List your 5 favorite and 5 least favorite things about your fist

[Stkid93]

All in the title,

list your 5 favorite things and 5 least favorite things about your fist. Try to get creative if you can so we don’t all list the same things. (For example, we all know the interior looks and feels cheap, it was the cheapest car ford made and not what the fist is about anyways)

If you have found a solution to the negative things feel free to include that as well. I’ll start with my list below

favorites

1)torque especially on e30
2) I want to put steering feel and handling but I feel that’s too obvious. So I’m going to go with the sleeper status this car has. I took someone for a ride the other day. And they had the time of their life and were flipping out about how fast and fun the car was the
3) overall practicality, not only is the car stupid fun, but it’s a hatch and you can actually fit a ton of stuff with the sears down especially for its size and get over 40 mpg if you wanted to.
4) it’s different, everyone is all about evos, Subarus, etc. having a little fiesta that is all about weight savings and handling instead of 0-60 times is refreshing. I mean how many times do you get the chance to go 0-60 anyways!
5) turbo and blow off noise after only a whoosh short ram. I have never had a car that makes so much noise after basically just a filter change.

least favorite

1) wheels and tires. Tires are too small from factory and it’s hard to find good wheels due to the 4 lug pattern and they don’t make a lot of tires in the stock 205 size
2) top end dies. If they just put a little bigger of a turbo so the car made maybe 230 horsepower I think that would have made a big difference
3) tuneability, while you can get tons of torque you will never see a large power increase on stock turbo. Every car I’ve owned gained at least 100 horsepower and 100 torque after being tuned. The fist is more like 20-40 horsepower and 60-80 torque
4) too close to the regular fist, I would have liked to see some more stuff from factory. And some of it could have been functional too like a hood scoop or vents. The aftermarket spoiler risers look great, something like that would have been cool, more aggressive styling in general
5) stock paint, I took my car to a really good touchless car wash where they really take pride in what they do, and the stock paint had scratches after. Thankfully they used compound and got them out but that shouldn’t happen in a touch less hand car wash

 

[NATYPE]

The good!

1) How much this car communicates through the steering wheel. Have to second that since it's truly my favorite part.
2) Accessibility and usefulness of the easy mods. E30 + intake and exhaust and you're getting a lot of modified car feel for the money.
3) Getting on three wheels through every big intersection when the green arrow hits just right because this thing will rotate on command.
4) The Recaro's honestly - I've made them fit me and I am not small. Also one of the few things that make the interior feel special.
5) Maintenance and consumables are cheap and easy.

The Bad

1) If you're getting competitive with the FiST it's clearly a huge roadblock when you just need wider tires.
2) Rust and corrosion issues with a big ol asterisk. Clearly you can keep them clean enough but mine literally came out from under a pile of snow up north via Carvana and it shows.
3) Our windshield is damn big and soaks up rock chips on the highway just like the hood.
4) The reflector style headlights are annoying.
5) I wish they were still being made for many reasons... Got into a single car accident awhile back and some of the parts (side skirt, front fender) were slow to source and getting expensive.

 

[woodford86]

In no particular order:
Favorites:
- Size. So easy for parking and navigating traffic.
- Understated style. At a glance its just an econobox, but on second glance theres something special to it.
- Factory Recaros are so comfortable. I would never have paid money for these but now that I have them, I can’t see a fun car without them.
- The big tuner/bolt on market. I love tinkering but hate making a mess. This car, most mods are clean and enjoyable. My brother’s mustang? I swear he spends every garage night covered in a new kind of oil.
- Just the sheer fun of it. I might not be able to keep up with a WRX at autocross or a proper sports car at the track, but this thing is just such a blast in everything I throw at it.

Least favorites:
- Lack of modern comforts (mostly adaptive cruise, wireless carplay, LED headlights, better speakers). Mines a ‘15, not sure if the ‘19s have those features.
- Door lock button not on the doors
- Useless cubby that can’t hold anything if you accelerate
- The fact they don’t make them anymore. Once she gets rusty, its all over
- No AWD option. Ok I know thats a stretch, but the cars still new to me and I love this thing.

