Review; FiST vs FoST

[KWeaver]

So I've had my FiST for about a month now and I thought I would write up a brief comparison to my FoST (technically my wifes).

Background: both cars are bone stock; 2018 FoST ST1 with 5k miles on it (we live on a military base so we don't drive much at all), 2019 FiST base with around 700 miles. Both cars use 91oct from same gas station I have driven both cars on the same road in virtually identical weather conditions multiple times. There is very little variation in summer weather in North Central California (East-Bay).

And I got to say...... unfortunately........... the FoST is superior in virtually all meaningful ways.

Listen, I REALLY wanted to say the FiST was better in some respects (it's mine after all) and, it probably will be after I mod it. But as they sit right now, the FoST is better in almost every category.

Acceleration - This isn't even close. The FoST is much faster. The FiST "feels" fast but so does the FoST too! In fact, the FoST "feels" faster (ofc right lol).

Handling - This is was where I thought the FiST would clearly be better but, it really wasn't. When I took them both through some twisty's they felt VERY similar. OFC I didn't push them excessively hard but I did push them. The problem is the FoST just accelerates out of turns so much faster than the FiST. Now, after I mod the FiST it probably will handle better but in stock form it's hard to tell the difference and the FoST speed advantage puts it ahead.

Comfort - Also not even close. The FoST rides better, has less road noise, and is more ergonomic. It's slightly longer and wider than the FiST but only enough to really add a bit more hip room. They are both small cars. The FoST trunk is noticeably larger as well.

Aesthetics - I'm biased but I think the FiST looks slightly better however they are very similar so kinda hard to say.

Practicality - Both cars are almost exclusively "city" driving and occasional twisty roads (virtually no highway driving) and the FiST does smoke the FoST in fuel economy. We average 23 mpg on the FoST and we got 30 on the second tank in the FiST. I'll also point out that the FoST has a notoriously poor turning radius (about the same as our single Cab Ram truck); the FiST easily beats it in this respect.

Anyway, thought some of you might find this write up interesting! Also, don't get defensive, I love my FiST and I can't wait to start digging into it. Heck, it's why we got it! The wife was adamant that our FoST was staying stock!

 

[FLORIDAST]

Shit guess I'll sell my fist now, thanks for letting us know.

 

[MRX330]

Nothing lasts forever especially FiST’s that are stock.

 

[Dpro]

Not being defensive at all drove both cars myself.
FoST does not feel as predictable or planted in corners as the FiST I am sorry but thats a fact.
The FoST handles well for a larger heavier car but in no way handles as well as a FiST.
Second off FoST has crazy amounts of Torque steer compared to the FiST its one of things that turned me off about it.
Oh and ergonomic, to each their own. The only thing the FoST had going for it is you could make yourself sit low in it. Otherwise its Dash is way too deep making you feel stretched away from the windshield. No ergonomic in that seating position.
In the FiST with standard seats I jumped in and it was seated right,. It felt proper , shifter was in the right position vs the FoST shifter not feeling in the right position.
Sure the FoST has more acceleration but at the expense of the Torque steer.
FiST can be tuned to close to the same acceleration and still less torque steer.
FoST”s are nice but FiST’s are more fun. I drove the FoST and indeed it felt nice though coming out of the corner it did not feel sure footed.
FiST was just oh boy grin on my face this car is rails type feel going through corners was effortless .
These are all my observations not defensive just the way I felt. Completely contrary to yours.

YMMV

 

[TyphoonFiST]

The FoST...is a total tanklicous mediocre mileage

Sent from my SM-N950U1 using Tapatalk

 

[Clint Beastwood]

So I've had my FiST for about a month now and I thought I would write up a brief comparison to my FoST (technically my wifes).

Background: both cars are bone stock; 2018 FoST ST1 with 5k miles on it (we live on a military base so we don't drive much at all), 2019 FiST base with around 700 miles. Both cars use 91oct from same gas station I have driven both cars on the same road in virtually identical weather conditions multiple times. There is very little variation in summer weather in North Central California (East-Bay).

