[Timmy_Jones]

Hello Everyone,
I started an account on here a little bit ago with ambitions to buy a FiST; I put some money down and my local dealer was going to swap the exact car I wanted (black with orange recaros) so I could drive it home....long story short, the dealer never had a car for me and said they would 'keep looking'. I got my deposit back and never talked to them again, scam artists.

I figured I would wait a bit and bite the bullet for a 15' order as I was travelling for work. As luck would have it, on that trip, I had to use a rental and low and behold was a Fiesta Hatchback, with the silver grill. No idea what model, but it was fine and I had the ability to 'live with it' for a few hundred miles over a week. After a 50 mile drive from the airport to the hotel, I didn't like it and I couldn't believe it...I loved the ST I test drove (two of them) but I realized I couldn't drive this car everyday. I couldn't help but feel like I was sitting ON the car, not IN it. Even my piece of junk winter beater car has more of a sensation of sitting IN the car. With the Fiesta I was on top of it, just never felt comfortable.

Now the test mules I drove had the Recaros and I never felt fully comfy in them (5'10" 220lbs - 32" waist), just too damn narrow. But I didnt take the time to notice the seating position in the car.

Does anyone else feel like they are ON the car? Take my perspective with a grain of salt, I am a long time F-Body guy which is a very low car. Also absolutely in love with the BRZ/FR-S and would call that seating position/driver experience perfect.

Is the seating position different in the ST than the standard Fiesta? Maybe I need to sit in one, with the standard, non-recaro seats. Just bummed out, as I knew I loved everything about this car until I really drove a Fiesta for more than a 5 mile test drive.

Aftermarket seat rails maybe??

 

[rodmoe]

I had a few F body's in my day and the car I got rid of to get the FiST was a FRS. and yes seating position in the FRS was a tad lower and felt pretty good but the lack of any type of low end torque was a deal breaker for me and my Scion it looked and drove sexy as hell but I got tired of the foot deep into the gas and wait wait wait oh there is the power now shift... The FiST I have is with the Recaro's which I like as much and the FRS seat fit wise and they look So much better than the fuzzy black and red FRS seats. Both cars have height adjustable seats and I use that when driving depending on what and where I am low and mean for at the track and high and max visability for in town driving... I thik if you give the FiST a good test fitting you may find a seating position you like as it has as many adjustments as the FRS and I think the Stock seat has a lumbar adjuster too.. and if you drive them both with a high degree of attitude you will see the FiST has a wicked 3rd gear in stock form as Ford tends to dumb down the torque (boost) in first and second but a tune will fix that
If after that you still feel the FRS/BRZ is the car for you then go for it knowing you made the right choice for you and at least you gave it a fair shake.. Nothing wrong with either car as Both are loads of fun in their own way.. I just LOVE the POWER and tunabilty of the FiST I have I had never found a good option for the FRS that way that didn't envole a 1000 header and a full nameless exhaust for another 1K.. and you still had only what the FiST has stock for torque if you are lucky.. now maybe the torque dip has been cure since i traded mine in so I may be off base but at the time thats what i was using for logic if you will ... Anyway enough blabbering from me ENJOY the shopping

 

[Dr. Apex]

I can agree with your assessment as well, you definitely sit up pretty high in the this car compared to a lot of others, just look underneath the seats!! There's a ton of space under there. It is a tall little car, despite my being 6'2" and having the Recaros I have ample head room, even the one I test drove with the moonroof I had room still. It's just the way this car is.

Best thing I can recommend is wait and see if there are going to be some new lowering seat rails for it. Despite having ample head room I would love to sit about 2" lower in the car but it will never sit like an FRS, F-body, or even a Mustang which I came out of.

 

[SkalST]

Have you considered the Focus ST? Very similar, but the FoST definitely had an "in the car" feel to it. I preferred the FiST because it had the "on the car" feel that I believe you are referring too: I had a clear view of the road from a good vantage position. The FoST almost made me feel claustorphobic

 

[wiggin105]

Second the more enjoyable power of the Fiesta. Unfortunately, the local Subaru dealer only let me drive the auto BRZ (even though I drove onto the lot with a manual Legacy GT), but the BRZ didn't seem to wake up until you hit somewhere around 4500 rpms. The Fiesta starts to pull at 2500 and probably peak where the BRZ was just getting started, though it is still pulling hard right up to redline. rodmoe is right on 1st gear being a bit bland thanks to the limiter, but 2nd gear is a whole other animal and it just gets better from there.

 

[DjDevilCloud]

Is anyone dropping the seats down? They adjust pretty far up and down. If I want a low seating I drop it all the way down and move up as I desire.