 

[Stkid93]

Brooo an all wheel drive fiesta rs. Those things would maybe be the best hot hatch sold today. Yes the all wheel drive system would probably add at least 300 lbs. but if they made a 3000 on fiesta rs with 300 horsepower and more aggressive rs styling, I think that might be the dopest thing I’ve ever seen lol (I say 300 horsepower so it’s more than the focus st but not too much so it didnt impact focus rs sales by having too much power)

If this car was made, and that’s a big if. I don’t know if they would keep the 1.6. They could keep it upgrade internals and slap a bigger turbo on it. Something like a whoosh hybrid or s280. I don’t think it would have been possible to go up to the 2.0/2.3 in the fiestas and keep the price reasonable. ken blocks fiesta was all wheel drive with a 2.0 eco boost and made something like 650 wheel. But who knows how much it cost to make that beast.

 

[Business6]

Good
- Fun as hell to drive. Very much a FWD turbo Miata.
- Simple. On Ford's end this was simply about hitting a price point. To me this translates to an experience that requires the driver's focus and attention. They do not and will not make cars like this anymore at this price.
- Small. Anything I've needed more car for is something I needed a truck or moving truck for instead. Plenty of usable space despite the size.
- Surprisingly good gas mileage. I've never romped on a car this much and still returned high 20's/low 30's for gas mileage, lol. Long trips can easily nab 35+
- Good mod platform. There are always better examples for gaining power but they aren't 2700lbs. Small gains add up very quickly the lighter the car is.

Bad
- It's EoL. Better take care of your cars, folks, because it's only going to take longer and cost more for replacement parts and repairs.
- Extremely shallow wheel wells. One of the worst cars I've ever seen for tire options. There's just no goddamn room and that leaves us with an extremely narrow list of options for tires.
- Small. Just like my Miatas, people want to kill me on the road as they pretend to not see a molten orange jelly bean.
- Headlights. How is any modern car not fitted with projectors?!?! This is batshit crazy to me especially given that the car elsewhere in the world gets them.
- Ford "quality." You know exactly what I mean.

 

[tri-pedaler]

Great idea OP

1. Fun - great car to get into and chuck around after a long day. This is an X factor of course, but if you know, you know.
2. Inputs - many good driver inputs for the price point. Steering, shifter, throttle, brakes - all much better than similar cars (looking at you Abarth 500).
3. Efficient - all things being equal, it’s cheaper to run something as a daily that returns good mileage. This was a must for me.
4. Weight - hard to find a 2720 lbs car these days - bonus for handling and power-to-weight ratio (same as the E30 M3!)
5. Rotation! So many fwd cars have rear positive camber to stop them from stepping out in the rear. Not so the FiST - lift-off oversteer is a blast.

Cons:
1. Ride - highways porpoising is so annoying. My daily cross to bear over expansion joints…
2. Tire width - already covered by others, but this is why we’re getting hustled in H Street - solely because if this.
3. Pedals - this is picky, but more solid pedals and better stock spacing for heel-toe would help. Imagine metal pedal levers….
4. LSD - like tire width, would have been a game changer had this been stock
5. Engine note - I know, it’s a turbo 4. Still, the Abarth pulled it off somehow… (Unpopular opinion, but I will say that I like the sound symposer). Mk 8 3 cylinder improved here to my mind, but not everyone agrees.

 

[Stkid93]

@tri-pedaler @Business6 @woodford86 @NATYPE

What do you all think about throttle response? I know it’s a small 4 cylinder that’s heavily dependent on the turbo. But I feel like I need to give it at least 50-60% throttle for it to get going. And then the last 30-40% is more or less the same. I can hit 24-25 lbs at 80% throttle and 26 at 100%. I wish they made the first 50% of the throttle way more aggressive and smoothed out the rest. I don’t like that I have to really stab the throttle, with such a small turbo it should be able to spool up at partial throttle more than it does. (I guess this is what happens when you make everything electronic, you lose feel. steering, throttle etc)

I believe this can be helped through your tune so I’m considering that

 

[woodford86]

Well my other driver is a Tundra so the fist's throttle feels pretty damn responsive lol

 

[tri-pedaler]

@tri-pedaler @Business6 @woodford86 @NATYPE

What do you all think about throttle response? I know it’s a small 4 cylinder that’s heavily dependent on the turbo. But I feel like I need to give it at least 50-60% throttle for it to get going. And then the last 30-40% is more or less the same. I can hit 24-25 lbs at 80% throttle and 26 at 100%. I wish they made the first 50% of the throttle way more aggressive and smoothed out the rest. I don’t like that I have to really stab the throttle, with such a small turbo it should be able to spool up at partial throttle more than it does. (I guess this is what happens when you make everything electronic, you lose feel. steering, throttle etc)

I believe this can be helped through your tune so I’m considering that

Herein lies the issue of turbos as you know.

