Cobra Jet
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
So, been through quite the ordeal with my 2016 EB Premium w/PP, so much so that we just finished the vehicle reacquirement settlement with Ford and took delivery of our replacement:
2018 EB Fastback
Premium
Performance Package
A10
Ruby Red
Ceramic Leather
The car was a Special Order and had to be built due to the fact there were absolutely none anywhere in the country that met the int/ext colors and option package that was to replace my 2016. There actually weren’t even any 2017’s that met the criteria, hence the need for the Special Order.
I’ll spare you all the BS I had to go through with the 2016 and Ford RAV; the actual order for the 2018 was authorized in Nov 2017, as you can already see, yes we waited (patiently) to finally take delivery of the 2018 this past Saturday!
Here’s my factual and unbiased review that applies to a 2018 EB Premium w/PP:
Window sticker:
For those that don’t know, a Special Order window sticker comes with green border, not blue like a regular window sticker.
Body:
1) Body panel fitment around entire car is perfect.
2) Exterior paint has no issues at all and in fact it visibly appears much better with less to almost no orange peel when compared to my 2016 (ie; very smooth).
3) No issues with any of the exterior black window trim over A-B pillar or the trim surrounds seen on the rear 1/4 windows.
4) 3rd brake light is level
5) Body panel gap is even and consistent all around vehicle
6) All glass is flawless
7) Front clip re-design:
A) Front nose is very aggressive when seeing it in person. Coming from a 2016 S550, it takes some getting used to, but it does look really good in person.
B) Sitting in Driver seat, nose looks shorter and there’s more visibility over the hood since it now slopes downward.
C) Lower front splitter seems to stick forward more so than the prior 2015-2017’s, so be careful if you’re one who loves to pull so close that you end up plowing over parking bumpers, cement poles in front of buildings or high curbs in front of retail stores.
D) Yes it is true that the EB PP “air curtain vents” on the nose under the signal lamps are truly vented and functional.
E) Aftermarket Vendors - pay attention: I personally like the 2015-2017 hood better, as it had a more aggressive style to it with the “spears”. Someone needs to make a similar hood that replicates the 2015-2017 speared hood for the 2018’s. The current factory 2018 hood looks nice, it’s not bad at all, but I just like the 2015-2017 speared look...
8) Rear end re-design:
A) The black trunklid center section - looks better without the beveled area on either side of the (insert Pony, GT etc here). It’s not horrible looking, but IMO, Ford should have left the piece smooth like the 2015-2017s.
B) The new rear taillights - not bad looking in person at all.
C) Lower rear diffuser - yea, it’s different than the 2015-2017’s, but it does look good in person.
D) Rolled exhaust tips - MUCH better than the prior model year exhaust tips. The rolled tips have a much better appearance (and are not sharp enough to slice a leg or finger open).
E) Performance Package rear spoiler looks better in person than in pics. Yes it takes some getting used to, especially if you owned an S550 with no rear spoiler.
9) The fit and finish is TIGHT; doors, trunk lid and hood have much better closure feeling to them than prior 2016 and feel really solid now.
Vehicle lighting:
1) New LED headlights are REALLY bright! If you thought the 2015-2017 factory headlights were bright - and if you thought those high beams were brighter - then you haven’t seen nothing yet! The LED low/high beams shoot ahead for miles...
2) Rear license plate lights are now LED
3) Front fogs are now LED - and are a 100% improvement over the 2015-17 fog lights; they now REALLY add more light where/when needed.
4) Interior trunk light is now LED
5) Side mirror Pony lamps - appear to be LED now, because when lit they are super bright and the image of the Pony is very crisp.
Interior:
1) Analog speedo/rpm cluster w/My Color: Both the speedo and tach now have a “halo” around each where you can independently change the color of the halos without affecting rest of gauge color - pretty cool.
2) Ford went LED on the exterior and trunk - why not for the overhead map lights and visor lights??????
3) Digital speedo readout now available
4) Rear Axle Oil Temp readout now available (at least it is on a Premium with Performance Package)
5) My upper door panels are now soft trim, whereas my 2016 Premium upper door panels were hard plastic. I have not seen anyone else mention this upgrade so I’m not sure if this is a “Premium” thing or what...??
7) Driver seat only has a single lever on the side now to adjust seat back. On my 2016, the driver seat actually had (2) individual levers.
8) All seat padding is much better than my 2016; firmer foam and appearance of Leather is tighter.
