Rick R
Well-Known Member
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- #1
So Friday night I took a flight down to Florida and drove back over the weekend 1,300 miles across 10 states. Here are my impressions.
First off I have to thank forum member Stanglife who picked me up at the airport at 11pm and the following day picked me up at the hotel in his badass fox body roadrunner hotrod. Above and beyond the line of duty.
Then I'd like to give credit to Autonation Ford in St Pete who provided a very smooth and easy buying experience.
Now about the car.
The car arrived covered in dust and grime, absolutely filthy. It's white so you notice it even more. Whoever at Ford decided that these cars should be transported on an open trailer deserves one week in jail.
I had given strict instructions not to wash and not even to peel the stickers, and they complied. Even let me take it to the gas station. I'll have it detailed it here in the next few days. I still have the passenger seat plastic cover on.
The bad things first:
the body panel fitment is woeful. There are gaps through which you can stick a finger. Well, almost. They're even and symmetrical, but look bad. Preproduction-level bad. Maybe it's just my car that was put together particularly sloppily, I don't know, but certainly not what I expect on a 60k brand new vehicle.
The interior feels cheap and insubstantial and left me quite disappointed. The gauges have a toyish feel. The leather of the shifter looks flimsy and cheap and like it's gonna break. The stationary brake has far too much travel. The recaros feel too small like I need to lose 20 pounds.
The radio and audio system is absolute garbage. How I miss having sirius xm. But the speakers are terrible and the car is loud so wouldn't have done much good.
The shifter feels meh. The throws are short and precise but it feels very notchy and mechanical. Plus, if you touch it while the car is running you can feel a weird, very slight vibration.
On the morning of the second day it was quite cold where I was, a couple degrees below freezing. Let me tell you, the transmission really doesn't like cold weather. Shifting with the cold tranny required to be smooth, soft and tactful. Luckily I was going onto the interstate so I didn't need to shift much.
The torque curve is really tight until 3.5k rpms. At lower revs, you could tell me I'm driving a 2 liter four cylinder, I would believe you.
Did I say it's loud inside the cabin? If you're cruising at 2k in 6th gear on the highway it's not too bad, but at higher RPMs it's very very loud. Race car loud. Reminds me of when I drove the skip barber formula cars. When I got off the car last night my ears were ringing. I wonder if you can get hearing loss in the long term, it's so loud and droning.
Now the good part:
The engine is actually ridiculous. I broke it in gently, didn't want to stress it much for the first few hundred miles. That aside, it'll get me some time to get used to it. You pass 5k rpms and you think, I gotta shift. No way this thing has got another 3k in it. Then you get to 6k and you think oh dear God. I can't tell you what happens at higher RPMs than that cos I haven't dared yet.
The brakes are phenomenal. They grab very early on, and the pedal has a firm feel which however lets you modulate very smoothly. An absolute work of art. I'd say the single best thing of the car even more than the engine.
The steering feels competent, sharp and precise. I was expecting a mediocre feel based on the reviews, instead I quite liked it. It doesn't give you a great feedback of the road though.
The exhaust is hilarious. If you don't laugh like a maniac hearing it crackle and pop when you lift off the gas, you hate cars and you should go buy an old prius and put bernie sanders stickers on the bumper.
Sport mode is a little more subtle than I expected. Aside from the exhaust you can feel the dampers stiffen, the steering feel change, the throttle mapping change and become more responsive, but I expected a bit more difference. It's not good or bad really.
Overall, aside from what I consider very mediocre execution in the fit and finish, I can't imagine there being another car at this price point which makes me want to give up the 350, ever. Maybe if they make one just like this but 500 lbs lighter, but they won't.
First off I have to thank forum member Stanglife who picked me up at the airport at 11pm and the following day picked me up at the hotel in his badass fox body roadrunner hotrod. Above and beyond the line of duty.
Then I'd like to give credit to Autonation Ford in St Pete who provided a very smooth and easy buying experience.
Now about the car.
The car arrived covered in dust and grime, absolutely filthy. It's white so you notice it even more. Whoever at Ford decided that these cars should be transported on an open trailer deserves one week in jail.
I had given strict instructions not to wash and not even to peel the stickers, and they complied. Even let me take it to the gas station. I'll have it detailed it here in the next few days. I still have the passenger seat plastic cover on.
The bad things first:
the body panel fitment is woeful. There are gaps through which you can stick a finger. Well, almost. They're even and symmetrical, but look bad. Preproduction-level bad. Maybe it's just my car that was put together particularly sloppily, I don't know, but certainly not what I expect on a 60k brand new vehicle.
The interior feels cheap and insubstantial and left me quite disappointed. The gauges have a toyish feel. The leather of the shifter looks flimsy and cheap and like it's gonna break. The stationary brake has far too much travel. The recaros feel too small like I need to lose 20 pounds.
The radio and audio system is absolute garbage. How I miss having sirius xm. But the speakers are terrible and the car is loud so wouldn't have done much good.
The shifter feels meh. The throws are short and precise but it feels very notchy and mechanical. Plus, if you touch it while the car is running you can feel a weird, very slight vibration.
On the morning of the second day it was quite cold where I was, a couple degrees below freezing. Let me tell you, the transmission really doesn't like cold weather. Shifting with the cold tranny required to be smooth, soft and tactful. Luckily I was going onto the interstate so I didn't need to shift much.
The torque curve is really tight until 3.5k rpms. At lower revs, you could tell me I'm driving a 2 liter four cylinder, I would believe you.
Did I say it's loud inside the cabin? If you're cruising at 2k in 6th gear on the highway it's not too bad, but at higher RPMs it's very very loud. Race car loud. Reminds me of when I drove the skip barber formula cars. When I got off the car last night my ears were ringing. I wonder if you can get hearing loss in the long term, it's so loud and droning.
Now the good part:
The engine is actually ridiculous. I broke it in gently, didn't want to stress it much for the first few hundred miles. That aside, it'll get me some time to get used to it. You pass 5k rpms and you think, I gotta shift. No way this thing has got another 3k in it. Then you get to 6k and you think oh dear God. I can't tell you what happens at higher RPMs than that cos I haven't dared yet.
The brakes are phenomenal. They grab very early on, and the pedal has a firm feel which however lets you modulate very smoothly. An absolute work of art. I'd say the single best thing of the car even more than the engine.
The steering feels competent, sharp and precise. I was expecting a mediocre feel based on the reviews, instead I quite liked it. It doesn't give you a great feedback of the road though.
The exhaust is hilarious. If you don't laugh like a maniac hearing it crackle and pop when you lift off the gas, you hate cars and you should go buy an old prius and put bernie sanders stickers on the bumper.
Sport mode is a little more subtle than I expected. Aside from the exhaust you can feel the dampers stiffen, the steering feel change, the throttle mapping change and become more responsive, but I expected a bit more difference. It's not good or bad really.
Overall, aside from what I consider very mediocre execution in the fit and finish, I can't imagine there being another car at this price point which makes me want to give up the 350, ever. Maybe if they make one just like this but 500 lbs lighter, but they won't.
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