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Need advice! I want a Fiesta, yes or no?

jmrtsus

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#21
You must be able to understand that Ford wasn't going to put a full race seat as an option from the factory, yes? The Fiesta ST Recaro seats are not 'slippery' as they hav leather on the high points (potential wear spots) and fabric elsewhere.

The non-Recaro seats are for larger people - people who can't physically fit in the Recaros.

I also have 3 sets of Recaro seats - all of which are a vast improvement over the non-Recaro factory option from Ford. The seats in the ST are completely acceptable for spirited driving - if you're going to track the car, perhaps a full race seat is the best option.
A full Recaro is NOT a race seat.....it is what came in my FORD Mustang GT pace car and BMW 320 iS and many other upscale STREET cars. They may be a "vast improvement" to you and others but not everyone. The "lite" version is made for Ford to offer a lower priced Recaro without all the features of the normal Recaro. A good move as they are very popular in our cars and has sold many, many of them. Nobody is saying you are wrong to buy them, by all means enjoy them but understand not everyone feels that way. A true Recaro would have added like $4K to the cost and be considerably larger, who would pay that on the Fiesta ST? I have not said they are bad or the silly if they fit routine. I did not know Recaro makes a "race" seat. Ford sold tons of them and I would say the majority of owners AGREE with you......but not all of us. We live on a retired budget and higher performance and reliability was more important to me and my wife than Recaro seats. We both drive hi-po cars and have for almost 50 years. She (and I) are perfectly happy with the stock seats in her Mustang GT/CS and she was equally unimpressed with the "lites" in my FiST.

As you advance in life you will find that opinions are how someone feels and not a right/wrong subject. Just because we did not feel they were right for us does not make them wrong for you, correct? For example my wife has never had a hi-po car with an auto tranny, but she wanted it on her Mustang, I would have ordered the 6 Speed. Want she wanted was not wrong, it is her DD, her choice. The majority of cars I have owned (many) have been white, my wife does not like white cars. Does not make either of us wrong......enjoy your Recaros! BTW, my daughter bought her FiST 6 months ago, she also passed on the Recaros due to having my 320 iS as her car in college and loved the seats in it but not the "lites" in the FiST's. Her beef was short skirts and high bolsters did not work for her in the FiST, an opinion you and I never considered!
 


Ford ST

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#22
Very well said.


That is a very good-looking focus, and I don't even like the color yellow.
Good luck with whatever you choose to do either way you're going to have a cool car.



Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk
 


shouldbeasy

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#23
A full Recaro is NOT a race seat.....it is what came in my FORD Mustang GT pace car and BMW 320 iS and many other upscale STREET cars. They may be a "vast improvement" to you and others but not everyone. The "lite" version is made for Ford to offer a lower priced Recaro without all the features of the normal Recaro. A good move as they are very popular in our cars and has sold many, many of them. Nobody is saying you are wrong to buy them, by all means enjoy them but understand not everyone feels that way. A true Recaro would have added like $4K to the cost and be considerably larger, who would pay that on the Fiesta ST? I have not said they are bad or the silly if they fit routine. I did not know Recaro makes a "race" seat. Ford sold tons of them and I would say the majority of owners AGREE with you......but not all of us. We live on a retired budget and higher performance and reliability was more important to me and my wife than Recaro seats. We both drive hi-po cars and have for almost 50 years. She (and I) are perfectly happy with the stock seats in her Mustang GT/CS and she was equally unimpressed with the "lites" in my FiST.

As you advance in life you will find that opinions are how someone feels and not a right/wrong subject. Just because we did not feel they were right for us does not make them wrong for you, correct? For example my wife has never had a hi-po car with an auto tranny, but she wanted it on her Mustang, I would have ordered the 6 Speed. Want she wanted was not wrong, it is her DD, her choice. The majority of cars I have owned (many) have been white, my wife does not like white cars. Does not make either of us wrong......enjoy your Recaros! BTW, my daughter bought her FiST 6 months ago, she also passed on the Recaros due to having my 320 iS as her car in college and loved the seats in it but not the "lites" in the FiST's. Her beef was short skirts and high bolsters did not work for her in the FiST, an opinion you and I never considered!
Gotcha, you're old and can't get in and out of the car easily. Enough said.
 


OP
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Thread Starter #27
That's a beautiful Focus man!

If it was me, I'd try and find someone to trade as well. You could always swap the seats afterwards if you end up trading with someone who has the base model seats. That also allows you to swap in the Focus ST seats if you prefer, although from reading up on that it seems that is much less of a direct swap.

And to add to the discussion of the Recaros, they really are fantastic. I've sat in the standard FiST seats (as a passenger however) and definitely prefer the way the Recaros hug you.
On top of that, I actually find the Recaros to be very comfortable for road trips. I regularly take 3 + hour trips on weekends and I find that because of the supportive nature of the seats, I tend to feel more comfortable after getting out of the car versus when I take a different vehicle.
I love the recaros in my Focus, but I find them uncomfortable after 5+ hours. But then again I don’t do a lot of road trips past 5 hours.
 


OP
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Thread Starter #29
Very well said.