 

[djwhiplash2001]

Yeah, definitely try adjusting the seat height. That being said, visibility is very good

 

[Colin1337]

Is anyone dropping the seats down? They adjust pretty far up and down. If I want a low seating I drop it all the way down and move up as I desire.

I have mine all the way down, I wouldn't mind maybe another inch of downward space honestly. But then the steering wheel would need to go lower and that's already maxed out too.

Sent from my C6916 using Tapatalk

 

[mongoose221]

I had a few F body's in my day and the car I got rid of to get the FiST was a FRS. and yes seating position in the FRS was a tad lower and felt pretty good but the lack of any type of low end torque was a deal breaker for me and my Scion it looked and drove sexy as hell but I got tired of the foot deep into the gas and wait wait wait oh there is the power now shift... The FiST I have is with the Recaro's which I like as much and the FRS seat fit wise and they look So much better than the fuzzy black and red FRS seats. Both cars have height adjustable seats and I use that when driving depending on what and where I am low and mean for at the track and high and max visability for in town driving... I thik if you give the FiST a good test fitting you may find a seating position you like as it has as many adjustments as the FRS and I think the Stock seat has a lumbar adjuster too.. and if you drive them both with a high degree of attitude you will see the FiST has a wicked 3rd gear in stock form as Ford tends to dumb down the torque (boost) in first and second but a tune will fix that
If after that you still feel the FRS/BRZ is the car for you then go for it knowing you made the right choice for you and at least you gave it a fair shake.. Nothing wrong with either car as Both are loads of fun in their own way.. I just LOVE the POWER and tunabilty of the FiST I have I had never found a good option for the FRS that way that didn't envole a 1000 header and a full nameless exhaust for another 1K.. and you still had only what the FiST has stock for torque if you are lucky.. now maybe the torque dip has been cure since i traded mine in so I may be off base but at the time thats what i was using for logic if you will ... Anyway enough blabbering from me ENJOY the shopping

nope. torque dip still there. according to toyobaru engineers it is intentional tuning for DD (low end) and track/performance usage (high end)... this is all well and good except in 2 areas: off the line full 1st gear accel (the car bogs midway up the powerband) and if you shift at the wrong time and BAM right into the "dip"...

either way, i see you live in Maine mr. Timmy Jones. RWD up there is a no-no for your DD in the winter in terms of an FRS/BRZ. they are VERY light (about 2750 lbs vs your 3200+ F body) so that tail end will be even worse in poor weather. the FRS/BRZ twins like to whip that tail.

having said that, i second what the above poster said about trying the FOCUS ST. I chose a Fiesta b/c i preferred the driving experience immensely. it's just a better drive overall (and almost every car magazine agrees with this) although it is a little "smaller".
i'm 5'11" and 215 with a 34" waiste, and broad shoulders, and i fit perfectly fine in the FiST, but again, that is subjective, as i'm comfortable with a snug seating, others are not.
The FOCUS ST was definitely a little "larger" overall (wider in the hip/shoulder area overall, but the driving position felt "cramped" almost like I was in a cockpit due to the dash/center console height and layout... the FOST center console area is about hip/thigh height vs the FIESTA which the cup holders are lower down to the floor)

I say take a FOCUS ST for a drive, make sure you have the ST2 package with the recaros, and see what you think. I'm willing to bet it is more suitable for what you prefer : )

 

[rodmoe]

either way, i see you live in Maine mr. Timmy Jones. RWD up there is a no-no for your DD in the winter in terms of an FRS/BRZ. they are VERY light (about 2750 lbs vs your 3200+ F body) so that tail end will be even worse in poor weather. the FRS/BRZ twins like to whip that tail. : )

Not if you are ready for it and have a awesome set of snow tire like I did.. I could out drive most FWD cars and a few AWD cars with proper throttle control and a basic knowledge of winter driving techniques. I credit this Winter Snow/Ice tire for the awesome grip and slushy road handleing for my win here in my first ice racing event and then the weather closed in and the drive home in 6 inches of fresh wet snow was a BLAST.. that said I am looking forward to getting a set of these for my FiST now that i have a lsd installed

 

[mongoose221]

Excellent pics rod!!
I'm going with the assumption most people don't know how to handle RWD in general, let alone in bad weather

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

 

[rodmoe]

Excellent pics rod!!
I'm going with the assumption most people don't know how to handle RWD in general, let alone in bad weather

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

Thanks also most folks beleive the hype about all season tires.. where as I love a good snow tire and am not afraid to swap out for better traction and safer ride for all .. But not all are as fortunate as I am and have to make due so your point is valid in that regard. But if you are looking at a BRZ?FRS you should be enough of a gear head to know the car has limits .. but then again I have been wrong in the past ... LOL

