Mk8 ST-Line X 140 early impressions

[kpdsk13]

Update:

I am having issues with Sync and Android Auto. I will be driving along Android Auto working fine then all of a sudden it disconnects. I have to take out the usb connection and put it back in to work. Sometimes it comes up with a message on both the phone and screen stating it is an error on Sync/Android system

Pretty strange seeing as I got the car last week. Any ideas anyone?

[Matt12341234]

35 minutes ago, kpdsk13 said:

Update:

I am having issues with Sync and Android Auto. I will be driving along Android Auto working fine then all of a sudden it disconnects. I have to take out the usb connection and put it back in to work. Sometimes it comes up with a message on both the phone and screen stating it is an error on Sync/Android system

Pretty strange seeing as I got the car last week. Any ideas anyone?

Have you tried more than one cable? If not it might be worth investing in a decent new one to rule that out. 

[DG97]

1 hour ago, Matt12341234 said:

Have you tried more than one cable? If not it might be worth investing in a decent new one to rule that out. 

I agree with that, sounds like a dodgy cable. Unlikely to be the port itself. 

[kpdsk13]

3 hours ago, Matt12341234 said:

Have you tried more than one cable? If not it might be worth investing in a decent new one to rule that out. 

I have been using the USB C cable which came with the phone! Still plays up! Gonna speak to the dealers when I get annoyed enough but so far it is not too often.

[Tiexen]

From another forum:

 

1) Memory management apps - some can kill components which are critical for AA to work, try to disable them!

 

2) Fastcharge/Charge - USB connection get's reset when phone switches between fast and normal charge or it can happen when the battery reach 100%. Currently I'm not aware of any workaround for this.

 

3) CABLE, CABLE, CABLE - We cannot stress enough the cable is a KEY part of it all. I know some of you said that they used the same cable with other phone and it worked, or it even worked with the same phone, and so on, I'm affraid it doesn't mean too much. Cables are number 1 problem and even if the cable was working yesterday, it is possible that it won't work today. Let's not forget the USB cable has 4 hair-thin wire running inside so one getting a small crack is easily possible. If we look at USB-C it's even thinner cable, and we have 24 wires running so the chance of 1 wire developing a fault is way higher. Beside this, each device, even same phone/model have a slightly different tolerance to the wire and wire faults. A change of resistance in a cable with 1 or 2 ohms may not affect 1 device but make the other one fully un-functional. This is why it is CRUCIAL that you buy/use HIGH quality usb cables. Beside this the connectors of the cables can get used and looser ending into a small move while driving which again can result in connection being dropped.

 

[dwalker]

On ‎28‎/‎03‎/‎2018 at 12:56 PM, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Found one! Auto Express 1 April 2016 Vs Ibiza FR. Couldn't get a link to work but relative figures for Mk 8/Mk 7.5 Fiestas are:

0-60 Mk 8 9.3secs (Mk 7.5 8.7)

30-50 in 3rd 4.0 (3.7)

30-50 in 4th 5.4 (5.0)

50-70 in 3rd 7.5 (7.2)

50-70 in 6th 10.0 (n/a)

Comparing a 5 speed with a 6 speed of course, but the earlier version would appear to have a slight edge.

 

Interesting!

On paper at least, the Mk8 is slightly heavier (50kg or so), but has shorter gearing. As the mk7 can hit 60 in 2nd but the mk8 can't, you would expect the mk7 to have a better 0-60 time but the mk8 to be quicker "in gear", or indeed to 55mph. 

I wonder how like for like those tests are - really needs to be done on the same day with the same tyres for a proper comparison. And also 3dr vs 3dr. Either way both seem surprisingly slow given that a heavier mini cooper with the same power is meant to make 60 in 7.9 seconds

[kpdsk13]

14 hours ago, dwalker said:

Either way both seem surprisingly slow given that a heavier mini cooper with the same power is meant to make 60 in 7.9 seconds

The Fiesta is faster in-gear than a Mini Cooper. At least according to AE test between F56 5dr Cooper and a Fiesta Vignale 140ps. The link is somewhere on previous pages on this topic.

In the real world in gear shove is what matters most IMO

[Mavroz]

Possible issue with Satnav, have added to the Sync topic here...

