Hello All!
Looks like a great forum here. Loads of great info, resources, and not too much "piss taking" (unless you deserve it)
I am a life long motor sports fan, since being carried around in a backpack at the age of 1 at the Canadian Grand Prix in 1974. My Father and Uncle participated in motorcycle road racing in the 70s and 80s. The smell of a two stroke bike is divine in my world. I followed F1 religiously when I was younger but have completely given up on it, it's just incredibly boring and the endless shots of VIPs in the paddock, that used to be cool when it was sporadic is now a major turn off. I won't get into the "save the planet" vibe it is trying to push now.
I have always appreciated Rally racing but in the past it was virtually impossible to watch on tv or see it anywhere. Somehow it popped back in my mind recently and I signed up for RallyTV and started watching it. I AM HOOKED. Just pure driving, two men in their machine going at it over all sorts of roads and in all weather conditions.
I am a life long Honda driver. I currently drive a 2005 Accord V6 that only has 130k miles and I will never sell it. It is a fabulous car for what it is, and the V6 has plenty of punch when you need it. BUT, it is an Accord lol, and not a manual transmission. Over the last six months I decided I wanted to buy something fun, just to drive a few days a week and on the weekend, I have the Honda for the daily commute.
So, my search began. I had never ever considered buying a Hyundai, but started looking at the Elantra GT N line. It fit the bill, and I almost pulled the trigger on one through Carmax. I had tons of research on the car and I am a big worrier about reliability. Hyundai products in general have come a long way and newer ones seem to be pretty good cars. The deeper I got into the research on the car, I came across FB groups with people sharing their stories on that model. It seemed about 50/50. Some cars have been great but others have had like, blown engines at 35k miles and that was with unmodified engines! Okay, check that one off the list then.
Next up was a newer Golf 2 door (2015ish) with a manual transmission. Newer GTI's don't appeal to me. Also started looking at older GTI's, like 2000-2005 Mk4s, with the VR6 engine. They still are appealing to me, but I want to be able to jump in the car and take the family on a road trip without worrying about it, and VW's in general seem to be very hit or miss. You can find one sitting in a shop side by side with another one, exact model, one will be a complete mess and the other will be trouble free. The GTI "scene" is pretty wild lol. People putting stage 3 tunes on them and wondering why is the check engine light always on? Why has the engine self destructed? Why are the mirrors always falling off lol (that seems to be some issue with every VW).
Looking at those brought me back to the idea of just something fun, yet reliable and led me to the Toyota Corolla Hatchback XSE with a manual. They are promising, yet just lack the punch that I am looking for. My Father is was a master mechanic for Mercedes for 35 years so his advice is basically never buy a turbocharged engine, but a turbo power plant is the only thing that would give the pep that I am looking for (obviously not going to buy a Charger/Mustang/Camaro) so there is nothing with a V8 that I would be interested in.
Am currently watching the ERC European Rally Championship (I love rallying so much I watch anything, not just WRC), and one of the teams is running a Ford Fiesta and it suddenly dawned on me to look into a Fiesta ST as that could be the answer to what I am searching for. I started watching all the YouTube videos I could find on the car and then searching online for forums and that's how I ended up here.
I am extremely picky in what I am trying to find, namely a 2019 ST, Grey or White color, the regular wheels (the black ones just don't do it for me), a sunroof, less than 50k miles, non modified, and the regular non Recaro seats. Cars with this exact spec don't seem to be a dime a dozen that is for sure! I could possibly go for the 2016 in Kona Blue that matches the other things I am looking for.
I live in far west Texas, so the car market out here is somewhat limited, unless I wanted to buy a Charger or a pick up truck that is! It seems I could end up finding one through Carmax (will undoubtedly be 2k overpriced), or through Cars and Bids or Bring a Trailer. Will have to have it shipped to me and of course that means I won't even be able to sit in it first and THAT is a scary proposition but I don't see any alternatives.
That's enough from me, thanks to anyone who took the time to read all that. I would love any feedback on your experiences with the ST and especially about reliability and maintenance. Would you jump in it at the drop of a hat and drive across country?
