I'm gonna step on some people's toes tonight, when talking about the caveats of buying a FiST, but then again, I personally believe every point is valid.
Some of them are my personal preferences, some of them are more unanimous.
But I think there should be the freedom to express these points on a forum like this one:
Aside from:
- the hard suspension, which I wished was better adjusted for street use,
- A 20% too low final gear ratio (I'm not the first one to desire this), for better highway MPG, and
- an actual Sedan body (which I really preferred)
There are a few things I still am missing in the FiST:
- The non-ricaro seats bounce too much. I know the suspension does a lousy job on a bumpy road, but I feel the seats aren't really helping in absorbing the bounce. Sometimes I think they're made to propel me in the ceiling even more...
- 8 way driver seat; I would love for the bottom cushion to tilt back some. For a car sold for nearly $24k this should be included.
- The Cruise control has an 'off' and a 'can res' button. Both do nearly the same thing. I find they could have made better use of the 'can res' button (like make it a play/pause button)
- The Cruise Control 'on' button does not light up any notification on the dash indicating that the cruise control has been turned on.
- The Res + does not show what speed I've set it on. Tap it a few times, and I have to wait until the speedo stabilizes, to know what speed I'm on.
- The small internal screen is showing outside temperature, just like the radio's screen does. I would have preferred to see other info (like MPG and AVG MPG in one window, or MPG and ODO, or ODO and miles to empty or so). Showing the outside temp on that display is a waste of valuable estate to me.
- The radio has no play/pause button. I have to press 'speak' button, and then speak 'pause', or 'play'. And I can't say 'stop', because that command is not recognized.
- The radio rotary dial, has no 'press' function. It would make 'play' and 'pause', or 'select item on screen' so much easier,
- The 4 way buttons around the rotary dial on the radio, do not function as 4 way in settings. They still have vol +/- and next/prev function.
- The built in tweeters in the door handles, seem to be (I could be wrong) full range, rather than have a cutoff. They are small, so lower frequencies are pretty much inaudible, but they have a resonant peak at around 1-2kHz. There is no equalization to get rid of that frequency. It's extremely annoying when listening to audio books. The built in 3 band EQ doesn't address this offending frequency.
- Noisy road tires. I would have wanted regular streetcar 17" tires to fit the rims (like 205/65R17). The tires and suspension are more tuned for the tracks than the streets, while the rest of the car isn't.
- 5 bolt pattern rims. Not sure why they tried to save 1 bolt in the process, but 4x108 rims are scarce, and expensive compared to their 5 bolts counterparts.
- Sunglasses box on the ceiling.. Yup.. My glasses don't fit in the compartment in front of the gearstick.
- The compartment in front of the gear stick isn't only too small, it also is tilted down too little. Cards, keys, coins, whatever I put in there, slides out with some acceleration.
- This is the first car I've seen, with no cabin light bulb. I'm not really missing one, but the only light bulb is for the front 2 drivers. Nothing for the back seat passengers.
- I had hoped Sync 3 would come with a GPS and map included... Surprised my radio actually supports Sirius XM and FM HD (which I love), but no GPS and map? Makes me wonder if this is engineered as a vehicle, or an entertainment center?
- Sound customization. I would have preferred a multiband EQ, over the plain 3band EQ. This car really needs it, as the speakers aren't really that good.
- Disc brakes corrosion (literally, after 24 hours of no operation, the discs were showing signs of corrosion).
- A very short brake pedal travel (good for tracks, not so much for the road, where the brakes tend to drag due to corrosion on the discs causing MPG losses; and every little touch on the pedal causes me to lurch forward).
- position indicator of song, can not be modified on touch screen (FF/REW by dragging position across the bar; meaning FF and REW can only be done by pressing the appropriate buttons, not by sliding the slider).
- Not a lot of apps available for the radio; app integration from cell phone isn't very intuitive, and almost appears as if they'd be only paid apps (very little marketing on Sync 3 apps out there).
- Rear view mirror is manufactured to suit drivers of up to about 6'3". Taller drivers are out of luck, and will see no higher than their trunk lid, or back seat.
- Front/rear door style is in the way for left arm rest.
- Right (center) arm rest is located too much back.
- Gear knob could have been at least 1/2' higher.
- Gear stick has long travel for such a short stick. It works out well, but if I would be able to raise the gear stick by 1/2'-3/4', the travel from shifting between gears would be very long.
- The Sound Symphoser box should have been an aftermarket accessoire. Not something that comes stock with the car.
- Slow 1st gear
- Hard to drive in 1st or 2nd gear at idle RPM. (Sometimes necessary in slow moving traffic; engine electronics don't compensate very well at those low RPMs)
- I had expected this car to have a smaller turn radius
Before the ??????-storm starts, I am not dissing the FiST.
I just think a lot of the issues on the list make no sense for a car that's been around for over 40 years,
A friend once told me: "If you don't notice, it means it's well engineered".
Well, I notice a lot of things...
But it has a lot of good things, like:
- Nimble, light, turns well
- Good engine balance between fuel efficiency and power. In fact, one of the few cars with a 1.6L turbo engine, which is close to my personal 'golden standard' for engines.
- Fun, and good looking small car
- Easy to mod
- Good brakes; Brakes have a good bite
- Excellent and seamless transmission shifting
- Radio system plays back a variety of formats
- Possibility to upgrade car radio firmware via Wifi
- Just enough trunk space to fit a cart of groceries.
- Downward spoiler for better fuel economy, doubles to keep rear window relatively dry in a downpour.
There may be more things to mention about the Fist, but for now that's what I have.
I may update it later.
Some of them are my personal preferences, some of them are more unanimous.