 

[Eric Bloodaxe]

3 hours ago, kpdsk13 said:

 

In the real world in gear shove is what matters most IMO

Absolutely. I seem to remember reading somewhere that the MINI's bottom 3 gears were quite low, whereas 4th upwards were pretty high, which would explain the differences there, and unless you're in the habit of racing away from traffic lights 0-60 times are pretty academic anyway.

As for the Mk 7.5/Mk 8, they are not night and day different and the figures were for a 3 door Mk7.5 as against a 5 door Mk8 in Vignale trim with pan roof which I guess is a fair bit heavier. So in the real world probably little if any difference between the two though as I suggested earlier in this thread, the Mk 8 may feel a little slower due to better refinement.

[DG97]

Having had my ST Line X for the past couple of days, thought I'd post a small positives/negatives that I've found so far. 

I've not covered loads of miles but took it around the town I live in, 40-50 mins down A and B roads. Current MPG is a dash over 40 (something like 40.2 or 40.3) which I am happy with especially to say that the engine hasn't crossed the 100-120 miles driven marker yet (and also my previous car used to do about 33-34). 

Positives:

- Looks - Mine is a Deep Impact Blue 3dr with tinted rear windows, really good looking car, especially with the DRLs. 

- Comfort - The ride is a tad harsher than in my previous car (it was a Corolla) but by no means uncomfortable, it's a bit stiffer than in e.g a Titanium and you have (in my case) 17" wheels but potholes are relatively nicely soaked up but on a bumpy road, I won't hide that it can be slightly jittery, but like I said earlier, by no means uncomfortable. Actually, the seats when correctly adjusted are very comfortable, side support could be a tiny bit better but you're unlikely to care unless you really throw it into corners and then it wouldn't be too bad anyway. But during daily driving, the back support is great especially with the lumbar support so anyone with a bad back, your prayers of a suitable seats may be answered in this Mk8. 

-  Adaptive Cruise Control - Never had a car with that fitted (or even standard cruise control) but for anyone thinking about speccing your Fiesta - I strongly recommend this, it's a joy to use on dual carriageways or motorways and also if someone is persistent in sticking to 25 in a 30 (or worse in a 40), you can stick the ACC on and your all sorted, even at the closest setting, you're not bumper to bumper but a 2 bar setting is pretty good in the slow traffic scenario and anything more than 2 bars is great on a motorway etc. 

- B&O Play - I haven't had a comparison to the standard setup so I cannot say too much on that but with the B&O Play fitted to mine, the sound quality is really impressive. No distortion at high volumes, the sound is crisp and clear. If you enjoy "getting down to a bit of bass", set that to max, and you still can tell what song you are actually listening to and it makes for a rather nice listening experience if you can call it that. 

- Value for money - Ok, this is a questionable one, mine I got for just below £17k including scrappage and a discount (list price of £20,650 at the time of buying). £20k for a Fiesta is pretty crazy but nobody pays the full price anyway especially with Ford, £2k Scrappage and around a further £2k discount, could have gone via Broker but the price was close enough and I thought the direct dealer experience would be better than with a broker. If you are someone who thinks a Fiesta should be £12-13k and that's it because it's a small car then fair enough, I suppose the Style trim will have you covered. However, for just under £17k, my car is a 1.0 140 with the following extras on top of the usual ST-Line X bits of kit:

- B&O Play

- Adaptive Cruise with the Pre-Collision Assist

- BLIS

- Door Edge Protectors

- Comfort Pack (Heated seats and steering wheel)

- Rear View Cam

 

I think for just under £17k, I do think that is very good value for a new car especially as the 3dr Fiesta does all that i need it to do in terms of usability/practicality. When looking for a car, I was looking at the used car market for something up to £18-19k and there are good deals of course, but not many cars come as well equipped as this so I think £17k is actually a pretty good price. 

 

Negatives:

- Seat belt, I sit relatively close to the steering wheel when my seat is correctly adjusted and in the 3 door, when you reach for the seat belt, it is quite far back and is awkward to grab and there is also no height adjustment for the seat belt. You can live with that but it's a bit annoying.

