Mk8 ST-Line X 140 early impressions

[Mavroz 87]

It is a fob that you press to open doors. The fob is very small and smart with a metal emergency key hidden under the for badge.

As long as it is in the cab, it is clutch depress and button press to start.

[Mavroz 87]

Eric, the seatbelt warning on ours doesn't seem to stay on that long at all.

The reverse camera seems fine during daylight in the rain but a little hazy in the dark and heavy rain. Maybe that is relying on the reverse lighting for illumination.

First time I have seen it tonight fully lit up and it does look very smart.

[Mach67 0]

3 hours ago, Mavroz said:

It is a fob that you press to open doors. The fob is very small and smart with a metal emergency key hidden under the for badge.

As long as it is in the cab, it is clutch depress and button press to start.

Thanks mate

[Mavroz 87]

Another thing is the Speedo dial...

It is increments of 20mph, so it is difficult to see exactly where 30 is at times.

I know the sign recognition alerts you when you are going faster than the speed limit (if you wish it to).

[Eric Bloodaxe 207]

13 hours ago, Mavroz said:

Eric, the seatbelt warning on ours doesn't seem to stay on that long at all.

The reverse camera seems fine during daylight in the rain but a little hazy in the dark and heavy rain. Maybe that is relying on the reverse lighting for illumination.

First time I have seen it tonight fully lit up and it does look very smart.

My dealer does a free check at around 1500 miles so I will raise the issue then if it stills bugs me. Not that big a deal to press OK of course, but I do wonder about why this feature is there. Yes, warning that a belt is unfastened by all means, but why do I need to be told I have fastened it?

After drying the monsoon off the camera lens, used it in the dark last night. Almost like daylight, very effective. Surely the reverse lights can't be that good, though I was impressed to find 2 of them, unlike the single light on most cars these days. Have found the camera in conjunction with the sensors very good overall, found you can back right up to a wall and stop an inch away, though you need to leave more room than that if you want to access the tailgate.

 

2 hours ago, Mavroz said:

Another thing is the Speedo dial...

It is increments of 20mph, so it is difficult to see exactly where 30 is at times.

I know the sign recognition alerts you when you are going faster than the speed limit (if you wish it to).

Agree on the Speedo increments. Bit twitchy on this myself having commited (well, OK, got caught 😀) for my first misdemeanour in almost 50 years last year, and been on a course. I am using the digital speedo in the My View screen most of the time and find it a big help in conjunction with the sign recognition.

[Mavroz 87]

Haha yes now the downpours have stopped can try a few more things out.

We live in the sticks so the mud all over doesn't help he camera lens but as you say it is quite impressive.

The rear lights are very bright, my focus had one small reversing light pretty much out of view on the bottom of the bumper.

Must say I haven't noticed the digital Speedo as of yet. Will have another play around when the mrs gets home from work later on.

I was sent on a course but that was over 4 years ago now for a speed issue. The 90 quid that it was the  taught me a lesson.

[Eric Bloodaxe 207]

1 hour ago, Mavroz said:

 

I was sent on a course but that was over 4 years ago now for a speed issue. The 90 quid that it was the  taught me a lesson.

Mine was £85 last year so seems I got a bargain!

[Mavroz 87]

A few more nice touches are ...

The shelf in the glove box, keep service wallet in leaving more room in the glove box.

The organiser in armrest.

The extra usb slot in the armrest and the moulded channel for a charger wire to sit in so it doesn't get trapped under armrest.

The gearknob.

Extra large wheel well for storing junk under the boot liner.

Sunglasses holder.

 

 

 

[nsw1995 1]

Does it come with the standard foam filler and tyre inflation kit?

[Mavroz 87]

yes, but you can get a spare spacesaver wheel when you order the car if you wish to have one. It is an option.

[Eric Bloodaxe 207]

4 minutes ago, Mavroz said:

yes, but you can get a spare spacesaver wheel when you order the car if you wish to have one. It is an option.

Unless you also want B&O play or the pan roof I believe - then you're stuck with the foam.

[Mavroz 87]

Yes, the B&O i forgot about but didn't know the roof governed the wheel well.

[Eric Bloodaxe 207]

Yeah, that's what the price list/ordering guide said last time I looked (which is a long time ago now of course!!).

I can understand the sound system as I believe the subwoofer goes in the wheel well, but really can't see how the roof would affect matters.

[Mavroz 87]

Went out in her car 😠 last night for a little play around and I find the headlights that are auto dipping another great idea. They are on seemingly full beam and dip when an oncoming vehicle is approaching without having to do anything. I presume they can be turned off of main beam automatically but didn't find the need to do so.

The led day lights are very good looking with them going all the way around the light unit opposed to my mk7.5 they are very bright also.