9) SYNC display option now allows a total screen blackout - meaning if the screen illumination bothers you while driving at night, you can now turn it completely off (to turn back on, you just touch screen).
10) Audio buttons are now on LEFT side of steering wheel - takes a little getting used to coming from a 2015-2017.
11) NO interior rattles!
12) Sunglasses drawer has more distinct “click” when closed.
13) 9-speaker Shaker sounds better than my 2016; not aware of any changes to 2018 audio components, but listening to same music sounds better overall.
14) Trim finish revisions are nice touch - looks and feels better overall than the 2015-2017 interiors (ie: less plastic-like appearances and finish).
15) Steering wheel leather no longer has any grain to it, it’s totally smooth. My 2016 steering wheel leather had grain to it, so I can only assume Ford has different supplier, or maybe it’s another “upgrade” added to the 2018 revisions.
Driving impressions:
1) Not sure what other improvements were made during the manufacturing process, but this 2018 is much quieter inside while driving. Less road/wind noise.
2) NO HOOD FLUTTER at any speed! If you previously owned a 2015-2017, you know all about hood flutter.
3) The car feels REALLY SOLID when compared to my 2016, which was equipped same. I mean, the car feels more planted and “heavier” when driving, not sure how else to describe it.
4) Steering feels much tighter in “Normal” mode - almost feels like “Sport” mode - definitely a big difference from my 2016 - not sure why, but there’s a night/day difference in 2016 vs 2018 steering performance and feedback.
5) A10 is SOLID. Just putting it into gear feels better than the 6R80. It does take getting used to 10 gears vs the previous 6, but in time it will be like anything else where the driver isn’t really thinking about such differences. The A10 is VERY responsive and IMO, is way better than the 6R80 in all functional aspects.
6) The A10 has adaptive learning, so being a brand new vehicle it goes through an adaptive curve where it will learn your driving style over time. To reset the adaptive learning, the owner needs to disconnect the battery and then reconnect.
7) This 2018 seems to pull harder than my 2016 for sure - it’s more responsive and just seems to be overall a much better build.
Any questions feel free to ask!
Here’s a pic of it, not a great one because weather in NJ has been shitty since Saturday (ie: raining, dirty roads from prior salting a few weeks ago due to freezing temps/snow).
2018 EB Fastback
Premium
Performance Package
A10
Ruby Red
Ceramic Leather
The car was a Special Order and had to be built due to the fact there were absolutely none anywhere in the country that met the int/ext colors and option package that was to replace my 2016. There actually weren’t even any 2017’s that met the criteria, hence the need for the Special Order.
I’ll spare you all the BS I had to go through with the 2016 and Ford RAV; the actual order for the 2018 was authorized in Nov 2017, as you can already see, yes we waited (patiently) to finally take delivery of the 2018 this past Saturday!
Here’s my factual and unbiased review that applies to a 2018 EB Premium w/PP:
Window sticker:
For those that don’t know, a Special Order window sticker comes with green border, not blue like a regular window sticker.
Body:
1) Body panel fitment around entire car is perfect.
2) Exterior paint has no issues at all and in fact it visibly appears much better with less to almost no orange peel when compared to my 2016 (ie; very smooth).
3) No issues with any of the exterior black window trim over A-B pillar or the trim surrounds seen on the rear 1/4 windows.
4) 3rd brake light is level
5) Body panel gap is even and consistent all around vehicle
6) All glass is flawless
7) Front clip re-design:
A) Front nose is very aggressive when seeing it in person. Coming from a 2016 S550, it takes some getting used to, but it does look really good in person.
B) Sitting in Driver seat, nose looks shorter and there’s more visibility over the hood since it now slopes downward.
C) Lower front splitter seems to stick forward more so than the prior 2015-2017’s, so be careful if you’re one who loves to pull so close that you end up plowing over parking bumpers, cement poles in front of buildings or high curbs in front of retail stores.
D) Yes it is true that the EB PP “air curtain vents” on the nose under the signal lamps are truly vented and functional.
E) Aftermarket Vendors - pay attention: I personally like the 2015-2017 hood better, as it had a more aggressive style to it with the “spears”. Someone needs to make a similar hood that replicates the 2015-2017 speared hood for the 2018’s. The current factory 2018 hood looks nice, it’s not bad at all, but I just like the 2015-2017 speared look...