But I think there should be the freedom to express these points on a forum like this one:
Aside from:
- the hard suspension, which I wished was better adjusted for street use,
- A 20% too low final gear ratio (I'm not the first one to desire this), for better highway MPG, and
- an actual Sedan body (which I really preferred)
There are a few things I still am missing in the FiST:
- The non-ricaro seats bounce too much. I know the suspension does a lousy job on a bumpy road, but I feel the seats aren't really helping in absorbing the bounce. Sometimes I think they're made to propel me in the ceiling even more...
- 8 way driver seat; I would love for the bottom cushion to tilt back some. For a car sold for nearly $24k this should be included.
- The Cruise control has an 'off' and a 'can res' button. Both do nearly the same thing. I find they could have made better use of the 'can res' button (like make it a play/pause button)
- The Cruise Control 'on' button does not light up any notification on the dash indicating that the cruise control has been turned on.
- The Res + does not show what speed I've set it on. Tap it a few times, and I have to wait until the speedo stabilizes, to know what speed I'm on.
- The small internal screen is showing outside temperature, just like the radio's screen does. I would have preferred to see other info (like MPG and AVG MPG in one window, or MPG and ODO, or ODO and miles to empty or so). Showing the outside temp on that display is a waste of valuable estate to me.
- The radio has no play/pause button. I have to press 'speak' button, and then speak 'pause', or 'play'. And I can't say 'stop', because that command is not recognized.
- The radio rotary dial, has no 'press' function. It would make 'play' and 'pause', or 'select item on screen' so much easier,
- The 4 way buttons around the rotary dial on the radio, do not function as 4 way in settings. They still have vol +/- and next/prev function.
- The built in tweeters in the door handles, seem to be (I could be wrong) full range, rather than have a cutoff. They are small, so lower frequencies are pretty much inaudible, but they have a resonant peak at around 1-2kHz. There is no equalization to get rid of that frequency. It's extremely annoying when listening to audio books. The built in 3 band EQ doesn't address this offending frequency.
- Noisy road tires. I would have wanted regular streetcar 17" tires to fit the rims (like 205/65R17). The tires and suspension are more tuned for the tracks than the streets, while the rest of the car isn't.
- 5 bolt pattern rims. Not sure why they tried to save 1 bolt in the process, but 4x108 rims are scarce, and expensive compared to their 5 bolts counterparts.
- Sunglasses box on the ceiling.. Yup.. My glasses don't fit in the compartment in front of the gearstick.
- The compartment in front of the gear stick isn't only too small, it also is tilted down too little. Cards, keys, coins, whatever I put in there, slides out with some acceleration.
- This is the first car I've seen, with no cabin light bulb. I'm not really missing one, but the only light bulb is for the front 2 drivers. Nothing for the back seat passengers.
- I had hoped Sync 3 would come with a GPS and map included... Surprised my radio actually supports Sirius XM and FM HD (which I love), but no GPS and map? Makes me wonder if this is engineered as a vehicle, or an entertainment center?
- Sound customization. I would have preferred a multiband EQ, over the plain 3band EQ. This car really needs it, as the speakers aren't really that good.
- Disc brakes corrosion (literally, after 24 hours of no operation, the discs were showing signs of corrosion).
- A very short brake pedal travel (good for tracks, not so much for the road, where the brakes tend to drag due to corrosion on the discs causing MPG losses; and every little touch on the pedal causes me to lurch forward).
- position indicator of song, can not be modified on touch screen (FF/REW by dragging position across the bar; meaning FF and REW can only be done by pressing the appropriate buttons, not by sliding the slider).
- Not a lot of apps available for the radio; app integration from cell phone isn't very intuitive, and almost appears as if they'd be only paid apps (very little marketing on Sync 3 apps out there).
- Rear view mirror is manufactured to suit drivers of up to about 6'3". Taller drivers are out of luck, and will see no higher than their trunk lid, or back seat.
- Front/rear door style is in the way for left arm rest.
- Right (center) arm rest is located too much back.
- Gear knob could have been at least 1/2' higher.
- Gear stick has long travel for such a short stick. It works out well, but if I would be able to raise the gear stick by 1/2'-3/4', the travel from shifting between gears would be very long.
- The Sound Symphoser box should have been an aftermarket accessoire. Not something that comes stock with the car.
- Slow 1st gear
- Hard to drive in 1st or 2nd gear at idle RPM. (Sometimes necessary in slow moving traffic; engine electronics don't compensate very well at those low RPMs)
- I had expected this car to have a smaller turn radius
Before the ??????-storm starts, I am not dissing the FiST.
I just think a lot of the issues on the list make no sense for a car that's been around for over 40 years,
A friend once told me: "If you don't notice, it means it's well engineered".
Well, I notice a lot of things...
But it has a lot of good things, like:
- Nimble, light, turns well
- Good engine balance between fuel efficiency and power. In fact, one of the few cars with a 1.6L turbo engine, which is close to my personal 'golden standard' for engines.
- Fun, and good looking small car
- Easy to mod
- Good brakes; Brakes have a good bite
- Excellent and seamless transmission shifting
- Radio system plays back a variety of formats
- Possibility to upgrade car radio firmware via Wifi
- Just enough trunk space to fit a cart of groceries.
- Downward spoiler for better fuel economy, doubles to keep rear window relatively dry in a downpour.
There may be more things to mention about the Fist, but for now that's what I have.
I may update it later.
![[clap]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_clap.gif "Clap [clap]"){kind=icon}
![[8]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_8ball.gif "Retarded [8]"){kind=icon}
But hey, it's all personal opinion. I just happen to think the OP has no idea what he's talking about, no way I'm going to waste the time to pick them apart one by one.