- Sync 3/ Touchscreen - This is a bit of a 50/50, I think Sync 3 works really well and is quite intuitive but... it would have been nice to have a couple of physical buttons extra. For example, if you are using the sat nav and you want to change Radio source from lets say FM to USB, it takes a couple of clicks through the menus which I'm not sure what the fix for that could really be aside from a shortcut button. Although saying that, I am coming from a car with a standard FM/CD Radio so I suppose I've got used to the simplicity and this is just a matter of getting used to. 

- Existing shortcut buttons - Tagging on the above, the current radio shortcut buttons are Play, Fast Forward, Rewind etc (and screen off - but that's handy), not sure what the point of those is when you have them on the steering wheel already, could have replaced with more useful buttons in my opinion. 

- Rear-View Cam - Not really a negative that Ford can do too much about - Mother Nature to blame, when raining or slightly damp, the rear view cam eventually becomes pretty dirty and at the moment I can still see close enough to fairly alright but give it a couple more rainy days and it will probably be a bit useless. 

- Space, OK, not a crazy negative for me but could be annoying for others. The glove box is pretty practical but the door bins aren't so good, they're shallow and you can't really fit anything too large in there. The center arm rest storage could be a bit larger too, it will fit a few bits but it becomes a bit tight if I carry the same amount of stuff as I did in the Corolla which did fit it all in without an issue. Also, the biggest space downside for me is the rear leg room, you really don't get that much of it, head room is probably fine (but I'm not the tallest man around) but leg space is a bit tight. Not really a problem for me or anyone who doesn't tend to carry people around in the back that often but when I do, it would be nice not to ask them to prepare for their kneecaps to be destroyed up against the seat in front of them. 

 

Haven't really had a chance to truly stretch the engine out as I'm running it in gently for the first 600-700 miles but up to around 3000-3500 revs, it's actually pretty good for daily usage so that's a very positive start on engine performance. 

All in all, do I recommend? Certainly. Any further comments? It's a great car, the chassis (especially in the ST Line) will put a smile on the enthusiastic drivers face and will cope just about well enough to keep the comfort seeking driver satisfied, of course speaking from the ST Line perspective. As far as the Fiesta range considered, it offers so much in terms of different Trims and options, I would struggle to find someone who isn't fully satisfied with what they can have. 

[Matt12341234]

Good post DG thanks for that. My St Line X has been built and due first week of May so not too long to wait now. 

Does the camera seem pretty sturdy? I've had one on mine and will be the first I've had, where they are positioned is it easy to knock it whilst you grab to open the boot? 

I'm pretty sure on my last fiesta you could change to USB playback by speaking, which if that's the case will save you the hassle of messing with the touchscreen. 

[cjay1]

gtechiq g5 is good at stopping the rear cam becoming dirty  not perfect but does improve things somewhat.

[Tiexen]

1 hour ago, DG97 said:

Having had my ST Line X for the past couple of days, thought I'd post a small positives/negatives that I've found so far.

Negatives:

- Sync 3/ Touchscreen - This is a bit of a 50/50, I think Sync 3 works really well and is quite intuitive but... it would have been nice to have a couple of physical buttons extra. For example, if you are using the sat nav and you want to change Radio source from lets say FM to USB, it takes a couple of clicks through the menus which I'm not sure what the fix for that could really be aside from a shortcut button. Although saying that, I am coming from a car with a standard FM/CD Radio so I suppose I've got used to the simplicity and this is just a matter of getting used to. 

 

Use voice commands to change the source on the radio FM DAB USB1 etc

[DG97]

1 hour ago, Matt12341234 said:

Good post DG thanks for that. My St Line X has been built and due first week of May so not too long to wait now. 

Does the camera seem pretty sturdy? I've had one on mine and will be the first I've had, where they are positioned is it easy to knock it whilst you grab to open the boot? 

I'm pretty sure on my last fiesta you could change to USB playback by speaking, which if that's the case will save you the hassle of messing with the touchscreen. 

Thanks mate, getting closer with each day in that case! Yeah, it's sturdy enough, no military grade protection around it but it doesn't get in the way of opening the boot and is nicely shielded, don't think there'll be any issues down the line with physical damage due to positioning / lack of protection. 

I thought to give that a go but couldn't work out the command, whatever I said did not work but I guess the speech structure may have to be fairly specific. But like I say, it's a matter of getting used to it! I'm sure I'll get there 

1 hour ago, cjay1 said:

gtechiq g5 is good at stopping the rear cam becoming dirty  not perfect but does improve things somewhat.