And I got to say...... unfortunately........... the FoST is superior in virtually all meaningful ways.

Listen, I REALLY wanted to say the FiST was better in some respects (it's mine after all) and, it probably will be after I mod it. But as they sit right now, the FoST is better in almost every category.

Acceleration - This isn't even close. The FoST is much faster. The FiST "feels" fast but so does the FoST too! In fact, the FoST "feels" faster (ofc right lol).

Handling - This is was where I thought the FiST would clearly be better but, it really wasn't. When I took them both through some twisty's they felt VERY similar. OFC I didn't push them excessively hard but I did push them. The problem is the FoST just accelerates out of turns so much faster than the FiST. Now, after I mod the FiST it probably will handle better but in stock form it's hard to tell the difference and the FoST speed advantage puts it ahead.

Comfort - Also not even close. The FoST rides better, has less road noise, and is more ergonomic. It's slightly longer and wider than the FiST but only enough to really add a bit more hip room. They are both small cars. The FoST trunk is noticeably larger as well.

Aesthetics - I'm biased but I think the FiST looks slightly better however they are very similar so kinda hard to say.

Practicality - Both cars are almost exclusively "city" driving and occasional twisty roads (virtually no highway driving) and the FiST does smoke the FoST in fuel economy. We average 23 mpg on the FoST and we got 30 on the second tank in the FiST. I'll also point out that the FoST has a notoriously poor turning radius (about the same as our single Cab Ram truck); the FiST easily beats it in this respect.

Anyway, thought some of you might find this write up interesting! Also, don't get defensive, I love my FiST and I can't wait to start digging into it. Heck, it's why we got it! The wife was adamant that our FoST was staying stock!

With the budget I had at the time for a new daily, I was really surprised I went so cheap with the FiST, but it was almost disposably inexpensive and one of the most fun cars I test drove - driving a miata then a FiST/FoST all back to back on the same day, I was shocked how much the FiST felt like a hatchback Miata. Where the FoST fell short for me was how Ford allocated the interior space - it wasn't fun enough for me to pick it vs. a GTI when VW does such a great job with usable space inside. I could see if I was in my 20's/30's and could only have one car the FoST would be more attractive, but the FiST fit the bill of a fun daily that could still transport full-depth server equipment if I needed to. That being said, I had too much experience with VW to buy the GTI and trust it to "just work".

I think the modern problem for the FoST (if they were still being sold) would be how good GTI's have gotten, and the fact that the Veloster N exists. You can get a veloster N absurdly cheap right now and it's amazing bang for the buck. I still wish we got the i30n instead of the veloster, but :shrug: what can you do. I think that the FiST was more fun as a daily because it's small enough you have room to move around in your lane in the twisty's while still doing the speed limit. With something a little bigger and more powerful like the FoST, you kinda have to get extra-legal with the throttle pedal to really enjoy it. I like that I can wind out the FiST sometimes and I'm still not *really* going that fast. In terms of pure fun, I still think the Abarth 500 was my favorite, but I'd like a car that I can expect to work every time I get in it. If I see another Abarth 500 for a few grand at some point I'll probably grab one and strip it out lol.

For anyone shopping for one, it was almost trivially easy to get an offer for a Veloster N sport at invoice - I was extremely surprised. If they release one with a dual clutch or a *very* good automatic I might jump ship, my shifting arm has seen better days and I don't foresee it getting better.

TL;DR - for me, I liked the FiST for the same reason I always kept a ninja 250 in a garage full of much more powerful bikes. I could take it out and rail on it at full throttle and I'm not going to wind up in jail. There's a certain kind of delight in that, as well as riding at "The Pace", using handling and momentum instead of power to outrun my buddies.

