Interior concerns

[boombots]

It looks cheap, but at least it has some soft touch areas. 25K miles and its quiet. The 2012 focus I had felt wayyyy nicer but I had to do all kinds of things to stop the rattles (all 4 door panels, the gauge cluster, the moon roof...) not to mention the cover on the steering column was coming apart... Fiesta is much quieter.

Even if you compare it to the kias and hyundais, you can't use the elantra and forte... those go against the focus. Compare apples to apples. Compared to the cars in its market like the Kia Rio, the FiST wins...

 

[AnArmyOfJuan]

I guess it depends on what you're comparing it to. Compared to a Chevy Spark or Sonic, it may as well be a Mercedes. Compared to a Toyota Prius C, it may as well be a Rolls Royce!

 

[pelotonracer2]

After 18 months of ownership, the interior has held up very very well. I like some of the features, including the standard interior lighting colors. The leather on the steering wheel and shift knob still look new.

 

[wrongwheeldrive]

I am always hearing people complain about the FiST interior. I really like it. My mom just bought a brand new Subaru Forester and it feels like a crackerjack toy on the inside. My dad's Acura MDX has a nice interior but you need a masters degree in computer engineering and be fluent in Japanese to figure out the infotainment system. The more I drive other people's new-ish cars (3 years old or so) the more I like my FiST interior.

 

[Cannedtuna]

I generally prefer a full soft touch interior but one of the major reasons why I'm interested in this car is the fact that its so focused on being a good driving car and not any thing else. The interior is good enough in my opinion and compared to the Subaru's I've had its still better.

 

[FatGuyInALittleCar]

Some of the secondary controls plastics are a bit on the chintzy side, but tactile feedback is good, so they are decent to operate. The soft touch dash is a huge improvement over a lot of subcompact cars. The lighting is more upscale and things seem generally solid.
That all being said, it is clear the panels themselves are only as solid as they need to be and not one bit more. I tend to try and remember that everything they make "nicer" becomes more expensive and heavier.
A heavier, more expensive FiST is not a FiST, It's more like a FoiST... no one wants a FoiST!

 

[Widerangehum]

I went from an E36 M3 to the FiST, and yes, the interior seems a little cheap. But what are your options? If you're looking for a lightweight (by today's standards), extremely fun, wonderfully engineered driver's car for less than $25K, there is no competitor with a classier interior. I think the BRZ/FRS interior is even cheesier and... there is no other competition. Now look at enthusiast cars that cost even $10K more. Now that the new Miata is here, yes, it has a better looking interior, but there's not much interior there. Still no other competitor with a better looking interior until you get into much more expensive cars that all weigh at least 800 pounds more.

 

[GT5075]

I'm a new Fiesta ST owner, but my 2 cents echoes others that the interior is class appropriate. I've owned a Mk6 VE GTI and while that car being more expensive had a nicely 'finished' interior (sot touch materials, etc.), the fit and finish of the car wasn't up to expectation.

I'd say that my Fiesta is actually better put together, but yes it has cheaper materials. But to me that's part of the appeal, no fluff, it delivers where it matters. And on the inside, it's simple and not overdone, and as a result we have a car that is lightweight and solid.