Didn't really think about a water repellent although now you mention it, it seems like an obvious place to start , when I get a chance, I'll get some of the g5 stuff and give it a go! Thanks for the suggestion.

[jackhoppkkins]

6 hours ago, Matt12341234 said:

Good post DG thanks for that. My St Line X has been built and due first week of May so not too long to wait now. 

Does the camera seem pretty sturdy? I've had one on mine and will be the first I've had, where they are positioned is it easy to knock it whilst you grab to open the boot? 

I'm pretty sure on my last fiesta you could change to USB playback by speaking, which if that's the case will save you the hassle of messing with the touchscreen. 

when was yours built??

[Matt12341234]

5 minutes ago, jackhoppkkins said:

when was yours built??

Not sure of the exact build date. I ordered 22nd Jan, dealer called 5 April to say its built 

[lst]

5 hours ago, DG97 said:

~~~~~~~~

I thought to give that a go but couldn't work out the command, whatever I said did not work but I guess the speech structure may have to be fairly specific. But like I say, it's a matter of getting used to it! I'm sure I'll get there 

~~~~~~~~

There's a list of all the voice commands in the manual :)

link : http://www.fordservicecontent.com/Ford_Content/vdirsnet/OwnerManual/Home/Content?bookCode=O36401&languageCode=en&marketCode=US&viewTech=IE&chapterTitleSelected=G1869869&subTitleSelected=G1890188&topicHRef=G1824130&div=f

[DG97]

43 minutes ago, lst said:

There's a list of all the voice commands in the manual :)

link : http://www.fordservicecontent.com/Ford_Content/vdirsnet/OwnerManual/Home/Content?bookCode=O36401&languageCode=en&marketCode=US&viewTech=IE&chapterTitleSelected=G1869869&subTitleSelected=G1890188&topicHRef=G1824130&div=f

Cheers mate, when to have a bit of a play with the system to learn it a bit more rather than trial and error during driving earlier. It's easier than I thought haha, voice commands of "FM" or "USB" did the job, no need for change source to USB or anything like that. Suppose that was me expecting the voice commands to be Siri-like.  Also, in the trip computer, if you go down to the audio and click the setting button off your steering wheel, you can change source that way too which is pretty good too. But I think voice commands especially with how easy they are, will be the way to go!

[Dan140]

I did about 150 miles over the weekend in my 5 door ST Line (Deep Impact Blue) 140ps so thought I would do a little write up of my initial thoughts. Driving was a mixture of city (traffic), M4/M40, and country roads.

City Driving

Generally the Fiesta did really well driving across London. The ride was excellent and wasn't phased by speed bumps at all. It got a wee bit crashy on a couple of occasions on extremely pot-holed roads, but generally it did very well. The clutch is heavier than I was expecting and after about an hour of stop start traffic I was beginning to wish I was driving an automatic (for shame!). I guess it might loosen up a tad as it's broken in. On the plus side, it's very drive-able with a large biting zone, and it's perfectly easy to pull off with no revs at all.

Motorway

I was absolutely shocked at how refined it is cruising at 70mph. It isn't just refined for a Fiesta, it's refined full stop. I drove a Merc E class recently and in terms of road noise/engine noise I'd be hard pressed to say there was much in it. The engine has plenty of torque so it's very easy to make progress and it really ate up the miles.

Country Roads

I had my son in the car with me (9 months old) so didn't push on at all but it seems to have bags of grip. I've raced karts and cars to a fairly competent standard but my initial thought was I would struggle to reach the limits of  the chassis and excellent Pilot Sport 4s on public roads. I'd love to take it on a track to see what it could really do when treated to some hooliganism. In the wet yesterday it was also extremely composed.

