"Hamtractor" (johnny-bullet)
08/07/2019 at 11:18 • Filed to: None
2
9|
"Hamtractor" (johnny-bullet)
08/07/2019 at 11:18 • Filed to: None | 2
| 9 |
So I’m three months and 2700 miles into my 2018 Ford Fiesta. Not the racecar Fiesta, the one-step above base Fiesta. I love it, I hate it. Here’s a brief bullet pointed review:
Pro:
· I love four door hatches, always have, this one looks pretty good.
· The infotainment system, with it’s 3x5, non-touchscreen basicness, is still super easy to use.
· Gets around 39mpg on the highway
· Steering and chassis are pretty tight
Con:
· It’s so freaking small, no trunk space, backseat is negligible with adults in the front seats.
· Gets like 25mpg in the city, which is less than my wife’s 2016 Sonata… Honestly, we just came back from a 2200 mile roadtrip, and her Sonata averaged 35mpg at an average speed of 85mph, so I’m pretty disappointed that my Fiesta only beats that by 4mpg at an average speed of 70 or so.
· The DCT transmission sucks balls. This thing bogs off the line half the time, revs hard and shifts hard randomly (I know, it’s a known issue with these cars, but the price was right and we got a ridiculously good warranty for an extra $550). We’ll see how it lasts, I guess...
Overall, it’s exactly what I would expect for a basic little commuter car. It’s pretty efficient, I don’t mind spending time in it, it does exactly what I need a commuter ride to do and with the lower miles I’m expecting to put on it (10K/year or so), it should last me far past the loan pay off date. That said, I’m really wishing I’d have gone with the Hyundai Elantra or a Kona in the similar price range. I didn’t buy this car for anything remotely resembling fun or driving pleasure, it’s just a tool. It has enabled me to park the K5 and start working on that build so that my son can drive a badass truck to school when he turns 16 in two years.
Ask me anything if you want to know something…
Nibby
> Hamtractor
08/07/2019 at 11:45 |
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so do you have to chop up body parts to squeeze them in the trunk?
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Hamtractor
> Nibby
08/07/2019 at 12:28 |
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I don’t “chop” so much as I “blend”. The Ninja 9000 purees pretty good, then it’s into the bucket with ‘em. Still has to be a pretty small person though, there’s only room for two 5-gallon buckets back there. If I fold the seats down, I can fit a 35-gallon drum though, so that’s a possibility if I can get the hydroflouric acid to stop ruining my bathtub...
DucST3-Red-1Liter-Standing-By
> Hamtractor
08/07/2019 at 14:40 |
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Pretty much the same thoughts as mine, but i’ve got the 5 speed and 1.0 ecoboost. My mileage is about 40 as well. Glad I spent the time to avoid the DCT
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Hamtractor
> DucST3-Red-1Liter-Standing-By
08/07/2019 at 16:40 |
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I actually test drove the five-speed, and liked it, but in a pure commuter, a manual is just torture to me. Plus the five-speed they had was rental-car-white and completely basic.
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DucST3-Red-1Liter-Standing-By
> Hamtractor
08/07/2019 at 17:10 |
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Yeah, I tried the base trim with the 5 speed too, super basic. The ecoboost nets some nice upgrades. All things being equal I’d go for the auto too, I was just terrified of the DCT issues. The ironic part is the engine in the car I bought had a cracked head. Luckily fixed under warranty
Scott Brown
> Hamtractor
08/07/2019 at 21:19 |
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The size of Fiesta is perfect for me. I learned that NOT hauling around two hundred pounds of crap leaves me enough room to be comfortable. I created a load floor compartment that lifts the floor about six inches, has an access door on a piano hinge, and basically creates a flat floor when you fold the seatbacks down. It's awesome. The manual transmission is the best, most trouble free choice. Get a trailer hitch and an aluminum cargo tray for trips. Get a roof rack to haul kyaks, surf boards or bikes. Ya' don't need to buy a fifty grand SUV to have a flexible, multi purpose vehicle.
Forrest
> Hamtractor
08/08/2019 at 01:50 |
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I had one of these with the 1.6 base motor and a 5MT. I really enjoyed it. I did a lot of track days in it, too, despite it not being an ST. It was a great car for learning better car-control.
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Hamtractor
> Scott Brown
08/08/2019 at 09:02 |
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Once the motor swap is completed, I’ll be using my K5 for everything besides commuting, lol... the top and back seat are already off and sold, it’s already a truck! By the time I finish the motor and tranny swap, throw some new 35-inch shoes on her and install the Sub aru WRX seats in, she’ll be an $8K “SUV”, lol...
darkforcesjedi
> Hamtractor
08/08/2019 at 10:10 |
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I’ve been driving mine since December and one thing that irks me beyond reason is every time I start the car I have to set the A/C again. It has electronic controls that reset every time the car turns off. My previous car (a Chevrolet) did the same thing. This seems to be a common theme in modern cars. My first car had physical switches that stayed on until I turned them off. Why do modern cars behave this way? It is beyond annoying especially if you make numerous short car trips throughout the day.
Also the “SYNC” radio (is that what they call the infotainment system) is equally annoying. I plug in my phone and get the android auto interface, but if I don’t play any audio from android, after about 15 seconds it turns on the radio and you can’t turn it off without exiting the Android Auto interface. Also there is no physical Play/pause button. If you want to pause a CD or Bluetooth audio or android auto audio, you have to navigate to the associated interface to find the pause button. Did they not bother to actually try using the damn thing before installing it in all their cars (as I understand it, they put the same system in all their models)? Also it doesn’t let you leave music playing when you get out of the car.
I still enjoy driving the car and am satisfied overall, but there are just a bunch of things that could be better.