 

[MRX330]

I don’t know why I bother to comment about factory cars but the FoST is afterbirth and the FiST was born engineeringly speaking

 

[KWeaver]

Not being defensive at all drove both cars myself.
FoST does not feel as predictable or planted in corners as the FiST I am sorry but thats a fact.
The FoST handles well for a larger heavier car but in no way handles as well as a FiST.
Second off FoST has crazy amounts of Torque steer compared to the FiST its one of things that turned me off about it.
Oh and ergonomic, to each their own. The only thing the FoST had going for it is you could make yourself sit low in it. Otherwise its Dash is way too deep making you feel stretched away from the windshield. No ergonomic in that seating position.
In the FiST with standard seats I jumped in and it was seated right,. It felt proper , shifter was in the right position vs the FoST shifter not feeling in the right position.
Sure the FoST has more acceleration but at the expense of the Torque steer.
FiST can be tuned to close to the same acceleration and still less torque steer.
FoST”s are nice but FiST’s are more fun. I drove the FoST and indeed it felt nice though coming out of the corner it did not feel sure footed.
FiST was just oh boy grin on my face this car is rails type feel going through corners was effortless .
These are all my observations not defensive just the way I felt. Completely contrary to yours.

YMMV

They feel surprisingly similar to me.

According to Motor Trend FoST pulled a better Lateral G and Figure 8 so.... IDK.

FoST does have a fair amount of torque steer, that is definitely true.

As far as ergonomics.... FoST has more user friendly steering wheel controls, auto up/down windows on both sides (yeah it's not that big a deal), more adjustable seats, and the interior material is certainly nicer. I'm not sure about seating in relation to the shifter; they both feel fine to me lol.

Like I said though, I like my FiST a lot so it's all good!

 

[FiSTerMr]

Shit guess I'll sell my fist now, thanks for letting us know.

HAHA

 

[FiSTerMr]

Nothing lasts forever especially FiST’s that are stock.

I'm thoroughly enjoying my stock FiST, going on one year with no plans on modding it

 

[FiSTerMr]

Not being defensive at all drove both cars myself.
FoST does not feel as predictable or planted in corners as the FiST I am sorry but thats a fact.
The FoST handles well for a larger heavier car but in no way handles as well as a FiST.
Second off FoST has crazy amounts of Torque steer compared to the FiST its one of things that turned me off about it.
Oh and ergonomic, to each their own. The only thing the FoST had going for it is you could make yourself sit low in it. Otherwise its Dash is way too deep making you feel stretched away from the windshield. No ergonomic in that seating position.
In the FiST with standard seats I jumped in and it was seated right,. It felt proper , shifter was in the right position vs the FoST shifter not feeling in the right position.
Sure the FoST has more acceleration but at the expense of the Torque steer.
FiST can be tuned to close to the same acceleration and still less torque steer.
FoST”s are nice but FiST’s are more fun. I drove the FoST and indeed it felt nice though coming out of the corner it did not feel sure footed.
FiST was just oh boy grin on my face this car is rails type feel going through corners was effortless .
These are all my observations not defensive just the way I felt. Completely contrary to yours.

YMMV

Word for word, this is EXACTLY how I feel!

My original intent was to buy a FoST. After test driving both back to back, the FiST was the clear winner.

Driving this thing makes me giddy. And it has nothing to do with power, I know full and well that this is not a "fast" car; more of a "quick" car. I have had some fast cars, one brutally fast (manual trans Challenger Scat Pack), and this car blows 'em all away in the "fun to drive" category.

 

[XR650R]

I think that when you've put more miles on it, and hit some corners hard, you'll see what the FiST does that the FoST can't match.
They're both great cars. The lighter one is the better handler. Give it a tune and a RMM, then it gets really good.

 

[KWeaver]

With the budget I had at the time for a new daily, I was really surprised I went so cheap with the FiST, but it was almost disposably inexpensive and one of the most fun cars I test drove - driving a miata then a FiST/FoST all back to back on the same day, I was shocked how much the FiST felt like a hatchback Miata. Where the FoST fell short for me was how Ford allocated the interior space - it wasn't fun enough for me to pick it vs. a GTI when VW does such a great job with usable space inside. I could see if I was in my 20's/30's and could only have one car the FoST would be more attractive, but the FiST fit the bill of a fun daily that could still transport full-depth server equipment if I needed to. That being said, I had too much experience with VW to buy the GTI and trust it to "just work".