[Jonson 3]

18 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Yeah, that's what the price list/ordering guide said last time I looked (which is a long time ago now of course!!).

I can understand the sound system as I believe the subwoofer goes in the wheel well, but really can't see how the roof would affect matters.

Best guess is the roof / spare wheel issue is down to a weight / specification technicality. I have heard that wheel well is still present and empty with the panoramic roof, so I have taken a punt and ordered the roof with the intention of adding my own spare wheel. Will find out the result in 10 days...

[Eric Bloodaxe 207]

3 hours ago, Mavroz said:

Went out in her car 😠 last night for a little play around and I find the headlights that are auto dipping another great idea. They are on seemingly full beam and dip when an oncoming vehicle is approaching without having to do anything. I presume they can be turned off of main beam automatically but didn't find the need to do so.

I seem to have inadvertently turned off auto dip when trying to stop the main light switch defaulting to auto, but it does not seem possible to do this.So far when driving in bad light/fog have found the auto lights do not always come on when you want them, and have to manually intervene anyway. Have switched auto dip back on and will see how it works. There's a lot to get your head round!

2 hours ago, Jonson said:

Best guess is the roof / spare wheel issue is down to a weight / specification technicality. I have heard that wheel well is still present and empty with the panoramic roof, so I have taken a punt and ordered the roof with the intention of adding my own spare wheel. Will find out the result in 10 days...

I have seen suggestions that the pan roof adds weight up top, shifting the centre of gravity, so you would have thought sticking a spare in would even it out a bit. No doubt you'll let us know how you get on!

[Oldbean 8]

The more I drive this car the more I find to put a smile on my face. Apart from the obvious features it is often the little things that make the difference:

I tend to listen to music downloaded onto a USB stick and have spent several trips getting annoyed with the number of times I have to go through Browse to get to the album I want - only to discover today that the voice control works with the USB stick and you can just speak the album you to play - BRILLIANT

One niggle I do have is with the options button on the steering wheel - I am so used to driving with my right hand at the 3 position that I keep accidentally pressing this button with my thumb and then have to press OK to clear the screen. Another niggle is the airbag warning sign on the passenger visor - in an otherwise all dark grey interior this glaringly stands out. I appreciate that is what it is meant to do (as a warning sign) but as 99.9% of the time it will be only me in the car, and never with a child seat, it is a little annoying. On initial inspection it doesn't look like this is a stuck on label that could be easily removed - so I might have to do a Blue Peter and get some sticky backed plastic (a reference for the more mature drivers among us).

Anyone considering getting an ST-line X should go ahead - you won't regret it.

 

[Mavroz 87]

Haha, you will have to go back to ten to two driving.

[Mavroz 87]

Have to stop driving the Mrs car.... it is making me mentally unstable, well more than I am usually.

Drove to work this morning with just the Drl lights on on my car..... No auto headlights on it, waiting for the windscreen wipers to come on, I realised mine won't and operated them myself but forgot the headlights completely.

 

[Eric Bloodaxe 207]

On 14/03/2018 at 3:08 PM, Eric Bloodaxe said:

I seem to have inadvertently turned off auto dip when trying to stop the main light switch defaulting to auto, but it does not seem possible to do this.So far when driving in bad light/fog have found the auto lights do not always come on when you want them, and have to manually intervene anyway. Have switched auto dip back on and will see how it works. 

I  now seem to have got auto dip activated correctly. It's a filthy night here but was very impressed with the operation of this feature, it got it right every time. The actual headlights didn't seem so good however, but as I say filthy night with mist, drizzle and spray so may be better on a clear night, if we ever get one!.

 

 

 

[Mavroz 87]

Sure we will get better weather sooner or later.

Again I think the mk8 light brightness is similar to the mk7.5 which I think is very good, certainly a massive improvement on my old Focus and Fiesta.

[Gigabit 11]

Do you have a rubber matt in the pocket in front of the gear stick, I'm assuming it's some kind of signal booster for a phone?

[Mavroz 87]

Yes I have a rubber mat, not sure of a signal booster, I just put my fob there when I am driving the car.

[Oldbean 8]

The rubber mat has no function other than to cover the hole where you place your passive key if the key battery fails - refer to page 33 of owners manual.

[Eric Bloodaxe 207]

On 11/03/2018 at 11:05 PM, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Thanks for that. I guess I'll just have to see how it goes and hope my body weight beats the seat into submission!

Still getting to grips with the seat, but have come up with something else that puzzles me. Been looking in other Mk8 Fiestas and leafing back through the brochure, which says ST-Lines have "sports-style" seats while other trims have "comfort-style". Other than trim material or stitching pattern, they look (and feel) the same to me. Am I missing something or going nuts? (my wife says the latter!).