ST Early Impressions

[The Monkey Man]

Having now covered 3000 miles including a round trip to Scotland and another to Somerset, I'm so glad I bought this as it literally always puts a smile on my face. I would honestly have this over my previous fav M2 if resale money was discounted, and a thousand times better than the Paceman JCW I chopped in for it.
How does this thing go round corners so flat, its like some kind of Voodoo and I don't have the Diff ! (still don't regret not having it, don't need it)
Anyway, with some nice long trips under my belt including Motorways and twisty b roads, what are my thoughts....
First the niggles:
Still hate the Auto Lights, turn them off and manually use hi beam instead as keeps getting caught out and blinding people.
Washer Jets could be better.
Parking sensors slow to respond / kick in.
Constant snowflake badgering, seat belts OK, Pair a device for this blah blah
Not able to fully turn off the crash warning. Managed to get it to go off 6 times on way to Scotland Anyway I've been in the settings and made as un-intrusive as can be and not seen the horrid thing since.
Think That's about it.

Not a negative but the steering (in sport at least) is insanely quick and needs constant correction. Best way I describe it is like driving a hyperactive Puppy. Personally I love it but could annoy some people.

The Good...
Fuel economy is averaging out around 320-330 miles per tank so well happy there and I do cruise at 90 everywhere so you could get better I presume.
Love that enabling Sport (first thing I do after ass touches the seat) automatically turns off stop start
Also love that pressing the little button on the end of the left stalk not only disables the annoying lane assist, but it remembers this so you never need press it again.
Wonderful Motorway cruiser as it has so much torque it pulls more like a diesel.
Performance again is ultra usable. Most of the time I 4K change and ride the torque curve and it surges forward effortlessly whilst if given full beans it does go pretty well accompanied by that hilarious rumble from the 3 pot.
Seats...I love the recaros and so does my wife who always complains about seats in cars. I also like that it adds a bit more purpose to the car. Having seen videos online now of these new seats in the MK8 Fiesta ST, I thought the leather on the bolsters etc. looked really thin and cheap and wouldn't put money on them holding up many years.
Just got my first full year insurance renewal too. Fully Comp, 15k annual mileage, protected Bonus and legal cover it came to £221 for the year...luv it.
In essence, if this car is big enough for your needs, you aren't a badge snob and aren't ready for the pipe and slippers just yet this car is an amazing all rounder for UK use. Pretty quick when pressed but effortlessly nippy when driven normally it has a lots of luggage space and fits in this countries tiny parking spaces. Its cheap to run, well equipped as standard and just amazing fun to drive.

[Rays1]

Great review The Monkey Man. Fun read. Funny thing about the auto high beam. I live in a rural part of the country.
Only just recently I have noticed people walking along country lanes, waving angry at me. Couldn't work out why at first. But then yes of course the penny dropped. The system may detect street lights and other cars, but it sure doesn't detect people and of course they think I am deliberately try to blind em.

[Sparks]

Great review The Monkey Man. Fun read. Funny thing about the auto high beam. I live in a rural part of the country.
Only just recently I have noticed people walking along country lanes, waving angry at me. Couldn't work out why at first. But then yes of course the penny dropped. The system may detect street lights and other cars, but it sure doesn't detect people and of course they think I am deliberately try to blind em.

Oh dear, woe betide that you have them on dip and don't see them until it's too late....

[Supertramp]

Picked my Mean Green up last Friday, ordered it on 23rd Oct so not a long wait compared to other people I know - Best car I have driven yet it has grip on top of grip, love the sound of the engine but might wake the neighbours up when I go to work at 0530!! Been driving in Eco to see how many MPG is possible will run he tank down hoping for 350 to 380 but whatever the figure it is such a pleasure to drive I will settle for anything :>) Unleaded was at £1.58 per litre in Wigan on the way in to work today lets see how high it goes. I have a feeling it will be £2.00 by next Jan unless things change for better around the world - lets hope so.

Mike

[Deleted User 878]

Running an ST in Eco....omg. Why did you bother getting the ST if your so concerned about MPG. Have fun with it because that why i presume you ordered it!

[Rays1]

Running an ST in Eco....omg. Why did you bother getting the ST if your so concerned about MPG. Have fun with it because that why i presume you ordered it!

Yep I am with you on that... Usually always drive in Sport mode, sometimes even in Track mode.
That said in icy cold conditions I stay in normal mode, as good as the car is, with pilot sport 4S tyres they ain't that great in very cold conditions.

[saf1872]

Picked my Mean Green up last Friday, ordered it on 23rd Oct so not a long wait compared to other people I know - Best car I have driven yet it has grip on top of grip, love the sound of the engine but might wake the neighbours up when I go to work at 0530!! Been driving in Eco to see how many MPG is possible will run he tank down hoping for 350 to 380 but whatever the figure it is such a pleasure to drive I will settle for anything :>) Unleaded was at £1.58 per litre in Wigan on the way in to work today lets see how high it goes. I have a feeling it will be £2.00 by next Jan unless things change for better around the world - lets hope so.


Mike

What mpg/tank mileage are you managing?

[The Monkey Man]

Sure I've seen you're only looking at 5% fuel saving on Motorway driving by using Eco. Not really worth it to me besides I always use 99 ron anyway. On another note, damn crash collision went off twice yesterday whilst overtaking people

[Stoopo]

Great review The Monkey Man. Fun read. Funny thing about the auto high beam. I live in a rural part of the country.
Only just recently I have noticed people walking along country lanes, waving angry at me. Couldn't work out why at first. But then yes of course the penny dropped. The system may detect street lights and other cars, but it sure doesn't detect people and of course they think I am deliberately try to blind em.

Oh dear, woe betide that you have them on dip and don't see them until it's too late....

I think his point is that he has already seen them and not dipped his lights. Easy mistake to make with auto lights I guess.

[The Monkey Man]

My personal experience is that rounding corners or crests etc it is too slow to react to oncoming traffic causing some to get dazzled. Not ready for prime time in my opinion.
If I was to be utterly blunt, if you can't stay in lane nor manage your headlights etc. perhaps you shouldn't be on the road?
Some of the tech has it's uses like the other day a queue of traffic was around a fast blind bend. The nav knew of the queue and warned me on the drivers screen that it was there and how far away it was. This is useful information. My screen lighting up like a rave party because I dare to overtake someone is a real pain and numerous other daft false alarms. You'd think you could turn that off on an ST at least.