I think the modern problem for the FoST (if they were still being sold) would be how good GTI's have gotten, and the fact that the Veloster N exists. You can get a veloster N absurdly cheap right now and it's amazing bang for the buck. I still wish we got the i30n instead of the veloster, but :shrug: what can you do. I think that the FiST was more fun as a daily because it's small enough you have room to move around in your lane in the twisty's while still doing the speed limit. With something a little bigger and more powerful like the FoST, you kinda have to get extra-legal with the throttle pedal to really enjoy it. I like that I can wind out the FiST sometimes and I'm still not *really* going that fast. In terms of pure fun, I still think the Abarth 500 was my favorite, but I'd like a car that I can expect to work every time I get in it. If I see another Abarth 500 for a few grand at some point I'll probably grab one and strip it out lol.

For anyone shopping for one, it was almost trivially easy to get an offer for a Veloster N sport at invoice - I was extremely surprised. If they release one with a dual clutch or a *very* good automatic I might jump ship, my shifting arm has seen better days and I don't foresee it getting better.

TL;DR - for me, I liked the FiST for the same reason I always kept a ninja 250 in a garage full of much more powerful bikes. I could take it out and rail on it at full throttle and I'm not going to wind up in jail. There's a certain kind of delight in that, as well as riding at "The Pace", using handling and momentum instead of power to outrun my buddies.

Now this is a well thought out reply! I certainly agree with you about the FoST vs. GTI comment. I don't know enough about the Veloster N yet but the reviews I have read have all been really good. We got our FoST November of last year and we also looked at GTI's. Hands down the GTI was/is a better car. However, Ford was running INSANE rebates on all Focus vehicles. With military / factory rebate and dealer discount we were out the door at under 22k (in California I might add). The cheapest GTI we could find was $5k more.

I'm in a similar situation as you; the FiST is our third vehicle. My daily is a full sized truck and getting into either the FoST or FiST is a joy. Maybe that's why I can't really tell the difference in some aspects lol.

I guess another reason I wrote this is because of all the hate FoSTs get. I mean, go back and just read the comments in this thread; it makes no sense to me. Based on what I hear/read I thought the FiST would just blow away our FoST. That's simply not the case. IDK, weird.......

 

[Blindeye_03]

Meh. Ive had 1 Focus ST (ST3) and 2 different Fiesta STs (1 base and 1 with recaros)...

The Focus is faster in a straight line and has a much nicer interior. Thats my honest review. The recaros in the Fiesta are better than in the Focus because of the rake and seating position / pedals in the Focus. They are much more comfortable in the Fiesta. Room? The Focus is slightly larger in the trunk but rear leg room is almost identical. The big difference would be if you have a passenger riding up front with you, the Focus is so much wider so you wont be rubbing shoulders and elbows LOL.

Both are great cars, however the Fiesta DOES handle better and IS more fun to drive .

 

[Clint Beastwood]

Now this is a well thought out reply! I certainly agree with you about the FoST vs. GTI comment. I don't know enough about the Veloster N yet but the reviews I have read have all been really good. We got our FoST November of last year and we also looked at GTI's. Hands down the GTI was/is a better car. However, Ford was running INSANE rebates on all Focus vehicles. With military / factory rebate and dealer discount we were out the door at under 22k (in California I might add). The cheapest GTI would find was $5k more.

I'm in a similar situation as you; the FiST is our third vehicle. My daily is a full sized truck and getting into either the FoST or FiST is a joy. Maybe that's why I can't really tell the difference in some aspects lol.

I guess another reason I wrote this is because of all the hate FoSTs get. I mean, go back and just read the comments in this thread; it makes no sense to me. Based on what I hear/read I thought the FiST would just blow away our FoST. That's simply not the case. IDK, weird.......

