Hi to everyone on the forums.

After having a Fiesta 1.6 Zetec S for over 5 years, I finally upgraded to an ST on Friday from Ford Direct. Black (side stripes to come), Bluetooth, MP3 connection, full leather heated seats, electric folding mirrors and 13K on the clock. It looks pretty sweet, but I do have 2 problems...

The first is the ride over long distance - does anyone else find a lot of vibration? After 200 miles, I was a lot more shaken up than I was in my Zetec. The car had just been serviced, and it was more coming from the floor into my legs that I noticed. I expected hard suspension, but perhaps less than that. Maybe it was just me driving on Friday night after a tiring week?

The second I've covered in a separate post - the Engine Warning light came on today. The AA said it was one of the O2 sensors, so will get that looked at soon.

Would be good to hear others' initial experiences..

the susspension is stiff but not sure how it compares to a ZS but as the tyres are much lower profile u do feel lots of feedback from the road.

The engine light should be a simple fox if its a sensor and it coud well be down to that bad petrol if the car has sat for a bit or been on test drives and just had a spalsh and dash petrol fill-up

I would not worry though u will come to love the car

Plus I should say you have pick a gr8 colour there .....looks gr8 when clean but a nightmare to keep that way but & those heated seats are so nice when its cold

i owned a zetec-S beofre the ST and the ride is a little harder coz of the stiffened suspension but this hasnt effected the drive for me over long distances

Its not the ride that bothers me on long distances but the cabin noise at speed. phfffff... can bearly hear myself think. I upgraded from a 306 D-Turbo which I loved for long distance driving...... I miss it in fact!

firstly a big welcome to the site,i have,nt really got anything to compare the ride of the st however it is firm but not over firm well not for me anyway,the engine warning light came on my st twice within 2 month from new the first fix was a software problem and the second fix was the oxygen sensor needed replacing.
by the way good choice of colour panther black go for the ott stripes aswell.

welcome to the site! nice choice of colour and specs!don't find the ST suspension hard enough in my opinion so have add Eibach spring on it much better but probably to hard for u! as for the warning light probably going to follow iceman opinion on that subject!

Welcome to the site

Dont worry about the engine light coming on, that will be fixed soon enough for free.

As for the ride, the is silly stiff on normal long runs, but it certainly makes up for it the corners, at least its not a sports car that goes pretty quick and handle like a plate of jelly, you'll get used to the ride and when the conditions are right and you take it for a spin and really feel the suspension working properly you'll fall in love, trust me

I see everyone is returning answers about the ride quality but as I understand the complaint from GMoney was about a vibration. IMO the vibration should not be there and the first thing I'd do is to get the wheels balanced.

Personally I find the ST's ride very comfortable including on long rides

Yes but Nick... I get vibration in my car... due to the stiff ride.

I see what you mean Tony but in my view a vibration is something which is independent to road condition. What the stiff ride would provice would be cuased by road surface coarseness. Thay't just the way I understood it anyway.

have to agree with u Nick a car should only vibrate cos of the wheels if they're not balance or sometime but least likely is the exhaust system which sometime can create vibration on the car floor! does have this sometime but at stand still!

It depends on what degree it is shaking/vibrating the car. If its wobbling the steering wheel or it is drastically uncomfortable and there could be a serious problem then get it back in by all means, but if its just the cockpit rattling a bit due to the stiff ride, depends doesnt it?

Mine rattles and vibrates but i live with it and have sort have grown to love it

Thanks everyone for the replies - looks like this is the site to be at!

I won't worry about the light for now if you say it's quite common, and hopefully I'll sort it on Wed.

I don't mind the hard suspension over uneven ground, but driving at speed on good A1/M62 roads I just seemed to feel it more than I thought I would. As Tony said, maybe it's just due to the stiff ride. Hard to tell when you're new to the car.
Maybe I'll ask about the wheel balancing when I take it in.

Ask to be sure,

When i was going to the Xmas meet up for this site, i was going down the M42 and the road is terrible, ever so slightly rippled, just normal 106's just cruising along and theres me and my mate getting cripled cos the car was vibrating and rattling around was soooooo unconfortable

Going from a ZS to an ST you will notice things more. You will get used to it. Does your steering wheel shake?

TBH over long distance the ST can be a little uncomfy as i'm used to my arm chair focus. I feel this when in in an but again can get used to it.

Keep us updated on what happens etc.

Welcome to the site