Ford guy considering a baby brother for my GT350R

[ChimpanZed]

Hey all,

I keep hearing about how awesome the FiST is but have never driven one. It probably wasn't until November that the FiST was even really on my radar. I may have seen them around but not understood what cool little cars they are.

Last year I moved from Houston, TX to Boulder, CO and my life changed dramatically. I've gone from driving 70+ miles a day to driving 5; to and from the bus station. From time to time I may need to make in-car commutes, but that should be rare. My 2015 328d SportWagen M Sport is expensive, and silly for what I need a daily driver for. So, I'm considering dropping the BMW and getting a FiST instead.

I'm a Ford guy, and my weekend, good weather, track car is a GT350R:

So the FiST will be a to/from station car 4 days a week, and a bad weather beater and bike hauler the rest of the time. So:

• Winter Tires - They're a must as far as I'm concerned. I like steel wheels and narrower tires. Any suggestions?
• Roof Bars - What works well?
• Backup cameras - I've searched and Googled and am now more confused. Seems easier on 2017s than earlier models?
• Options - I'm looking for a car with Recaros and nothing else. Anything I might miss? The Sync 3 and Apple CarPlay on my GT350R is fantastic and better than any built-in navigation I've seen.

Any direction is much appreciated.

 

[Alkoran]

If you really want the backup cam without the fuss of installing it, go for a 2018, it's standard equipment.

 

[kivnul]

• Winter Tires - They're a must as far as I'm concerned. I like steel wheels and narrower tires. Any suggestions?
• Roof Bars - What works well?
• Backup cameras - I've searched and Googled and am now more confused. Seems easier on 2017s than earlier models?
• Options - I'm looking for a car with Recaros and nothing else. Anything I might miss? The Sync 3 and Apple CarPlay on my GT350R is fantastic and better than any built-in navigation I've seen.

Michelin XIce3's work very well. Recommend getting some 15" steel wheels and running 195 width.

There is a very good thread on adding a backup camera to this car. It is not very expensive, but takes time and you have the reprogram the car a bit. 2018 model should come with a camera.

2016? and newer comes with Sync 3, Carplay is standard on a 2017 and newer. It is very easy to upgrade Sync 3 to allow carplay on a 2016, but you do have to change out the USB module in the car. (also a thread about it on here somewhere) Navigation is not really useful, especially if you have a cell phone / coverage. Sunroof is Ok, wish I didn't have one especially when I wear a helmet. I am 5'10" and I have very little clearance with the seat down (and seatback almost vertical) tho I do not have Recaros so it may be different for someone else. There really arn't many factory options for this car. Lots of aftermarket goodies that rock.

 

[ChimpanZed]

If you really want the backup cam without the fuss of installing it, go for a 2018, it's standard equipment.

Thanks for that direction. I thought that we weren't getting an '18 in the USA. I guess we're just not getting the new model that other markets are.

So is there anything difference than the US-market '17 and '18 other than backup camera?

 

[appst8]

Hey all,

I keep hearing about how awesome the FiST is but have never driven one. It probably wasn't until November that the FiST was even really on my radar. I may have seen them around but not understood what cool little cars they are.

Last year I moved from Houston, TX to Boulder, CO and my life changed dramatically. I've gone from driving 70+ miles a day to driving 5; to and from the bus station. From time to time I may need to make in-car commutes, but that should be rare. My 2015 328d SportWagen M Sport is expensive, and silly for what I need a daily driver for. So, I'm considering dropping the BMW and getting a FiST instead.

I'm a Ford guy, and my weekend, good weather, track car is a GT350R:

So the FiST will be a to/from station car 4 days a week, and a bad weather beater and bike hauler the rest of the time. So:

• Winter Tires - They're a must as far as I'm concerned. I like steel wheels and narrower tires. Any suggestions?
• Roof Bars - What works well?
• Backup cameras - I've searched and Googled and am now more confused. Seems easier on 2017s than earlier models?
• Options - I'm looking for a car with Recaros and nothing else. Anything I might miss? The Sync 3 and Apple CarPlay on my GT350R is fantastic and better than any built-in navigation I've seen.

Any direction is much appreciated.

As far as racks go, i've been very happy with my Yakima setup. Went with Yakima Jetstream bars, Baseline Towers, and fairing. It easly accomodated a rack for my bike and Yakima ShowCase box simultaneously.

 

[Alkoran]

No, that's the only equipment difference and you're right, it's not the new model.
There might be "mechanical tweaks" like they did for the 2017 over 2016 (softer suspension adjustment) but it's usually not something disclosed to the customers and people find out by themselves (like the aforementioned suspension adjustment).

 

[LaserWhisperer]

I just picked up a Rola roof rack for my FiST, install went easy and it's very solid.
Although it's not a permanent modification, when I tug on the bars, the entire car moves with it. Secure indeed!
Price point is good on the Rola setup as well.

 

[D1JL]

Dave

 

[Gimlet]

328d Sportwagen is an awesome car - a future Unicorn... but for what you are using it for, I agree, it's too much. You will love the FiST (this coming from a former Bimmer guy). The fun to drive factor is just insane...it's the old adage - driving a slow car fast is a helluva lot more fun than driving a fast car slow. And you will be happy with the torque coming from a Diesel.

