Hi guys,
Just wanted to introduce myself after picking up a new 2015 Ford Fiesta ST (Perf. Blue w/Recaros and Sunroof). I'm a recently separated 31 year old Army veteran from Ft. Carson, an amateur detailer, an audiophile, lover of microbrews, scotch, and cigars, and love cars of all types. I currently work for the Department of Veterans Affairs up in Denver, so I drive 130 miles round trip everyday, hence the need for a car like the Fiesta ST (fuel efficient, modern, affordable, but fun as well).
Prior to the Fiesta ST, I drove a 06 Honda Civic Si to affordably get me to my job in Denver. Although it was a fantastic car, some things really started to grate on me. For one, and I never thought I'd admit it, the car was just plan noisy and ill suited for high-speed travel. Si's are praised for many things, but refinement and serenity are not one of them. The K20Z3 can get quite buzzy and raucous at higher speeds and over a period of 65 miles, that vibration can get a bit tiring. Second, I longed for a modern entertainment interface to placate me on my long drives. Back in 05 when the 8th Gen Si was being built, the best you could hope for in terms of in-car entertainment was an iPod cable. On those drives to and from work, I really started to long for a system that would let me stream music via Bluetooth from my phone. If my Si didn't have those two caveats, I'd probably still have it.
Truth be told, what really attracted me to the Fiesta ST was the lease rates, particularly the residual value on the 24 month option. The deal was so good that it easily allowed me to get into a brand new car for a song. Combined with the deal I negotiated plus almost $2,000 in incentives, there's just no way I could turn down the FiST. That said, I really enjoy my FiST!
In no particular order, here's what I love:
1.) The steering: Wow. This has to be the best electrically assisted steering I've ever felt. I also own an e90 BMW 335i M-Sport, a car that's well known for having fantastic hydraulic assisted steering and I have to say, the FiST's tiller is every bit as accurate as my BMW's and almost as tactile. Very well done.
2.) The handling: Again, wow. My Si was just slightly heavier than my FiST, but in terms of agility, ability to rotate, and transitional response, it ain't even close. Ford did a hell of a job tuning the suspension on this car. Roundabouts make me giggle like an idiot now.
3.) The hatch: We have a yellow lab that loves to go to the dog park. With the BMW and the Si (which was a coupe) it was a chore to get her in and out of each car without risking tearing something up with her nails. Now, we can just fold down the seats in the FiST and up she goes. I've always loved hatchbacks for their versatility and practicality and every time I see a subcompact car in sedan form, I'm always baffled. Why would you buy the sedan if you could have the hatch?
4.) The refinement: Now this I wasn't expecting at all. For the last 8 or so years, I've driven mostly german cars (2011 BMW 335i/2009 Audi S4/2008 VW GTI w/ DSG). With those cars, you get spoiled and really used to driving triple digit speeds in complete serenity. I didn't buy the FiST expecting anything remotely similar to my GTI, but for the most part, that's what I got. No, the quality of the materials, nor the ergonomics aren't on the same field, but the feeling of effortless speed is definitely there. I can cruise all day at 95 mph in this thing in a way that my Si could only have dreamed about. Where the Si would vibrate and protest like a Harley Sportster at anything more than 75mph, the FiST feels downright germanic. It's simply shocking how good affordable cars are nowadays.
5.) The entire package: 'Nuff said.
Things I'm not crazy about:
1.) The defroster: In particular, is it normal to get blasted in the face with frigid air for 10 seconds (literally), before the HVAC motor kicks in and finally directs warm air onto the windshield? Has anyone else experienced this yet? If so, let me know so I have a leg to stand on before I go into service and complain about it.
2.) Squeeks and rattles: I have one somewhere behind the gauge cluster and somewhere in the passenger door/A-piller area. They get particularly annoying going over frost heaves and expansion joints here in Colorado.
3.) The pedals: Specifically, the lack of a quality dead pedal is particularly baffling. This is something that the germans get right every time and the lumpy and weird shaped foot box in the FiST is definitely a step back from what I'm used to. The pedal spacing is a bit off for me as well; I find it pretty difficult to pull off decent heel-toe downshifts in this car. Hopefully the pedal spacer I just bought from modbargains.com will remedy this.
4.) The ergonomics: From the B-pillar that's in the exact spot where the left armrest should be (I would've bought the 3-door in a heartbeat if it was offered), to the HVAC controls that seem like they're located inches off the floor, to the steering wheel that's too large, to the truncated view out the back window, to the SYNC touchscreen that's just simply out of touch, the FiST has some pretty glaring ergonomic faults. I can live with them, but a lot of these are just simple design things that could've just as easily been properly designed. They're so easy to get right that it's like dropping a shovel pass in the end zone.
4.) SYNC: Yeah, I said it. Yes, it's a step up from what I had in the Si (an iPod cable), but other than that, it's VERY easy to see why people hate this thing. For one, even being 6 ft 1 I have to reach forward just to touch the screen with a fully extended arm. Once I get to the screen, each button is exactly the same size as my finger tip and each button touches each other so it's incredibly easy to touch the wrong button while driving down the road. As a person who has more than a rudimentary idea of human factors and design, it's shocking that something like this made it past the design stage. I could go on, but I won't.
Overall, I really, really dig the FiST. It has a playful charm that cars nowadays just seem to lack - even many performance cars. I have a feeling that the ST will be looked upon very fondly in the future for being something special in a time where every other car on the road does its absolute best to isolate and remove the driver from the driving equation. For that reason alone, the FiST is definitely a cracking good car.