Superchargers are better for throttle response, and NA is best of all in terms of linearity.

Not sure about a tune to improve this - others?

 

[rallytaff]

If you read what I've done to my car, I'm 100% happy with the performance. As I drove today, I took note of where the gear lever is and for me, being as tall as I am, it's perfect. If anything I would have a shorter one if that's possible with less throw. Even at my age, I'm having the time of my life driving this thing every day and drive it the way it's meant to be driven! I can afford to do anything to the car, but I don't need to. Best car I've ever owned!

 

[Stkid93]

@tri-pedaler

i know that at least 1 company can fix this via tuning. Stratified has an option for “aggressive or linear throttle response” so I know they can at least somewhat change it

 

[Beelzeboss]

Having only had the car for 7 days

Favourite:
1) The handling and steering feel, it really does feel like a light, nimble car
2) The fact it feels WAY faster than it actually is, so you don't need to be doing insane speeds to have fun. My MX-5 was the same, just awesome at legal-ish speeds.
3) The Recaro's
4) The mods available, being so highly modded in the community means there are very clear paths to certain power levels and accepted safe levels for the engine
5) The intake noise, with an intake kit the turbo whistle and BOV noise is absolutely ridiculously loud

Least favourite:
1) Throttle response is not linear or completely predictable, this is my first DBW car and it's really odd how you can keep constant pedal position and you can tell the computer is hammering the throttle at first then letting it off later with no change in pedal position. I'd rather a 1:1 mapping of pedal to throttle opening so it drove like a cable throttle.
2) The hill assist, disabled it as soon as I realised that I could. It just seems to hold the brake on for a tiny bit too long every time.
3) The lack of traction, I probably need better tyres
4) No LSD
5) The intake noise (when trying to keep a low profile), it's almost impossible to drive it without it whooshing and psshhing everywhere... A fave and least fave thing about it

 

[jmrtsus]

Fav's
1. price
2. performance (has had MP-215 since new)
3. reliability
4. Android auto
5. decent street tire selection for stock size

Least fav's

1. wish it had a better audio option
2. ummmmm
3. duh........
4. thinkin'.....
5. see #1

Most fun car I have ever owned and I have owned many, we also have a Mustang GT/CS Coyote and the FiST, a hammer and a scalpel. Love them both but the FiST is the best all around for a DD, small for parking and still no door dings in almost 7 years so to us it is a perfect car for fun driving and grocery shopping. Also a great little touring car, most of my 70K mileage is cross country trips where 36 MPG is the norm. Choose stock seats over Recaro's for comfort and love them. I have never felt the need for more than the MP-215 gives me in street driving and don't AutoX or street race this car, pampered like the prize it is. Looks and runs like new. We love tiny back roads and shun the interstate in our pleasure trips. Just did 200 miles of W. NC curvy mountain roads in the GT 2 days ago. Great time! FiST on!

 

[esp_martin]

great topic! was starting to read other responses but quickly realized that's not the point. so at risk of repeating what so many others have already said:

pro:
1) bolt-on level customization of increasing power/handling: parts are relatively easy to upgrade in order to increase HP or get better levels of grip.
2) cheap replacement parts: even though prices will continue to climb based the Fiesta 180 platform ending, compared to VW/Mini(BMW), FiST parts are *cheap* and will continue to be cheap for a long while.
3) size/weight: there's no replacement for...LightCarGoRoundTurnMeSmile
4) livability/dependability: it's not bulletproot and it's not as smooth as family cars, but it's also not trying to rip your head off or break down every year
5) reputation/sleeper status: those who know, know. and those who have no clue have no idea

con:
1) no LSD: this just seems like such a weird cost cutting measure
2) wheel well: 9in tires should've been standard
3) transmission gearing: 1st is kinda unusable once you unlock the hidden torque and 6th gear IMO should be taller for better highway mileage
4) symposer: WHY?
5) mounts: these are the 1st step to upgrades for a reason. these should've been better from the factory from the start

 

[Stkid93]

@esp_martin @tri-pedaler Haha so glad y’all like the idea. I can’t believe it hasn’t been done yet!