Other Thoughts

• Engine: I only took the engine up to 4000rpm or so but initial thoughts are it makes a great noise, there's a bit of lag at low revs but it isn't an overly "boosty" engine either: once you are over about 1500rpm when the turbo has spooled up it pulls rather like a large N/A engine and certainly seems willing to rev out...looking forward to testing that.
• Interior: it's very high quality. Not quite VW level but not appreciably worse (literally if they hadn't used such shi**y plastic on the interior door handles/pulls I might even say it was on a par, why did they do that?!). Seat is super comfortable with a lot of adjustability. Rear leg room is not great, and while the boot is quite large in terms of volume the shape makes it a bit awkward if you have weird shaped objects (like a pram) to get in.
• Steering: The wheel is awesome. Chunky, lovely material, and who doesn't love a flat bottom? I really dislike the electric steering but that's not the fault of the Fiesta, I've yet to drive a car which has it that I've had anything but hatred for. I'm sure I'll get used to it, but compared to a good hydraulic system it completely lacks feel and detracts somewhat from the "fun". One thing I'll say is it weights up nicely on the motorway and is very easy to make smooth progress.
• Turbo Noises: I'll admit it now, I am basically an 8 year old and I've also never owned a petrol turbo car before. Therefore I was unreasonably excited when I had the window down on Saturday and was able to hear what used to be called the blow off valve but I'm sure now is a recirc valve or something making the signature whistle/psshhhh noise of the boost pressure being released when you lift off the throttle after accelerating/changing gear. Spent a good 15 mins in traffic leaving gaps and accelerating and letting off just to make the noise. As I said, I am an 8 year old.
• Fuel: did an indicated 48mpg despite a lot of traffic and turbo noise stupidity, which I was really impressed with. I'm sure on a longer journey with more motorway 50+ would be easily achievable

Overall, I'm a very happy bunny so far!

 

[DG97]

Got to agree on the refinement, drove it more on some dual carriageways this morning, really quiet at 60/70, noise is fairly minimal. Really impressed with that. And the 140 engine copes really well too no matter of what speed you’re at. 

[kpdsk13]

1 hour ago, Dan140 said:

Fuel: did an indicated 48mpg despite a lot of traffic and turbo noise stupidity, which I was really impressed with. I'm sure on a longer journey with more motorway 50+ would be easily achievable

 

I am still wondering how anyone gets above an indicated 42mpg 😂. I am (thankfully) over an indicated 40mpg but no where near 45 let alone 48+. So should be about high 30's tank to tank which is good for me. 

Refinement is also impressive! My partner has a MK3 Audi TT and at speed, there is little between it as to how stable it feels on the road at a cruise @70/80mph. Credit to Ford though, 6th is really tall so the engine isnt working particularly hard at those speeds (2500rpm - 3000rpm). As you said it does eat up the miles. Interior quality and insulation, the TT is a different league but there isnt much between it, to my suprise! 

One thing I must definitely point out, I have yet to 'unstick' the car from the road when in the twisties. Admittedly I have not pushed it. It just keeps gripping! Cant wait for it to be run-in so I can really see what this car can do. It is so tempting to rev out but I must resist 😰. 

One thing I wish I got on my entirely standard ST Line 140ps (which I had on my last car) was cruise control. Long stints on the motorway it does become a bit, annoying to keep my foot on the accelerator. However, I just need to get used to it tbh and the car is super responsive.

[Tiexen]

46 minutes ago, kpdsk13 said:

One thing I wish I got on my entirely standard ST Line 140ps (which I had on my last car) was cruise control. Long stints on the motorway it does become a bit, annoying to keep my foot on the accelerator. However, I just need to get used to it tbh and the car is super responsive.

Adaptive is even better, no longer need to keep dabbing the + and - buttons when following another vehicle as it slows down and speeds up.

[DG97]

Just now, Tiexen said:

Adaptive is even better, no longer need to keep dabbing the + and - buttons when following another vehicle as it slows down and speeds up.

Agreed, not an expensive option either on an ST line x, around 200 quid

[Eric Bloodaxe]

3 hours ago, kpdsk13 said:

I am still wondering how anyone gets above an indicated 42mpg 😂. I am (thankfully) over an indicated 40mpg but no where near 45 let alone 48+. So should be about high 30's tank to tank which is good for me. 

Actual mpg for my first 2 tankfulls (calculated brim to brim) were 44.75 and 45.39, mixed roads but no motorway driving and not a lot of heavy traffic. About what I was expecting, based on my friends experiences with an Ecoboost Fiesta and Focus over the last 5 years.

[sioneon]

@Dan140 I love the sound of the turbo spooling up, stick it in 2nd asap and listen for the whir, sounds very mechanical and heavenly