 

[mongoose221]

Thanks also most folks beleive the hype about all season tires.. where as I love a good snow tire and am not afraid to swap out for better traction and safer ride for all .. But not all are as fortunate as I am and have to make due so your point is valid in that regard. But if you are looking at a BRZ?FRS you should be enough of a gear head to know the car has limits .. but then again I have been wrong in the past ... LOL

well most of the FRS/BRZ drivers around here are mid to late 20's females, 3 of whom i know personally, who all bough the car "because it looked cool"...1 of whom put her car in a ditch with >1" of snow because she "thought summer tires just meant thats when they installed them"... one tried to drive with all seasons on during 8" of snow and put her car into a snowbank... the third called out of work about 9 times this winter because she was stuck in her driveway... this i NOT a knock on female drivers by the way, i know plenty of males who don't know their arse from an LSD either... it just happens that the 3 i know are female and can't drive their way out of a paper bag : )

having said that. the biggest problem with all seasons is there are different ratings for them. some "all seasons" are rated for summer and light snow, some are rated for summer and heavy snow with improved snow > dry weather traction. i had eagle F1 Assym on my 2012 si, and i went through 8"+ of snow without a care in the world, living up on a mountain... people don't look at the condition ratings on all seasons, some are only rated for summer and good rain traction, with little to none in the snow (aka "southern" all season tires)
in the end, i'll be getting steelies/cheap rims and snows for my FIST this winter simply because the high torque is going to be spin-city in the winter up here : )

 

[rodmoe]

OMG LOL ot the summer install .. SMH wow thanks now i have to wipe up my coffee .. LOL

 

[Socko]

if you are 5'10" and 220 with a 32" waist i assume you have a huge chest/back and are ripped as shit, it may be difficult to get comfortable in recaros with that build as you will be stuck sitting on the seat back not in it. I am 6'1" 190-200 with a 36" waist and i fit in recaros great without a coat, tight in a winter jacket. The recaros aren't real recaros. They are very stiff foam for the bolster, its not fiberglass or metal backed, at least not significantly, so they do break in quite a bit. So its possible with time you could fit into them if they break in enough.

I understand what you are saying about sitting high in the car. I had to move my seat really far forward and down all the way of course. its still higher than i like but i do feel much more enauged. It still isn't anything like driving a vette. You sit way to far above the pedals for my liking but i did get used to it after some seat putzing and can say the car is super fun to drive once you get accustomed to the seating position and position of the shifter.

 

[AT-AT]

6'4 220 or so pounds but skinny as all hell. I make it work.

 

[aborbs87]

Now the test mules I drove had the Recaros and I never felt fully comfy in them (5'10" 220lbs - 32" waist), just too damn narrow. But I didnt take the time to notice the seating position in the car.

Does anyone else feel like they are ON the car? Take my perspective with a grain of salt, I am a long time F-Body guy which is a very low car. Also absolutely in love with the BRZ/FR-S and would call that seating position/driver experience perfect.

Is the seating position different in the ST than the standard Fiesta? Maybe I need to sit in one, with the standard, non-recaro seats.

I'm 6'1 270 and it really took some time to dial in a comfortable arrangement with the Recaros. You really have to just bury yourself in them. Some say they soften up which I agree to an extent, they do but will not mold to your body. My previous car was a Fiesta SE, and the seating position between that and the ST with Recaros is night and day. That took time to get used to also, but I now favorite the ST seating over the SE. I can see what you're saying in regards to the FRS/BRZ seating position. I've sat in an FRS once at an auto show and without even adjusting anything the positioning was extremely welcoming, and felt great. Before I bought my ST I sat in 2 different Recaros to make sure it would be right. As you said I'd sit in the base ST seats and give it a ride, then go from there.

 

[betterthansx]

I am 5'10" 280lbs (38 waist) and have no issues what so ever with the seats. I have sat in a Fiesta ST with broken in seats and they feel amazing. Much more comfortable.

 

[brownievk]

I am 5'10" 280lbs (38 waist) and have no issues what so ever with the seats. I have sat in a Fiesta ST with broken in seats and they feel amazing. Much more comfortable.

That's close to me I'm 5'8 230 a little chubby but the seats fit great. I have 2000 miles on them and they have broken in a lot, I hate riding in my wife's Fiat with normal seats now.

 

[Timmy_Jones]

Thanks for the reply guys....

- I've driven 10+ years in the snow and RWD when I had to....I understand snow tires. No worries there.
- I need to find another FiST and play around with the seat controls.
- I do enjoy working out a lot and with that clothes fit strange and cars can be uncomfortable....go figure

Anyone around the Portsmouth, NH area mind if I sit in the FiST and adjust the seats??