Just wanted to introduce myself after picking up a new 2015 Ford Fiesta ST (Perf. Blue w/Recaros and Sunroof). I'm a recently separated 31 year old Army veteran from Ft. Carson, an amateur detailer, an audiophile, lover of microbrews, scotch, and cigars, and love cars of all types. I currently work for the Department of Veterans Affairs up in Denver, so I drive 130 miles round trip everyday, hence the need for a car like the Fiesta ST (fuel efficient, modern, affordable, but fun as well).
Prior to the Fiesta ST, I drove a 06 Honda Civic Si to affordably get me to my job in Denver. Although it was a fantastic car, some things really started to grate on me. For one, and I never thought I'd admit it, the car was just plan noisy and ill suited for high-speed travel. Si's are praised for many things, but refinement and serenity are not one of them. The K20Z3 can get quite buzzy and raucous at higher speeds and over a period of 65 miles, that vibration can get a bit tiring. Second, I longed for a modern entertainment interface to placate me on my long drives. Back in 05 when the 8th Gen Si was being built, the best you could hope for in terms of in-car entertainment was an iPod cable. On those drives to and from work, I really started to long for a system that would let me stream music via Bluetooth from my phone. If my Si didn't have those two caveats, I'd probably still have it.
Truth be told, what really attracted me to the Fiesta ST was the lease rates, particularly the residual value on the 24 month option. The deal was so good that it easily allowed me to get into a brand new car for a song. Combined with the deal I negotiated plus almost $2,000 in incentives, there's just no way I could turn down the FiST. That said, I really enjoy my FiST!
In no particular order, here's what I love:
1.) The steering: Wow. This has to be the best electrically assisted steering I've ever felt. I also own an e90 BMW 335i M-Sport, a car that's well known for having fantastic hydraulic assisted steering and I have to say, the FiST's tiller is every bit as accurate as my BMW's and almost as tactile. Very well done.
2.) The handling: Again, wow. My Si was just slightly heavier than my FiST, but in terms of agility, ability to rotate, and transitional response, it ain't even close. Ford did a hell of a job tuning the suspension on this car. Roundabouts make me giggle like an idiot now.
3.) The hatch: We have a yellow lab that loves to go to the dog park. With the BMW and the Si (which was a coupe) it was a chore to get her in and out of each car without risking tearing something up with her nails. Now, we can just fold down the seats in the FiST and up she goes. I've always loved hatchbacks for their versatility and practicality and every time I see a subcompact car in sedan form, I'm always baffled. Why would you buy the sedan if you could have the hatch?
4.) The refinement: Now this I wasn't expecting at all. For the last 8 or so years, I've driven mostly german cars (2011 BMW 335i/2009 Audi S4/2008 VW GTI w/ DSG). With those cars, you get spoiled and really used to driving triple digit speeds in complete serenity. I didn't buy the FiST expecting anything remotely similar to my GTI, but for the most part, that's what I got. No, the quality of the materials, nor the ergonomics aren't on the same field, but the feeling of effortless speed is definitely there. I can cruise all day at 95 mph in this thing in a way that my Si could only have dreamed about. Where the Si would vibrate and protest like a Harley Sportster at anything more than 75mph, the FiST feels downright germanic. It's simply shocking how good affordable cars are nowadays.
5.) The entire package: 'Nuff said.
Things I'm not crazy about:
1.) The defroster: In particular, is it normal to get blasted in the face with frigid air for 10 seconds (literally), before the HVAC motor kicks in and finally directs warm air onto the windshield? Has anyone else experienced this yet? If so, let me know so I have a leg to stand on before I go into service and complain about it.
2.) Squeeks and rattles: I have one somewhere behind the gauge cluster and somewhere in the passenger door/A-piller area. They get particularly annoying going over frost heaves and expansion joints here in Colorado.
3.) The pedals: Specifically, the lack of a quality dead pedal is particularly baffling. This is something that the germans get right every time and the lumpy and weird shaped foot box in the FiST is definitely a step back from what I'm used to. The pedal spacing is a bit off for me as well; I find it pretty difficult to pull off decent heel-toe downshifts in this car. Hopefully the pedal spacer I just bought from modbargains.com will remedy this.
4.) The ergonomics: From the B-pillar that's in the exact spot where the left armrest should be (I would've bought the 3-door in a heartbeat if it was offered), to the HVAC controls that seem like they're located inches off the floor, to the steering wheel that's too large, to the truncated view out the back window, to the SYNC touchscreen that's just simply out of touch, the FiST has some pretty glaring ergonomic faults. I can live with them, but a lot of these are just simple design things that could've just as easily been properly designed. They're so easy to get right that it's like dropping a shovel pass in the end zone.
4.) SYNC: Yeah, I said it. Yes, it's a step up from what I had in the Si (an iPod cable), but other than that, it's VERY easy to see why people hate this thing. For one, even being 6 ft 1 I have to reach forward just to touch the screen with a fully extended arm. Once I get to the screen, each button is exactly the same size as my finger tip and each button touches each other so it's incredibly easy to touch the wrong button while driving down the road. As a person who has more than a rudimentary idea of human factors and design, it's shocking that something like this made it past the design stage. I could go on, but I won't.
Overall, I really, really dig the FiST. It has a playful charm that cars nowadays just seem to lack - even many performance cars. I have a feeling that the ST will be looked upon very fondly in the future for being something special in a time where every other car on the road does its absolute best to isolate and remove the driver from the driving equation. For that reason alone, the FiST is definitely a cracking good car.
