jsford91 Posted August 8, 2010 Share Posted August 8, 2010 So a little more than a week ago, I finally got my much-anticipated Fiesta, which happened to be my first ever car purchase. Some thoughts so far on my new ride: Quality The quality of this car is absolutely astounding for its price range and class (but you already know that). Everyone that I have showed it to so far has come away pleasantly surprised and very impressed. Even the door makes a nice thud sound when it closes, instead of it sound like I'm closing a tin can or something. The cloth seats are comfortable and look pretty cool and the leather-wrapped steering wheel has a real solid feel to it. The only thing I have noticed is the flimsy feel of the SYNC voice button on the lest turn stalk, not quite sure how to explain it other than it feels cheap. As opposed to the rest of the buttons on the center stack and steering wheel which feel fine. Style I've had quite a few people in parking lots or on the road at a light comment to me about how striking a design it is for a small car. (At night the L.E.D. foglamps catch a lot of notice from onlookers, definitely a cool looking feature that I have warmed up to.) The interior looks even better when lit up at night. On the subject of lights, the turn indicators in the side mirrors look even classier in person. Another feature that has caught attention from other people. I have read some reviews complaining about rear visibility and I am a little torn on how I feel. At one end, I am not surprised with the lack of visibility and I'm okay with the fact that it was compromised for style on the other hand, when I'm in traffic it has taken some getting used to looking in my rearview mirror and only seeing the grill and hood of the car behind me. Also, I'm 6'1 and there still plenty of headroom and I don't have to have my seat pushed as far back as it can go which means there is still a pretty impressive amount of legroom for the backseat. Performance Mine has a 5 speed manual which is a hoot to drive. (in fact I learned how to drive a stick in this car) Really easy to shift and the car is even easier to maneuver and handle. So far I've managed just under 30mpg in the mixed driving that I've been doing the past week (made two back-to-back trips to Detroit from the suburbs and got stuck in some rush hour stop-and-go traffic). I've filled the car up once since I got it July 29th. Other quirky things/observations The door lock button on the center stack is something I've already gotten used to but it still catches other people off guard when they see it. I'm a bit OCD especially since this is a new car and its my first car, so I wont be having a lot of food or drink in it anyways, but nonetheless, the dinky cupholders never fail to make me chuckle. They really are small or we Americans are just used to really big drinks! lol My only gripe with the lack of standard armrest is because it means I have less places to store things like loose change, pens, etc. But no biggie, just means less clutter i guess. Im also kind of surprised by the lack of available auto headlamps...anyone know if that will be a future option? Another nice surprise was the auto one-touch up/down driver window( my mom's 2009 Escape Limited doesn't even have that feature!) as well as the light in the trunk area. Final judgement: nothing about this car says "Hey im a college kid on a budget and I could care less about what I drive" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted August 8, 2010 Share Posted August 8, 2010 Nice car, black is the only color to get IMO . Did a great job with the photos too! I think the manual is definitely the best choice for this car. I'm 31 and still haven't learned to drive a stick . Your neighborhood reminds me of Sterling Heights btw, I grew up there before moving to Rochester Hills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenCaylor Posted August 8, 2010 Share Posted August 8, 2010 Check with your Ford dealer for the auto headlamps and armrest. I don't know if they still do, but when I bought my Mustang, they had an autolamp system listed in the Ford Accessories Catalog. It works great and, optionally, you can have DRLs as part of the module. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmm55 Posted August 8, 2010 Share Posted August 8, 2010 i've seen the armrest installed by the dealer on one Fiesta ($250) I think there are inserts available for the cup holders to make them bigger, Congrats. Black looks great. So does Ingot Silver. The green is a bit much IMHO (....and I love greens in general). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsford91 Posted August 8, 2010 Author Share Posted August 8, 2010 Nice car, black is the only color to get IMO . Did a great job with the photos too! I think the manual is definitely the best choice for this car. I'm 31 and still haven't learned to drive a stick . Thanks, and I agree about the black...for a second I considered the Lime Green but decided I couldn't actually live with that color for an extended period of time. Your neighborhood reminds me of Sterling Heights btw, I grew up there before moving to Rochester Hills. And that's because it is Sterling Heights...good eye! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsford91 Posted August 8, 2010 Author Share Posted August 8, 2010 Check with your Ford dealer for the auto headlamps and armrest. I don't know if they still do, but when I bought my Mustang, they had an autolamp system listed in the Ford Accessories Catalog. It works great and, optionally, you can have DRLs as part of the module. Really? Hmm I didn't know that, I'll definitely have to check on that now.....I know it seems like such a minute feature but after being used to it for so long on my parent's cars its kind of weird to not have it in this day and age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsford91 Posted August 8, 2010 Author Share Posted August 8, 2010 i've seen the armrest installed by the dealer on one Fiesta ($250) I think there are inserts available for the cup holders to make them bigger, Congrats. Black looks great. So does Ingot Silver. The green is a bit much IMHO (....and I love greens in general). Thanks, and yeah I'm still considering just ponying up the extra cash to get the armrest.... I feel the same way about the green....and green has always been my favorite color!!! ...go figure lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smok Posted August 8, 2010 Share Posted August 8, 2010 So a little more than a week ago, I finally got my much-anticipated Fiesta, which happened to be my first ever car purchase. Some thoughts so far on my new ride: Quality The quality of this car is absolutely astounding for its price range and class (but you already know that). Everyone that I have showed it to so far has come away pleasantly surprised and very impressed. Even the door makes a nice thud sound when it closes, instead of it sound like I'm closing a tin can or something. The cloth seats are comfortable and look pretty cool and the leather-wrapped steering wheel has a real solid feel to it. The only thing I have noticed is the flimsy feel of the SYNC voice button on the lest turn stalk, not quite sure how to explain it other than it feels cheap. As opposed to the rest of the buttons on the center stack and steering wheel which feel fine. Style I've had quite a few people in parking lots or on the road at a light comment to me about how striking a design it is for a small car. (At night the L.E.D. foglamps catch a lot of notice from onlookers, definitely a cool looking feature that I have warmed up to.) The interior looks even better when lit up at night. On the subject of lights, the turn indicators in the side mirrors look even classier in person. Another feature that has caught attention from other people. I have read some reviews complaining about rear visibility and I am a little torn on how I feel. At one end, I am not surprised with the lack of visibility and I'm okay with the fact that it was compromised for style on the other hand, when I'm in traffic it has taken some getting used to looking in my rearview mirror and only seeing the grill and hood of the car behind me. Also, I'm 6'1 and there still plenty of headroom and I don't have to have my seat pushed as far back as it can go which means there is still a pretty impressive amount of legroom for the backseat. Performance Mine has a 5 speed manual which is a hoot to drive. (in fact I learned how to drive a stick in this car) Really easy to shift and the car is even easier to maneuver and handle. So far I've managed just under 30mpg in the mixed driving that I've been doing the past week (made two back-to-back trips to Detroit from the suburbs and got stuck in some rush hour stop-and-go traffic). I've filled the car up once since I got it July 29th. Other quirky things/observations The door lock button on the center stack is something I've already gotten used to but it still catches other people off guard when they see it. I'm a bit OCD especially since this is a new car and its my first car, so I wont be having a lot of food or drink in it anyways, but nonetheless, the dinky cupholders never fail to make me chuckle. They really are small or we Americans are just used to really big drinks! lol My only gripe with the lack of standard armrest is because it means I have less places to store things like loose change, pens, etc. But no biggie, just means less clutter i guess. Im also kind of surprised by the lack of available auto headlamps...anyone know if that will be a future option? Another nice surprise was the auto one-touch up/down driver window( my mom's 2009 Escape Limited doesn't even have that feature!) as well as the light in the trunk area. Final judgement: nothing about this car says "Hey im a college kid on a budget and I could care less about what I drive" Nice little car. Looks sharp. You are a Ford employee, right? What did you pay for the car? A plan? X-Plan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsford91 Posted August 8, 2010 Author Share Posted August 8, 2010 Nice little car. Looks sharp. You are a Ford employee, right? What did you pay for the car? A plan? X-Plan? No, but I wish I was a Ford employee! Nonetheless, I actually bought it at retail price with incentives because it was a better deal than using x-plan (which apparently can't be used along with other incentives?) After $1000 in incentives and $1500 down my total came to $288/month for 36 months. Funny thing is....my cousin who DOES work for Ford (pretty high up there) he pre-ordered his Fiesta months ago and still hasn't gotten it! Apparently the company is using it for promotional means.