Long-Term Road Test Update
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Seat time.
Months in Fleet: 10 months
Current Mileage: 30,113 miles
Typical Fuel Economy: 26 mpg
Average Variety: 322 miles
Service: $ 233
Typical Wear: $
Repair: $
Damage and Destruction: $ 1420
WHAT WE LIKE AND WHY: We have achieved basic consensus: The ST is a dynamic powerhouse and gets 5 stars on the hot half of “hot hatch.” It’s the every day hatchback that offers the Volkswagen GTI a run for its funds. Heck, even valets have been fighting amongst themselves to park the vibrant red ST although surrounded by Maseratis, Bentleys, and various AMG-badged Benzs. (We forgot to note the mileage just before dinner, doh!) A few of our employees members noted how good it is to not have to shift a lot on the highway. With 270 lb-ft of maximum torque at 2500 rpm, there is lots of grunt to overtake without having shifting to a decrease gear, even on 2-laners. The 252-hp turbo 4 is loved for its raspy sounds and also for effortless merges to interstate speed, divided highway or not.
WHAT WE Don’t LIKE AND WHY: The ST’s restricted cruising variety remains an issue. Most damaging notes surround the optional Recaro buckets. Absolutely everyone agrees that the seats are great if you routinely drive with spirit, but extended trips and visitors make us long for anything more toned down, like the front buckets from the VW GTI. And it isn’t just the tight thigh bolsters that draw consideration. The sharp seat-pan angle (low in the rear) can lead to calf and ankle fatigue in heavy traffic. (Perhaps the modest fuel tank was intentional, so no one particular had to sit in the vehicle for too long.) Radio ergonomics are hit or miss—mostly miss—and we’d like much more standard controls. Surprisingly, the phrase “torque steer” only comes up as soon as in the logbook. The ST yanks the steering wheel on on heavy throttle applications in the lower gears, but drivers have learned to compensate with deftly applied countersteer.
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WHAT WENT Wrong AND WHY: The tachometer needle went berserk and would indicate 3000 rpm at idle. This happened to us just before, and we knew how to reset the dash: With the ignition in the off position, hold down the “OK” button on the left spoke of the steering wheel and turn the ignition on (no require to commence the vehicle), and then release the button once you see “Test” displayed in the readout. The gauges then sweep and reset. Simple, huh?
Other than that, the auto has been dependable. The wheels went out of balance over the winter and, soon after taking the ST to the shop for wheel rebalancing, we discovered that a single of them was dented. We have been capable to have it repaired for $ 135. And we lastly got around to repairing the crash-damaged rear bumper to the tune of $ 1225.
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Where WE WENT AND WHY: In addition to weekend trips to Michigan’s neighboring states, the ST headed south a quantity of instances. There were 2 jaunts to Kentucky and one more to go to Del Boca Vista Phase III, in South Florida. We also schlepped the ST to Virginia International Raceway for a organization outing and to Salisbury, North Carolina, where our buddies at Morse Measurements did some reverse engineering on the ST’s rather taut chassis. We’ve averaged 26 mpg, which is right in line with the EPA’s combined estimate.
Continued…
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