08-21-2017, 07:10 PM
Ooh, this is my favorite topic behind "why I can't stand GM" 
*cracks knuckles*
So yeah, it was a cool car with a ton of hype. I was like 23 and bought into it. I ordered the car that I sat in at the DC Auto Show. ST2 with cloth Recaros, no sunroof and no nav.
The ride quality sucked - low-profile tires mixed with firm shocks and too-stiff springs made it bouncy on the highway. I think it had 18s? Seating position was good but rear visibility was not so hot. The seats became less amazing once they broke in, and annoyed my back on longer trips. Fuel economy was good (30ish highway) but the tank was small so range was not great. The Sony sound system blows dicks. It will torque steer like a motherfucker until you reach 100 mph in 4th gear. The ST wheels are wider than the non-ST, and allegedly Ford had to implement some limiter on the steering rack so they wouldn't rub at full lock. Ergo, you cannot make a u-turn.
On track, the "e-diff" and various stability controls cannot be entirely disabled and that results in hot, melty brakes very quickly. I think I could do 5 laps of VIR at my then-HPDE-3 pace (read: fewer now that I'm a faster driver) before they were totally spent. I had a Steeda rear sway bar on mine and it enhanced the wonderful lift-off oversteer abilities (but they'll do it stock, too).
I could see it being a good car to own if you only had one car to do it all. But a Mk6 or Mk7 GTI would be a great car to own for the same purposes.
I put something like 15k miles on mine in less than a year and it never saw unscheduled maintenance, so there's that. Friends who also bought them were not so lucky though.
Solid "meh" and I would heartily recommend the GTI over a FoST.
*cracks knuckles*So yeah, it was a cool car with a ton of hype. I was like 23 and bought into it. I ordered the car that I sat in at the DC Auto Show. ST2 with cloth Recaros, no sunroof and no nav.
The ride quality sucked - low-profile tires mixed with firm shocks and too-stiff springs made it bouncy on the highway. I think it had 18s? Seating position was good but rear visibility was not so hot. The seats became less amazing once they broke in, and annoyed my back on longer trips. Fuel economy was good (30ish highway) but the tank was small so range was not great. The Sony sound system blows dicks. It will torque steer like a motherfucker until you reach 100 mph in 4th gear. The ST wheels are wider than the non-ST, and allegedly Ford had to implement some limiter on the steering rack so they wouldn't rub at full lock. Ergo, you cannot make a u-turn.
On track, the "e-diff" and various stability controls cannot be entirely disabled and that results in hot, melty brakes very quickly. I think I could do 5 laps of VIR at my then-HPDE-3 pace (read: fewer now that I'm a faster driver) before they were totally spent. I had a Steeda rear sway bar on mine and it enhanced the wonderful lift-off oversteer abilities (but they'll do it stock, too).
I could see it being a good car to own if you only had one car to do it all. But a Mk6 or Mk7 GTI would be a great car to own for the same purposes.
I put something like 15k miles on mine in less than a year and it never saw unscheduled maintenance, so there's that. Friends who also bought them were not so lucky though.
Solid "meh" and I would heartily recommend the GTI over a FoST.
Now:
'16 Ram 1500 | '97 BMW M3 | Some Press Loan
Then:
87 BMW 325e | 91 BMW 535i | 96 BMW 328i | 95 BMW 325i | 95 Mazda Miata | 13 Focus ST | 09 BMW 128i | 00 Pontiac Firebird | 05 Yukon Denali | 96 BMW 328iC | 11 Ford F-150 | 06 BMW M3 | 10 Range Rover SC | '03 Ford Ranger | '18 Ford F-150 | '01 BMW X5 | '98 Volvo S70 T5M
'16 Ram 1500 | '97 BMW M3 | Some Press Loan
Then:
87 BMW 325e | 91 BMW 535i | 96 BMW 328i | 95 BMW 325i | 95 Mazda Miata | 13 Focus ST | 09 BMW 128i | 00 Pontiac Firebird | 05 Yukon Denali | 96 BMW 328iC | 11 Ford F-150 | 06 BMW M3 | 10 Range Rover SC | '03 Ford Ranger | '18 Ford F-150 | '01 BMW X5 | '98 Volvo S70 T5M