I've been so accustomed to having a back up cam that I thought I couldn't live without it. TBT, the FiST is small enough that as long as you check your surroundings, it's easy enough to see around and judge distance. Ditto for the Recaro's. I was being a snob on my initial search for a car, but could only find a handful for sale with the Recaros - I drove one with the base seats, and they are plenty comfy with enough bolstering. If I was doing serious track days, sure I'd spring for the Recaro's. But you've got a GT350R for that. With that, I'd say the stock seats are more than adequate.

Get a base '17 model. The Carplay/Android Auto works great. You get all the fun factor and cheap thrills for your short drive. Find some time to unwind it on the mountain roads from time to time as well. You won't be sorry. And you can likely get a smokin deal on a '17 (PM me if you want to know what I paid last month for mine).

Like you, I was looking for a fun "airport car". This checks all the boxes with no F's given.

 

[FLORIDAST]

You'll probably like it better than the mustang.

 

[alexrex20]

careful with the Fiesta. it will become more fun on the track than your GT350R. i have actual racecars that I use in NASA w2w and Lemons, and a 2012 Z06/Z07/Carbon/Centennial which is great on the track, but i use the FiST for track days now. it's just as fun - maybe more - and the consumables are exponentially cheaper.

 

[shelbydave]

Get it!!
I bought a 2016 and 2017 gt350 .. the fiesta is a blast .. I like it so much I bought 2 .. the wife had to have one and now her f150 just sits in the garage.

Btw I'm Shelbydave on m6g

 

[GotVic]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MiMyfFvX0c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gbcj-zE7gBw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95B1J0Ugb64

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLDRXiSO7vE

No, the last two aren't stock, but it does give you an idea of the car's potential.

 

[XR650R]

Stick around here any longer, and you'll fall under the influence of the Fiesta ST cult!

5 miles isn't far to drive. Won't get the motor warm in the cold.

 

[30packdlg]

Great value car never going to make another like it again IMO... Love it for daily and autocross it’s just great. “You know it’s a good hot hatch if you always end up driving like a yabo” I believe Cris Harris said that so yeah yabo

 

[ChimpanZed]

A belated thanks to all for the input! I finally test drove a Fiesta ST yesterday and LOVED it. I want one

Right now I'm deciding between 2017 and 2018 models. Backup cameras are pretty fantastic, after all. I'll see what the April Ford incentives look like and probably pull the trigger in a few weeks. I think I want the Recaros but need to sit in them first. I'm leaning heavily towards Magnetic as I don't want the maintenance of black, I feel too old for orange, and I have two other white cars.

FWIW, I've got a dealer quote for a 2017 with Recaros for $20,000 even. Seems I could probably wiggle a bit on that.

 

[Capri to ST]

Glad you liked it, it's a wonderful car. I also got rid of a BMW for this car, an E90 M3 that was overkill as a DD, and I like the mighty little FiST a lot more, it's much more fun in real-world driving. The maintenance is also massively more reasonable, I was getting tired of $250 oil changes, $550 batteries and $1600 for a set of tires.
For options, I just got the Recaros and a sunroof. I love the Recaros, but sit in them first, they are a bit extreme. They do break in some, and I'm 6' 165, so I fit in them fine. I enjoy the sunroof on a nice day, but it's a bit far back so I'd be fine if I didn't have it. Magnetic looks great on these cars.
You said you're a Ford guy, they really hit a home run with this car. It's got about the highest fun to price ratio of any car ever made.
Since you're going to take lots of short trips, I would make sure you give it a good run for at least 30 minutes once a week.

 

[Truth in Ruin]

A belated thanks to all for the input! I finally test drove a Fiesta ST yesterday and LOVED it. I want one

Right now I'm deciding between 2017 and 2018 models. Backup cameras are pretty fantastic, after all. I'll see what the April Ford incentives look like and probably pull the trigger in a few weeks. I think I want the Recaros but need to sit in them first. I'm leaning heavily towards Magnetic as I don't want the maintenance of black, I feel too old for orange, and I have two other white cars.

FWIW, I've got a dealer quote for a 2017 with Recaros for $20,000 even. Seems I could probably wiggle a bit on that.

The FiST is something special. If you’re not going to go on long drives, I’d get the recaros, they make the car seem like it’s turning flatter in the corners.

$20,000 with recaros is pretty good. $19,000, or just a shade under is about the best you’re going to see with recaros.

 

[HBEcoBeaST]

You'll be happy with the FiST. Different kind of power, different feeling car. It's fun driving around a zippy little box. Mods are cheap too.

If you're broad shouldered/backed you may not fit in the recaros so try them out first. I'm 5'11 170lbs gym build and physically can not fit in the recaros [emoji853]

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[Guaji]

[MENTION=9402]ChimpanZed[/MENTION] , I don’t think you will regret having a Fist as a daily driver. I regretted selling my 2014 with all the options, so I found a used 2016 base as my daily driver and love it!

Photo with its lil/big brother.

Edit: sorry for the sideways photo