Help please!! FiST or FoST???

[Buckeye ST]

I can pull the trigger on either one. Have test driven both. I drive 40,000 miles a year. Current car 2012 VW GLI with 285k miles!! I like the FoST a lot. (Power, better interior, bigger). I LOVE the FiST. Just a fun car. What would you do now knowing your cars, if you were to do it over again??

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[TempeST]

Well, My opinion... I would pick the FiST. but...

Are you using it for a daily and that's it? any future mods? any track days/autocross? only a highway car? Are you wanting a more comfortable ride or better gas mileage? All of these lead to one or the other. if it were me I'd choose these in an order that is most important to you to the least important. and find the one that gives you the most of it.

For more comfort, no track days, mostly highway. I'd choose the FoST.
for something you want to do an occasional track day, mod, and get great gas mileage on the highway, I'd pick the FiST.

These are my opinions though. what appeals to you the most is what you should do. The Only reason I would choose a FoST over a FiST is because I would NEED the space difference. which I do not forsee me needing.

 

[Buckeye ST]

Well, My opinion... I would pick the FiST. but...

Are you using it for a daily and that's it? any future mods? any track days/autocross? only a highway car? Are you wanting a more comfortable ride or better gas mileage? All of these lead to one or the other. if it were me I'd choose these in an order that is most important to you to the least important. and find the one that gives you the most of it.

For more comfort, no track days, mostly highway. I'd choose the FoST.
for something you want to do an occasional track day, mod, and get great gas mileage on the highway, I'd pick the FiST.

These are my opinions though. what appeals to you the most is what you should do. The Only reason I would choose a FoST over a FiST is because I would NEED the space difference. which I do not forsee me needing.

I would use for daily driver, would love to start modding (mp215, eibach sways, diode fogs and hids). The gas mileage is a huge part of it. I'm afraid the FoST will kill me in MPG. I won't auto cross but there are some great roads that I would love to take the car on.

 

[D1JL]

Welcome Aboard.

Of course here, everyone will say, FiST.



Dave

 

[frankiefiesta]

For comforts sake, I would say FoST

 

[Buckeye ST]

For comforts sake, I would say FoST

Any suggestions on mod friendly dealers in Ohio???

 

[frankiefiesta]

Any suggestions on mod friendly dealers in Ohio???

No sorry, I live in New Jersey lol

 

[Zormecteon]

We don't really have enough information. It's like asking what's the best car to buy? .. Every car is a compromise of some sort.. .. How much do you intend to haul? how many people in your family? how much do you have to spend... on car/gas/insurance, depreciation, ... upgrades? do you intend to track the car? autocross? what are roads like in your area? how important is handling vs acceleration? Where will it be parked? .. those are just the questions off the top of my head... I hope you've posted the same question on a FoST forum as well so that you can get balanced answers.

 

[TUX15ST]

Ive owned both, went from fost to fist, all depends whats your looking for, fost has more power for sure, fist handles better. Both are plenty roomy to me but the fost has more room to fit stuff if thats a concern for you and the interior on the fost is also way nicer if its a 15+. Fist is better on gas also and more fun in general

 

[Joker328]

If you want a nicer interior, more room, and more power, get a GTI. If you want more fun, better gas mileage, and lower cost, get a FiST.

 

[LILIKE16ST]

i struggled with this myself thinking of buying a FoST for months before I decided to get the FiST. I have ambient lighting (may not be important to most but I like it) and sync 3 (albeit a smaller screen than FoST) and NAV and I got my car for 21500 out the door with the black painted wheel/red caliper option as well. To get ambient lighting and nav and sync 3 all on the FoST i'd need an st3...which would have costed me SEVERAL thousand more by any stretch over the imagination. The FiST is obviously much cheaper overall which leads to cheaper payments (mine are just 359 a month for 60 months, 0% financing too!), it's cheaper on insurance (because it has less power and is cheaper etc..) it is cheaper to mod IMO and also cheaper to maintain (17 inch tires are cheaper than 18s...you can downsize to as little as 15s which are even cheaper (which I just did, waiting arrival) better on gas and just cheaper overall to own). The FiST has noticeably less power obviously but due to the huge difference in weight it's also more nimble and not as much slower in a straight line than it may appear on paper just by looking at HP and TQ specs (I know the FoST IS quicker, no doubt, I'm simply saying the FiST can keep up alot better than it might seem stock vs stock considering it's down 55 hp and 68 torque (rated) from the factory). A good tune and minor weight reduction like light wheels etc can have you easily running with a stock FoST if not outgunning it on the straights depending on the mods you do for under a grand. And like I said before the FoST with NAV and ambient lighting and sync 3 would have been at the minimum 5 grand more than what I paid probably more than that.