That is a very good-looking focus, and I don't even like the color yellow.
Good luck with whatever you choose to do either way you're going to have a cool car.



Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk
Thank you! Funny story about the Yellow...I told my dealer I wanted a white or grey ST2, they call me back and we’re like we got you a yellow one. I was kinda surprised and confused, considering I told them 2 colors, not yellow. But then I started looking at some with black accents and it really sets it apart. So I grew to love it. I love this car, but I would love a Fiesta more!
 


FJ16

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#30
What is a rebuilt FiST? I don't know what that means exactly.
It's a car that has been in an accident and totaled out by insurance - then purchased and repaired (and issued a "rebuilt" title, making it legal to register, insure, and drive). The upside is that usually you can get them for much lower prices than a clean titled vehicle (example, mine was practically half-price from the others I was looking at). The downside is that you're either in for a lot of work if you do it yourself, or you're at the mercy of the people who repaired it if you take a chance on a professionally rebuilt vehicle. I bought mine sight unseen (definitely risky), and it had a few things wrong with it when I received it, but I fixed them myself and have considered it a great investment so far (~6 months).

It's not for everybody, but it's an option.
 


OP
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Thread Starter #31
I still don't know how people buy this car WITHOUT the Recaro's - it's a car meant for corners, you need the bolsters!

It's great you love the Fiesta so much you want to join the club - any chance you can put some of your Focus back to stock? May help with resale value and speed...
I’m currently trying to sell the wheels. Car is 100% stock performance wise. Only res+muffler delete, BOV, and short shift plate. I’ve always leaned towards looks first, as I saw all the focuses go for performance mods first and they all look the same. So I never even got around to do performance stuff lol
 


OP
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Thread Starter #32
That is one seriously gorgeous Focus! If you are looking to save money, you can look at a rebuilt FiST - I was in the market for a FoST actually, then saw a FiST for dirt cheap that was rebuilt and figured it was a price I couldn't pass up. I've been extremely happy with the car, so if you're willing to take a chance (or rebuild it yourself) it's certainly a viable option.
How the insurance on a rebuilt titled car though?🧐
 


OP
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Thread Starter #33
If they were real Recaros I would have maybe bought them but not the Recaro "lites" in the FiST. I've had 2 cars with Full Recaros and neither myself or wife liked the FiST "lites". The full Recaros have adjustable under thigh bolsters so the seat is much more functionable and comfortable. As to how they buy one without them it is easy, don't pay the money, LOL! The cloth is very grippy and easy to keep clean.....you do not need "bolsters" but if you want/like them buy them by all means, just offering a different opinion. Also found the Recaros leather very slippery compared to the cloth.But try the cloth first before saying you "need" them. Also not everybody thinks they are worth $2K. The money I saved paid for real performance upgrades. I would not trade my MP215 and OCC for Recaro "lites". Wrench on!
Good points, I’m meeting up with someone that has cloths seats to see if I like them.
 


OP
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Thread Starter #37

M-Sport fan

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#38
You must be able to understand that Ford wasn't going to put a full race seat as an option from the factory, yes?
Yes, I for one DO understand just that, but, IF they did, I would have sprung for the $2k for them, and since they did NOT, I will eventually use that saved $2K for a REAL one piece (or at least one piece back rest part), race type seat. [wink]

I am not 'fat' by any means, and would easily fit into the factory Recaros, but opted to NOT order my car with them, since I do NOT like them for that much extra coin (IF they were only a $500.00 option, or LESS, I would have thought about it, maybe).

You did not even have a choice of seats in the north country when ordering/buying one NEW, but I am happy (for now) with the base seats, until I can replace them with a REAL seat. [:)]

BTW, LOVE those wheels on DarkFiST20's FoST pic above. [thumb]
 


Last edited:

Dpro

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#39
I got my car cheap enough with the Recaros it was like perfect. Sure I might have gotten one a 1.5k-2k cheaper but I was already under 20k for a Tri Coat paint color and the black wheels as well as the Recaro’s . When they were trying to sell me the same color car with base sets for roughly $500-1k less. Literally take my seats out and my car would have been a 18 Orange Spice black wheels for $17,678. You could not touch one for that price on the West Coast in early 18. The cheapest you could get was around $18,500 and that was for Magnetic or Black. All the Orange cars were $19,100.
I think in my case there was no extra price factor.

Not everyone gets that and I get it. I am not on the East coast where certain dealers would blow bases out their nose for $16k
Oh and don’t let the dealers that did the famous mark the car down to 16k and then rope you into a 7% loan trick fool anyone either. They made up the discount on the loan.

My deal was none of that BS and gave the Recaros for pretty much near free. No brainer in my book.
 


gtx3076

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#40
I for one hate the Recaros, they force me into a forward slouch. The head rest should have been adjustable to tilt it backwards, I raised it up as high as it could go so I could lean my head back a little more.

Also, if Arizona is as flat as Texas, I'd just stick with the Focus unless you track the car. I'm only considering a BT because the car is pretty boring on my day to day, it's all long straights with some 90's in between around here. If you're in hilly terrain with twists and turns then the FiST would be fantastic.
 




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