8) Rear end re-design:
A) The black trunklid center section - looks better without the beveled area on either side of the (insert Pony, GT etc here). It’s not horrible looking, but IMO, Ford should have left the piece smooth like the 2015-2017s.
B) The new rear taillights - not bad looking in person at all.
C) Lower rear diffuser - yea, it’s different than the 2015-2017’s, but it does look good in person.
D) Rolled exhaust tips - MUCH better than the prior model year exhaust tips. The rolled tips have a much better appearance (and are not sharp enough to slice a leg or finger open).
E) Performance Package rear spoiler looks better in person than in pics. Yes it takes some getting used to, especially if you owned an S550 with no rear spoiler.
9) The fit and finish is TIGHT; doors, trunk lid and hood have much better closure feeling to them than prior 2016 and feel really solid now.
Vehicle lighting:
1) New LED headlights are REALLY bright! If you thought the 2015-2017 factory headlights were bright - and if you thought those high beams were brighter - then you haven’t seen nothing yet! The LED low/high beams shoot ahead for miles...
2) Rear license plate lights are now LED
3) Front fogs are now LED - and are a 100% improvement over the 2015-17 fog lights; they now REALLY add more light where/when needed.
4) Interior trunk light is now LED
5) Side mirror Pony lamps - appear to be LED now, because when lit they are super bright and the image of the Pony is very crisp.
Interior:
1) Analog speedo/rpm cluster w/My Color: Both the speedo and tach now have a “halo” around each where you can independently change the color of the halos without affecting rest of gauge color - pretty cool.
2) Ford went LED on the exterior and trunk - why not for the overhead map lights and visor lights??????
3) Digital speedo readout now available
4) Rear Axle Oil Temp readout now available (at least it is on a Premium with Performance Package)
5) My upper door panels are now soft trim, whereas my 2016 Premium upper door panels were hard plastic. I have not seen anyone else mention this upgrade so I’m not sure if this is a “Premium” thing or what...??
7) Driver seat only has a single lever on the side now to adjust seat back. On my 2016, the driver seat actually had (2) individual levers.
8) All seat padding is much better than my 2016; firmer foam and appearance of Leather is tighter.
9) SYNC display option now allows a total screen blackout - meaning if the screen illumination bothers you while driving at night, you can now turn it completely off (to turn back on, you just touch screen).
10) Audio buttons are now on LEFT side of steering wheel - takes a little getting used to coming from a 2015-2017.
11) NO interior rattles!
12) Sunglasses drawer has more distinct “click” when closed.
13) 9-speaker Shaker sounds better than my 2016; not aware of any changes to 2018 audio components, but listening to same music sounds better overall.
14) Trim finish revisions are nice touch - looks and feels better overall than the 2015-2017 interiors (ie: less plastic-like appearances and finish).
15) Steering wheel leather no longer has any grain to it, it’s totally smooth. My 2016 steering wheel leather had grain to it, so I can only assume Ford has different supplier, or maybe it’s another “upgrade” added to the 2018 revisions.
Driving impressions:
1) Not sure what other improvements were made during the manufacturing process, but this 2018 is much quieter inside while driving. Less road/wind noise.
2) NO HOOD FLUTTER at any speed! If you previously owned a 2015-2017, you know all about hood flutter.
3) The car feels REALLY SOLID when compared to my 2016, which was equipped same. I mean, the car feels more planted and “heavier” when driving, not sure how else to describe it.
4) Steering feels much tighter in “Normal” mode - almost feels like “Sport” mode - definitely a big difference from my 2016 - not sure why, but there’s a night/day difference in 2016 vs 2018 steering performance and feedback.
5) A10 is SOLID. Just putting it into gear feels better than the 6R80. It does take getting used to 10 gears vs the previous 6, but in time it will be like anything else where the driver isn’t really thinking about such differences. The A10 is VERY responsive and IMO, is way better than the 6R80 in all functional aspects.
6) The A10 has adaptive learning, so being a brand new vehicle it goes through an adaptive curve where it will learn your driving style over time. To reset the adaptive learning, the owner needs to disconnect the battery and then reconnect.
7) This 2018 seems to pull harder than my 2016 for sure - it’s more responsive and just seems to be overall a much better build.
Any questions feel free to ask!
Here’s a pic of it, not a great one because weather in NJ has been shitty since Saturday (ie: raining, dirty roads from prior salting a few weeks ago due to freezing temps/snow).
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