I also like the fact that the FiST is the "underdog" so to speak and since so many people in the world only look at HP and TQ specs and don't understand power to weight ratio you can surprise alot of people with it particularly with a few simple mods. I have kept up with and pulled on several cars who had more hp and tq on paper due to the fact that my car is well under 2700 lbs now without me in it. And in the twisties it is simply a BLAST to drive. Both handle well don't get me wrong, the FiST is much smaller and more nimble and more fun on day to day driving. I don't think the FoST will "kill you" on MPG because you can probably average 26 easily probably alot more if you do a lot of highway driving and that's not bad for the size of the car and the power. But with that being said the FiST is noticeably better on MPG and if you put 40000 a year on your cars that alone will save you a fortune, let alone all the other things I've already went over that will save you a ton. It is much cheaper overall to own the FiST and every bit as fun, arguably even more fun day to day than the FoST.

The only real advantage the FoST has is the larger engine and more power. 0-60 and quarter mile times are about half second different stock vs stock between the two. As I mentioned earlier a good tune, nice lightweight wheels and good tires and a little weight reduction can easily make up that difference and then some. And you can do it all, mods included, for far cheaper than you could in a FoST. However if you need more room and a fancier interior (full leather recaros, larger screen, nice interior overall and more space) you can pay 5-6 grand or more over what I did and have an ST3 FoST. If you don't really need any of that and want to have fun for THOUSANDS less get the FiST. It's also cool being able to have sync 3 standard without having to pay more for the expensive option groups. You can also have NAV in an otherwise base car (like me) and ambient lighting is also standard in the FiST. That stuff may not matter to some and it might to others. The FoST comes with more gauges and gadgets stock and the FiST does not have a factory boost gauge...nothing the aftermarket can't fix.

In the end the choice is yours, I have gave you alot of the stuff I went over in my own head when making the choice, hence why I choose the FiST because it made the most sense to me. I love both cars and I'd be happy owning either, they both have pros and cons for sure. Good luck with your decision and check back and let us know what you decide!

Michael

 

[LILIKE16ST]

You can pay about 1200-1400 for an X-37 hybrid turbo and get in the 260-280+ whp range with the FiST with full bolt ons and that's enough power in a sub 2700 lbs car (minor weight reduction can get you there, it's not even hard to get under 2600) to have you outrunning pretty much any FoST that doesn't have big turbo. Even a stage 3 FoST would be in the same power range at best but weigh in nearly 500 lbs more out the box so advantage would obviously go to the FiST here. I think the smaller car and lighter weight could potentially make it more deadly on the track even if both cars were modded on suspension in a similar way, I could be wrong but I think the FiST has the most potential in the twisties, stock for stock or mod for mod. The x-37, full bolt on route is the route I plan to go. Look up some x-37 FiST vids on youtube and you will see exactly how much damage these cars can do in the 260-280+ whp range with that stock modded turbo (which has an awesome power band and much more top end over stock). Just some more food for thought! On the other hand if real big power is your end goal the FoST might be more for you I've seen some with big turbos coming in at well over 500 whp and doing 11s. With that said a 280 whp FiST with an x-37 and full bolt ons may not be the quickest car on the road by a long shot, but it can run with an outrun cars with much more power and cars that you come across that may not give you a chance if they are uneducated on power to weight ratio (as so many seem to be). Just giving you some other things to think about with the FiST it truly is an awesome car with great potential for in the 20 grand range out the door (potentially if you shop around) brand new.

 

[dyn085]

I own both and prefer the FoST in the majority of situations and driving. The problem is that they're two very similar yet very different cars, so what is 'best' for one person won't necessarily be best for the next. The FiST is more fun at legal speeds and has significantly better fuel mileage, but it feels extremely cheap by comparison and the power difference is drastically noticeable. Conversely, the FoST is significantly nicer, more comfortable, and more powerful, but it also has a significantly higher engine failure rate.