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smok Posted August 8, 2010 Share Posted August 8, 2010 No, but I wish I was a Ford employee! Nonetheless, I actually bought it at retail price with incentives because it was a better deal than using x-plan (which apparently can't be used along with other incentives?) After $1000 in incentives and $1500 down my total came to $288/month for 36 months. Funny thing is....my cousin who DOES work for Ford (pretty high up there) he pre-ordered his Fiesta months ago and still hasn't gotten it! Apparently the company is using it for promotional means.... Great, thanks. Enjoy it! The design of this hatch model will still look good in 5+ years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 No, but I wish I was a Ford employee! Nonetheless, I actually bought it at retail price with incentives because it was a better deal than using x-plan (which apparently can't be used along with other incentives?) After $1000 in incentives and $1500 down my total came to $288/month for 36 months. Funny thing is....my cousin who DOES work for Ford (pretty high up there) he pre-ordered his Fiesta months ago and still hasn't gotten it! Apparently the company is using it for promotional means.... You still get the public rebates with X plan (and in some cases more rebates like the current Mercury models). The ones you don't get are the special rebates like American Quarter Horse Association or college grad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazerdude20 Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 You still get the public rebates with X plan (and in some cases more rebates like the current Mercury models). The ones you don't get are the special rebates like American Quarter Horse Association or college grad. true but the dealer does hold the right to not sell you a car using xplan. since its a new car, a hot seller at that, it wouldn't be surprising to see a dealer not willing to do x/a/d plan prices yet. -car looks good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex D. Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 Congrats! Love the tuxedo black on this car! I was checking some of these out the other day at a local dealer, and I must I usually only go for black cars, but that Monterey Grey on the Fiesta is nearly perfect, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjl Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 Re: armrest There is a Ford-licensed armrest, and another one from a company called Boomerang. Re: outward visibility The rear window is narrow, which may be a concern when backing up (may be more difficult to see small children, short poles, etc. behind). But the side windows do go far enough back and the mirrors are large enough that the rear quarter blind spots that some cars have due to large C-pillars are less of a concern. The large rear head restraints do create blind spots further back to the side, but at least that is not where a car in the adjacent lane is overlapping your car (unlike the blind spots created by large C-pillars in some cars). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atvman Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 How will the accessory arm rest affect shifting with the manual transmission? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 true but the dealer does hold the right to not sell you a car using xplan. since its a new car, a hot seller at that, it wouldn't be surprising to see a dealer not willing to do x/a/d plan prices yet. Of course, but I was responding to the notion that you can buy retail cheaper than X plan which is almost never the case. Maybe if you qualify for $1000 in non-plan eligible rebates but that's really rare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsford91 Posted August 9, 2010 Author Share Posted August 9, 2010 You still get the public rebates with X plan (and in some cases more rebates like the current Mercury models). The ones you don't get are the special rebates like American Quarter Horse Association or college grad. Exactly! the problem was that one of the two rebates I was using was the college student discount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsford91 Posted August 9, 2010 Author Share Posted August 9, 2010 How will the accessory arm rest affect shifting with the manual transmission? Thats what I was wondering and why I've been hesitant to actually get it. Personally, I feel like it would get in the way and at the end of the day just wont be worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsford91 Posted August 9, 2010 Author Share Posted August 9, 2010 Of course, but I was responding to the notion that you can buy retail cheaper than X plan which is almost never the case. Maybe if you qualify for $1000 in non-plan eligible rebates but that's really rare. Well one rebate was $500 (college student) and the other was $500 (returning red carpet lessee which was actually my Dad's but I was able to apply it to my car? Still not sure how that worked out). And I believe both are non-plan eligible...so yes, a very rare case indeed, i agree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 How will the accessory arm rest affect shifting with the manual transmission? I bought a Boomerang I am installing this weekend, matching Plum leather, i dont feel the armrest is necessary but by showing people at least I can offer them the option and help parts sell emThule rack ordered as well...Ironically my road bike matches Tuxedo Black.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Thule rack ordered as well...Ironically my road bike matches Tuxedo Black.... Do they make a kayak rack for the Fiesta? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Do they make a kayak rack for the Fiesta? yup....its an attachment to the standard base....Thules stuff is pretty damn good... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadaSVT Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Nice pics. A little large, but nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Do they make a kayak rack for the Fiesta? Maybe they should make a Fiesta rack for a kayak instead........ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Maybe they should make a Fiesta rack for a kayak instead........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.