Martin-You can of course read other peoples responses if you want. Make the thread whatever you want it to be

 

[New_Daily]

Favs:
1. price / performance (or maybe fun specifically) ratio
2. general road feel. Love the tight well handling feel
3, general looks. Good differentiation to a base fiesta. Love how the FiST’s look
4. easy to work on. Yeah headlights have to be removed for most jobs but that’s easy too.
5. great aftermarket support

Cons:
1. Still based on a subcompact econobox. Yeah our springs and shocks are better and lower but rear beam suspension ain’t great and MacPherson front isn’t the best for performance either, as one example
2. stock turbo is just way too small. I fully understand why they sized it as such and given the cars size, it’s a (tight) corner burner. But man, especially with a boost gauge when you watch that boost just fall like a rock the higher you rev it’s meh.
3. not even an optional factory LSD
4. crappy halogen headlights. I get better lights would have upped price when they were aiming for fun performance at a good price (see fav #1 above) but the halogens suck
5. considering the ST came standard with the “upgraded” Sony stereo, our stock stereos SUCK and sound like hot garbage.

 

[jmrtsus]

Favs:

5. considering the ST came standard with the “upgraded” Sony stereo, our stock stereos SUCK and sound like hot garbage.

The Sony "upgrade" was several orders in magnitude better than the stock radio. I've heard both, LOL!

 

[Capri to ST]

Likes-
1. The quick and agile handling, by far my favorite thing about the car. A well balanced and fun car.
2. It's pretty quick stock, and I got a significant extra bump of power from my Mountune MP215 tune which preserved the warranty so presumably preserved the durability.
3. The cars have mostly been quite reliable. The engines were used stock in the Formula Ford series and also in a winning rally car.
4. The looks, I think it's a spunky looking little thing. The Recaros add to the nice appearance and make the interior look like a bit more of a serious place on a performance car.
5. Cheap to buy, run and fix, it's probably one of the best performance values per dollar of all time. Practical with the folding back seats and the hatchback.

Dislikes -
1. The blend door actuators having a propensity to start clicking, although this is true for many cars, not just ours.
2. The fact that it's not made anymore, so I can't go buy a new one if something happens to mine. I hope this doesn't make parts harder to get down the road, although there is good aftermarket support.
3. Few summer performance tire choices in the OEM size. However, this isn't really Ford's fault because performance wheels and tires are just getting bigger and bigger, and it was hard enough getting 17s on this car in the wheel wells which I presume it shares with the base Fiesta.
4. My non-navigation Sync 3 was supposed to update over Wi-Fi, but it never did. Apparently those didn't have enough capacity to take an over the air update. The dealer updated me to Version 3.0 when my APIM was replaced on warranty, at that point I just disconnected it from Wi-Fi, it works fine for me as it is.
That's it for dislikes, I'm not coming up with any more right now.

 

[tri-pedaler]

So far, every post is by someone in the US/Canada (and one Aussie) on the Mk7…

Mk8 has:
1. LSD option
2. Adjustable dampers
3. Upgraded interior
4. Arguably better exhaust/induction note

Not a huge fan of the Ford Escape styling, but seems to improve on lots of deficiencies we’ve landed on with the previous gen.

Any Mk8 people want to weigh in?

 

[Capri to ST]

So far, every post is by someone in the US/Canada (and one Aussie) on the Mk7…

Mk8 has:
1. LSD option
2. Adjustable dampers
3. Upgraded interior
4. Arguably better exhaust/induction note

Not a huge fan of the Ford Escape styling, but seems to improve on lots of deficiencies we’ve landed on with the previous gen.

Any Mk8 people want to weigh in?

I would be interested to know that too, I sure as hell wish we had gotten that one here. I don't know if I would have liked it more or not, but it would have been nice to have the choice.
The Mk8 also has a Bang & Olufsen stereo upgrade option, which would have been cool to have.