Snow Tires Rule.

"conrader" (conrader) 01/04/2015 at 13:31 • Filed to: snow, fiesta st, ST, tires

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First real test of the new tires on the ST and it was a roaring success. There isn't a ton of snow on the ground, but plenty of ice. My wife and I had a great time driving around in it, and that's pretty much the first time we've felt comfortable driving on ice and snow! We also ordered snow tires and wheels for our 2011 MKX so we should be SET!

dogisbadob > conrader 01/04/2015 at 13:32

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best part

conrader > dogisbadob 01/04/2015 at 13:35

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I waited over a month while they were on order just so I could have steelies and not rando aftermarket wheels. I think its such a good look!

Long Live the Longdoor > conrader 01/04/2015 at 13:47

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Sweet! How you liking the FiST so far?

conrader > Long Live the Longdoor 01/04/2015 at 14:04

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I am loving every minute of it! It feels both planted and stable and bonkers all at the same time for pretty much whatever we are doing. My wife loves driving it (she didn't enjoy driving my 05 Mustang GT when I had it) as much as I do, I think. Plus it has been returning about 30 mpg even with how I drive so that's a huge bonus!

Long Live the Longdoor > conrader 01/04/2015 at 14:11

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Right on! Good to hear.

How long have you had it? Any issues?

conrader > Long Live the Longdoor 01/04/2015 at 14:20

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We've had it since May 5, and have 5200 miles on it. No issues to speak of at this point! Have a tiny rattle that I think is coming from a piece of plastic on the passenger side which I will have taken care of at my first oil change probably, which I will be scheduling shortly.

Long Live the Longdoor > conrader 01/04/2015 at 14:47

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Goodstuff! How's the turbo lag in the FiST? That was one of my biggest complaints about my Cruze (1.4T) when I had it, between the auto tranny and the lag, I'd drop my foot down to make a move a stop and I'd have to wait half a second before anything happens (super annoying and a little nerve wrecking if you're trying to make a turn into traffic).

Sorry for all the questions, I just really like the ST and will be giving one a hard look when I buy my next car :)

conrader > Long Live the Longdoor 01/04/2015 at 15:20

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ask away! I'm just excited that people are even asking questions about it. No one knows what it is around here, and everyone thinks it's just a regular fiesta though that is nice for a few things!

The turbo is tiny and since you're in control of what gear to be in I have very few complaints in that department. Of course I want more power but I don't need it. We just got rid of a Fiesta SE with a 5 speed and it was terrifying if you had to merge quickly or make a snap decision about something. We have 0 issues with any of that in the ST. The shifter is incredible.

Any annoyances are things like, it's so small that the arm rest is short so you have to hold your arm back further than you may be used to if you use one. The touch screen/iPhone interface is ok, but I get annoyed because it restarts my playlist pretty much every time I plug it in there. Or I have to press play from my phone before it actually responds on the screen. Though, that is pretty much any SYNC system with the touchscreen. Bluetooth works fine.

Recaro seats are wonderful if you're somewhat skinny or slightly more lean. I think they're extremely comfy, even with the much much more firm ride (than normal cars).

Insurance was the same as our regular fiesta.

What else? I'm trying to think of more things!

Long Live the Longdoor > conrader 01/04/2015 at 18:18

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I can understand what you mean about it being kind of anonymous, I've thought about how normal (non-jalop) individuals see cars and they don't really see sporty/performance cars based on normal cars as being anything special or even notably different. Cool if you want a sleeper, bad if you're looking for "status". A lot of people, I think, often need a stand-alone coupe profile in order to mentally say "hey, that's sexy!" or "Wow I bet that's fast!" (if non-car people even care about those things lol).

The added benefit of it being a turbocharged, is that if a day arises that you absolutely need more power, you're a quick ECU flash away from tire squealing goodness ;)

I understand that there might be some slight ergonomic issues with buying a car in the B Segment, like the armrest but that's to be expected. The FiST is such a good value proposition that I can easily overlook some minor niggles.

I'm not super concerned about the SYNC, as I'll likely be purchasing in ~2 years and SYNC 3 should likely be out by then, which hopefully remedy some complaints. Which reminds me, do you know if you can change the background image on the FiST's SYNC screen? I know you can on the FoST, I'm not sure if that's something you've played around with.

I actually sat in the FiST last year at the autoshow and really liked the Recaro seats. Plus, from the various video updates from Matt Farah @ The Smoking Tire, they apparently break in to, er, larger body types. I am going to sit in the FiST again this year and get my wife to sit in it too. We don't have any kids, but I kind of need to make sure she's comfy in it too lol.

conrader > Long Live the Longdoor 01/05/2015 at 07:49

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Haha, I totally understand your position then! I just learned that you can change background just a few days ago! I put the ST logo as the background!

And about the power, yeah, I hear that ford is going to be making their own power pack for the FiST if you want to stay OEM and Mountune is supposed to keep factory warranty as well. I like the OEM concept so I might wait a bit to see what comes of that!