10 years on this forum and what I've learned.

[jmrtsus]

I joined this forum about 10 years ago to learn more about the FiST before buying one. The first thing I learned was you could steal them as they were not selling well. Second I learned about the Mountune MP-215 and the included Ford warranty, sold. So I stole me one in 2016 and stopped on the way home from picking it up to have the resonator removed and removed the sound symposer when I got home. Added yellow ST tags and brake calipers. I drove the car a few weeks then we put the MP-215 and registered it with Ford. My 2016 white FiST was perfect for me after installing a Mountune radiator. The MP-215 was a night and day difference in 3rd gear. Long story short my car has 75K miles as DD and cross country vacation mobile, she has seen many of the 48 contiguous states I have visited. From Key West FL to Maine, west across to the U.P. MI then West for a few hours in N.D. cruising at over 100mph, she hunkered down and tracked like an arrow and we both loved it. Next southwest to AZ down to Tombstone and back east to TN.

She, I call her "FiFi" after my grandaughter, has been a charm. Only one visit to the dealer for new Sync system and blend door activator under warranty. Tires, brakes and battery once with average oil changes under 4K miles for the hell of it. Only top grade titanium oils was used with a Ford FL-400 filter, I was born anal about motor oil. I have never performed a clutch drop start as FiFi is a superb road ripper not a dragster to me. l drove her on my "fun road" on the way home which had been recently asphalted so I wrung her out and still marveled at the smiles per mile she still brings. I feel sorry for the so called drivers that cannot drive a manual transmission well.

This forum started in the early years when most members were new under warranty car owners and this forum helped bring the wide variety of mod parts that followed. Many illegal but for years unenforced so members had options to take this platform to places only money could buy. I am stunned at what a FiST can do when modded but that was never me. My dream roads were twisty, hilly two lane backroads and I sought them out with FiFi. Living close we have run the Tale of The Dragon in W. NC many times and many smiles. Most people don't realize the FiST is a super car..........super fun, super reliable, super frugal to own, super frugal to feed.

Most importantly we all still love/hate our FiSTs, fight, argue and rant about them but after all these years she still stirs us up in one way or another. How many cars that do that have you owned? The ones that survive will always be an admired cult classic. My wife and I believe we have the most perfect cars for us, my FiST and her "rumble mobile" Coyote Mustang. Thanks FORD and the cars and this Forum for my rants and brags for these 10 years!

FiST On!
Merry Christmas/Happy New Year/Happy Holidays to all!

 

[our guile]

I joined the forum about 6 months before I bought my car. I finally bought one in December of 2015 and agree with everything you've said. It's been an amazing car overall, and while it's fun on mountain roads when stock, with a couple affordable mods it'll absolutely rip.

 

[Capri to ST]

What a nice post. I first heard about the car when Top Gear named it their car of the year around 2014. That got my attention, but I thought maybe it was kind of a gimmick and I still didn't take the car seriously until a mechanic whose opinion I respected greatly was raving about it to me. I then started reading about it, and all the car magazines I had been reading my whole life were also raving about it. Road and Track named it third place in their performance car of the year competition in 2014, and Car and Driver said that Ford had changed about 140 things on it from the base model, including everything that mattered . At this point I was hooked and I knew I was going to get one .
I also bought mine in 2016 and put the MP215 tune on it after about a year. I have enjoyed the car greatly and have had many adventures in it. When I had my beloved dog I used to especially enjoy cruising around the country back roads with him listening to a playlist that I had made from my music which was conveniently stored on a USB drive under the armrest.
I enjoyed hearing about you driving across North Dakota cruising at over 100, that sounds like a hell of a lot of fun. I plan to keep my car indefinitely, it sounds like you do too. I think Ford intended it to be an entry-level performance car for younger guys who they could then move up to a more expensive cars like a Mustang. There are a lot of us though that have been around a while and had a lot of cars and we knew a good one when we saw it and knew it was a keeper.

 

[Zormecteon]

Got mine in Jan of 2014. mp-215 went on at 6k miles.85k miles now. Cross country trips as well. Never overheated. ony 2 probs, .. blend door, and clutch slave. .. been a hoot and continues to be.

 

[NOVA_Ranger]

Bought mine about two years ago, after having the car on my short list as a fun commuter for years. Low mileage and stock / unbeaten options seem to be drying up fast, so it was now or never. Couldn’t be happier with this little car, with a LMS tune being the only real mod on mine.

 

[pixelzombie]

I've learned this forum is more laid back and better informed than the Reddit group.

 

[XR650R]

I've learned this forum is more laid back and better informed than the Reddit group.

True.
I joined in 2014, knowing this would be my next car, and bought a 2017.
Pure joy. I can't begin to tell you what this car can do on a real road trip.
No one. Ever. Passed me.
I got 31 mpg beating on it at 90+.

 

[Zormecteon]

I'm over 70 yrs old. I bought the car to be my last car a little before retiring. I've seen too many people buy a big luxury car as their retirement vehicle, but in 10 year be scrunched down behind the wheel and afraid to drive their big car, and not be able to afford the fuel on their limited budget. I figured a nice small good mileage car would be a better choice. I saw the Mazda 2 in about 2007 and thought, "that's the right size" . It's sister car is/was the Ford Fiesta that was also at the show and the last of the cars that had wind up windows. I figured to keep it simple and started eyeing and pricing those. This was around 2007 I believe. Years pass and I keep eyeing and pricing Fiestas. Then in 2013 the FiST was announced. Turbo! Intercooler! Impoved Steering! .. I'm in!. Was able to test drive one in October and put in my order. ......... ...

Small car, Great mileage. Room for four. Handling. Power. .. Just as I got it the Road and Track award as one of the best performance cars of the year. .. YeeHaaa... ..

Turns out it hasn't been my last car, or even my last new car. .. Picked up a Miata, sold it to get a C8, then missed the Mazda so much I got another almost identical. .. Drive the FiST every week. Compared to the Mazda it gets better mileage, holds more stuff, carries more people, has more power, and corners just as well. But the top doesn't go down.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Yes, they (the general public, and the car manufacturers given how few CARS are still available) seem to think that we 'seniors' must be driving a huge SUV, or nothing at all.

 

[jmrtsus]

Yes, they (the general public, and the car manufacturers given how few CARS are still available) seem to think that we 'seniors' must be driving a huge SUV, or nothing at all.

I fear my FiST will get totaled..........what do I replace it with? Nothing fires me up other than a BRZ and it's missing 2 doors or a Miata with the same problem. Maybe go back to my roots.....my first lil white sports car below at 13 years old. And it was Italian! 1959 Fiat 600D, under 40HP 0-60 in 23 seconds 1/4 mi in 33 seconds. Non-synchro 1st gear.

 

[pixelzombie]

I fear my FiST will get totaled..........what do I replace it with? Nothing fires me up other than a BRZ and it's missing 2 doors or a Miata with the same problem. Maybe go back to my roots.....my first lil white sports car below at 13 years old. And it was Italian! 1959 Fiat 600D, under 40HP 0-60 in 23 seconds 1/4 mi in 33 seconds. Non-synchro 1st gear.

Never test drove one, but a Cooper mini perhaps?