolstering occasionally, but find the stock seats work for me. They are a LOT better than the seats in the Jetta. In fact that was the biggest reason I traded it. I couldn't sit in them for more than an hour. They were just terrible. The rest of the FiST's interior is pretty standard economy car, mostly functional with a few odd quirks. The stalks on the steering column seem a little far away, and using the touchscreen is a reach. I also wish it had a more pronounced dead pedal area. But all in all, it's comfortable and functional in a simple kind of way, which is what I like. I've also had no rattles or squeaks so far. The back seat works for my grandkids and my dogs, and that's about it.
Engine and transmission: I know I'll eventually get a tune, but I'm pretty happy with the stock power. It still makes me smile, and it's nice to have power to pass when I need to. My jetta's 1.4t was smoother, though of course didn't make near the power. I like the transmission and the shifter, though I'm still trying to get things dialed in. I put a Mojo Manufacturing shift kit on, which makes some difference, but I'd like to see what else I could do make the shifts a little shorter. I may try a different shift knob, too. I also did the $3.50 stealth symposer delete as I got tired of pumped in sound. Made a big difference, and I would highly recommend it. I don't drop the clutch or drag race, and have had no issues with the rear motor mount, either. I'm averaging 29-30 mpg, which is not bad considering I tend to get in the turbo a lot.
Handling: The only other car I've owned that compares is a Ford Contour SVT I briefly had years ago. This thing is a go-kart. There are plenty of curvy roads near where I live and I am having a blast so far. I'm no where near the car's limits, in fact I still have the, "Training wheels," on, (Stability Control), but I'm still learning. I was a little concerned about the ride, having read some negative comments, but I really haven't found it to be too bad. I guess I'm lucky that the roads around here are in pretty good shape. I like the fact that I feel the undulations and irregularities; makes me feel more engaged. The handling is definitely the high point of the car so far.
Sync/audio system: ...And now for the low point. In short, the sound system stinks. It's not as good as the one in my Fit or my Jetta. I bought an underseat sub but haven't installed it yet, and will be replacing the door speakers. And my Sync is wonky. I'm taking it in this week to have it looked at. It died completely the other day, and has had other issues. Ugh.
So to sum up, I really, really, like my ST. Our relationship is off to a great start, and with a little work on the sound system I think I could be falling in love!
So tell me what you think of your FiST.