Both models, when comparably equipped, tend to sell within about $1500 of each other in most locations. How you intend on using the car should have the largest input on your decision, so definitely do your due diligence in your choice because I've seen a lot of people that chose one and then traded it in on the other because it fit their needs better and they didn't even know it.

 

[BronxBomber]

I drove the FoST first and liked it, but didn't love it. I drove the FiST and have never looked back. I've owned many vehicles, 18 to be exact and this is the most fun car i've owned. 3 Miata's all modded, and a high HP Subaru with fully built engine from the crank on up with a meth kit. My FiST is still more fun, especially now with my Cyborg turbo. I commute 70 miles per day, and I take it up to 110 mph (not condoning speeding, but it's Florida and everyone drives around 85mph on 417) at times and am heavy on the gas pedal and still avg over 27mpg. You drove both, go with your gut. Also the FiST is pretty reliable.

 

[Superfly Snook]

To me personally, the only reason to get the FoST would be if I needed the extra room, and I don't.

 

[Buckeye ST]

To me personally, the only reason to get the FoST would be if I needed the extra room, and I don't.

Thanks for the detailed replys!! Very thoughtful and much appreciated! My company pays for my car and my gas. I can't buy a 5.0 mustang but they are pretty liberal on what I can purchase. Reading some more posts, it appears the FoST gets about the same MPG as my GLI. The FiST would do better I assume. I think at the end of the day the FoST is the more complete car but just like every person on this site, the FiST had me giggling like a school girl when I drove it. That's what makes the decision a tougher one.

 

[LILIKE16ST]

Thanks for the detailed replys!! Very thoughtful and much appreciated! My company pays for my car and my gas. I can't buy a 5.0 mustang but they are pretty liberal on what I can purchase. Reading some more posts, it appears the FoST gets about the same MPG as my GLI. The FiST would do better I assume. I think at the end of the day the FoST is the more complete car but just like every person on this site, the FiST had me giggling like a school girl when I drove it. That's what makes the decision a tougher one.

Well if the place you work pays for the car itself AND gas there's no reason not to go with a fully loaded st3 FoST. If the money is coming out of my pocket I'd prefer the FiST optioned the way I did mine which is why I bought mine. But if I was in a situation where someone was paying for the car and gas I'd take a fully loaded st3 more than likely. If you're going to do it do it right. And this is coming from a HUGE FiST fan. You have more room, nicer interior, more options, better ride due to the higher curb weight etc, more power among other things. If I had a FoST I would go the same route with mods as I am with the FiST. Lightweight 17s that are wider than stock (lowest you can go on their brakes I believe), nice coilovers, weight reduction, full bolt ons and a stock turbo housing upgrade should get you to over 300 whp in a FoST easily and have an awesome powerband and a gob of torque. It would be a very fun daily for sure. But then again my $21500 out the door FiST is pretty damn fun too to drive daily to the point it has me giggling like a schoolgirl several times a week it seems good luck in your decision!
Michael
p.s. here are some footnotes
if you are paying for everything, FiST is the better overall value IMO
if your car and gas is paid for like in your situation, go fully loaded ST3 FoST

 

[Buckeye ST]

Please help...FiST or FoST part 2!!

So I have a dealership offering a Nov. 2015 build date LOADED (recaro, Nav, roof) platinum tri coat 16' FiST for $23,500 OTD. And another dealer offering a just off the hauler Kona FoST with ST2 package for $25,500 OTD. Cleared both with work. Would not touch the FoST, would spend a lot of money modding the FiST. LED heads and fogs would be first. MP215 to follow. What says you.

 

[Waterfan]

Certainly one of the cars tickles your fancy just a bit more than the other? Let your heart choose. (obviously that car was FiST for me)

Why do you assume the FiST needs mods and the FoST does not?

Or based on the data given:
If you need the extra bit of space or ride comfort, FoST
If you want a permanent smile, FiST
I think sunroof is a waste on a performance car, FoST (or find a FiST w/o one and save a few bones)
Cost is a limiting factor, FiST

 

[Waterfan]

If you want a nicer interior, more room, and more power, get a GTI. If you want more fun, better gas mileage, and lower cost, get a FiST.

x2

Additionally, the GTI is probably more comfortable and the DSG is dreamy. Downside, you have to deal with VW Dealers and Service and pathetic, expensive aftermarket support (coming from a until-recently-lifelong-vw-enthusiast)