I think a lot of the FoST hate is towards most of the owners and not the cars. The FiST handles better for autocross type stuff so more "drivers" tend to favor it, the FoST is cheap and fast when a light turns green so a lot of the drivers are of the... flat billed hat tapout tshirt crowd racing minivans while chugging monster. Not all of them, but enough that people will laugh when they read this because it's kinda spot-on.

 

[MRX330]

I'm thoroughly enjoying my stock FiST, going on one year with no plans on modding it

Congratulations

 

[KWeaver]

I think a lot of the FoST hate is towards most of the owners and not the cars. The FiST handles better for autocross type stuff so more "drivers" tend to favor it, the FoST is cheap and fast when a light turns green so a lot of the drivers are of the... flat billed hat tapout tshirt crowd racing minivans while chugging monster. Not all of them, but enough that people will laugh when they read this because it's kinda spot-on.

I assume with it's lighter weight and overall size it just responds better to suspension mods? After reading the comments in this thread I did a non-exhaustive search of FoST/FiST reviews and all that I found have the FoST handling slightly better in stock form.

The "typical" FoST driver description would certainly explain the hate I guess I am insulated where I live; there are WAY more GTI's, Si's, and Subies than FoST/FiST.

 

[Dpro]

Now this is a well thought out reply! I certainly agree with you about the FoST vs. GTI comment. I don't know enough about the Veloster N yet but the reviews I have read have all been really good. We got our FoST November of last year and we also looked at GTI's. Hands down the GTI was/is a better car. However, Ford was running INSANE rebates on all Focus vehicles. With military / factory rebate and dealer discount we were out the door at under 22k (in California I might add). The cheapest GTI we could find was $5k more.

I'm in a similar situation as you; the FiST is our third vehicle. My daily is a full sized truck and getting into either the FoST or FiST is a joy. Maybe that's why I can't really tell the difference in some aspects lol.

I guess another reason I wrote this is because of all the hate FoSTs get. I mean, go back and just read the comments in this thread; it makes no sense to me. Based on what I hear/read I thought the FiST would just blow away our FoST. That's simply not the case. IDK, weird.......

like the one I wrote is not? You are coming off as kinda of condescending with that comment.
My reply was well thought out It’s what I did and how I felt sorry it did touch you. lol
You write about control switches and whatnot , ya having owned a Focus some of the switches may be in a better place the interior is a little nicer. Though what I give up to get that? A car that drives nice but does not put a smile on mu face almost everytime I drive it.

The FiST is a drivers car. Go look at the European side of things see which car is more popular.
Its not about hate of the FoST either, its about the feel it just feels more like a sports vehicle.
Oh and no hate but why do FoRS track guys like Rome Medrano wind up buying FiST’s and tracking them.
It’s again not hate just facts, the Ford WRC car is Fiesta based not Focus based? Why is that? Again not hate but facts , you seem to be possibly equating facts to hate because ya FiST drivers are pretty passionate about our cars.
They are that fun and in my book more fun that a Focus. Again no hate.

 

[XR650R]

Not sure what you're reading, but the consensus among the many comparisons I've seen is that the FiST is better for handling. A good friend of mine just drove it, and he said it handles like a gocart. I didn't say it, he did.

If I frequently carried more than 2 people, the FoST is the one I'd get. If it's mostly just you, going where you gotta go, the FiST is a blast.

Considerably better mileage, too. That matters, AFAIC.

 

[Clint Beastwood]

Not sure what you're reading, but the consensus among the many comparisons I've seen is that the FiST is better for handling. A good friend of mine just drove it, and he said it handles like a gocart. I didn't say it, he did.

If I frequently carried more than 2 people, the FoST is the one I'd get. If it's mostly just you, going where you gotta go, the FiST is a blast.

Considerably better mileage, too. That matters, AFAIC.

I think it might be also that the FiST is new to the OP and the FoST is not, so they're confident pushing the FoST but not the FiST?

At the end of the day, I have cars, but I'd never turn down the opportunity to hoon a gokart. The FiST is a simple box on wheels that drives like a gokart, so it's the one that makes me giggle (after mods). Before mods, I found the FiST kinda boring (coming from a snorty burbly abarth).