Regards
Looks like a great forum here. Loads of great info, resources, and not too much "piss taking" (unless you deserve it)
I am a life long motor sports fan, since being carried around in a backpack at the age of 1 at the Canadian Grand Prix in 1974. My Father and Uncle participated in motorcycle road racing in the 70s and 80s. The smell of a two stroke bike is divine in my world. I followed F1 religiously when I was younger but have completely given up on it, it's just incredibly boring and the endless shots of VIPs in the paddock, that used to be cool when it was sporadic is now a major turn off. I won't get into the "save the planet" vibe it is trying to push now.
I have always appreciated Rally racing but in the past it was virtually impossible to watch on tv or see it anywhere. Somehow it popped back in my mind recently and I signed up for RallyTV and started watching it. I AM HOOKED. Just pure driving, two men in their machine going at it over all sorts of roads and in all weather conditions.
I am a life long Honda driver. I currently drive a 2005 Accord V6 that only has 130k miles and I will never sell it. It is a fabulous car for what it is, and the V6 has plenty of punch when you need it. BUT, it is an Accord lol, and not a manual transmission. Over the last six months I decided I wanted to buy something fun, just to drive a few days a week and on the weekend, I have the Honda for the daily commute.
So, my search began. I had never ever considered buying a Hyundai, but started looking at the Elantra GT N line. It fit the bill, and I almost pulled the trigger on one through Carmax. I had tons of research on the car and I am a big worrier about reliability. Hyundai products in general have come a long way and newer ones seem to be pretty good cars. The deeper I got into the research on the car, I came across FB groups with people sharing their stories on that model. It seemed about 50/50. Some cars have been great but others have had like, blown engines at 35k miles and that was with unmodified engines! Okay, check that one off the list then.
Next up was a newer Golf 2 door (2015ish) with a manual transmission. Newer GTI's don't appeal to me. Also started looking at older GTI's, like 2000-2005 Mk4s, with the VR6 engine. They still are appealing to me, but I want to be able to jump in the car and take the family on a road trip without worrying about it, and VW's in general seem to be very hit or miss. You can find one sitting in a shop side by side with another one, exact model, one will be a complete mess and the other will be trouble free. The GTI "scene" is pretty wild lol. People putting stage 3 tunes on them and wondering why is the check engine light always on? Why has the engine self destructed? Why are the mirrors always falling off lol (that seems to be some issue with every VW).
Looking at those brought me back to the idea of just something fun, yet reliable and led me to the Toyota Corolla Hatchback XSE with a manual. They are promising, yet just lack the punch that I am looking for. My Father is was a master mechanic for Mercedes for 35 years so his advice is basically never buy a turbocharged engine, but a turbo power plant is the only thing that would give the pep that I am looking for (obviously not going to buy a Charger/Mustang/Camaro) so there is nothing with a V8 that I would be interested in.
Am currently watching the ERC European Rally Championship (I love rallying so much I watch anything, not just WRC), and one of the teams is running a Ford Fiesta and it suddenly dawned on me to look into a Fiesta ST as that could be the answer to what I am searching for. I started watching all the YouTube videos I could find on the car and then searching online for forums and that's how I ended up here.
I am extremely picky in what I am trying to find, namely a 2019 ST, Grey or White color, the regular wheels (the black ones just don't do it for me), a sunroof, less than 50k miles, non modified, and the regular non Recaro seats. Cars with this exact spec don't seem to be a dime a dozen that is for sure! I could possibly go for the 2016 in Kona Blue that matches the other things I am looking for.
I live in far west Texas, so the car market out here is somewhat limited, unless I wanted to buy a Charger or a pick up truck that is! It seems I could end up finding one through Carmax (will undoubtedly be 2k overpriced), or through Cars and Bids or Bring a Trailer. Will have to have it shipped to me and of course that means I won't even be able to sit in it first and THAT is a scary proposition but I don't see any alternatives.
That's enough from me, thanks to anyone who took the time to read all that. I would love any feedback on your experiences with the ST and especially about reliability and maintenance. Would you jump in it at the drop of a hat and drive across country?
Regards
