I am beginning to notice something as I go from driving the Fiesta, to my Mustang track car, to my modified SVT Focus. The Fiesta seems almost too refined. That is not really a bad thing, but more of a surprise. The NVH engineers have done a wonderful job of isolating the driver from the car, but they really did too good of a job. I like having a little vibration of the gas pedal under hard acceleration. I enjoy hearing the intake roar and exhaust note. I like feeling the shifter going into each gear. The Fiesta takes all of that away, which is great if you are normal. Sadly, I am far from normal.

            The current focus on new cars is aiming to have Lexus-like quietness in the cabin, with zero sounds or feeling from the outside world. When I am old and waiting to die, I will be happy with all of that isolation. My heart still beats and I want to feel the engine and the car around me. There needs to be just a little noise and vibration for the driver to interact with so he/she knows what the car is doing. While autocrossing, I could never hear the engine, and nobody else could either. After each run, people would always comment on how the silent the Fiesta was. I am not saying the Fiesta needs a fart can exhaust from Pep Boys, but it does need a little bit more sound coming from the car.

            I look at my SVT Focus and it has the perfect blend of refinement and rawness. The factory SVT exhaust is great for those of us who want a little bit of an aggressive exhaust note, without having your head hurt. The single angle cut exhaust tip is just enough to be noticed, but not outlandish the pipes on my dad’s Shelby GT. The factory air box is also well designed to provide a little intake roar upon opening the throttle body, but not too much to be confused with a kid’s 15 year old Civic with a short ram intake he found on eBay. SVT found the perfect balance between refinement and rawness with the Focus. I pushed the car more towards the raw end of the spectrum by replacing the telephone pole shifter with a shorter, high effort shifter from Steeda. The soft rubber lower transmission bushings were swapped out for Aluminum and hard urethane to limit engine movement under shifting. The urethane also transmits more vibration into the chassis from the engine, so you feel the engine and transmission. The general public would hate to deal with so much mechanical involvement while driving, but I love it.

            What I have concluded is that if you really love driving a car that makes very little mechanical sounds, you will love the Fiesta. That means that 99% of car buyers will rejoice with how refined the car is. Thankfully for me, all of the refinement that takes away the mechanical feel of the Fiesta can be altered. The Fiesta is an outstanding platform, and in fact, exceeds my expectations for what a small car can be. If you are a die hard motorsports enthusiasts, you will be looking towards the aftermarket or hoping for a ST or RS Fiesta. The car needs more interaction between the driver and the mechanics. The plans for my Fiesta are to first install a short-throw, higher effort shifter. The factory shift linkage is lacking feel and the throws are way too long. Next will be some sort of an aluminum/urethane lower motor mount to help stabilize the engine under shifts. Exhaust is the tricky one, since most aftermarket exhausts are too loud or have gaudy tips. I am hoping FSWerks will have something more adult for my Fiesta, since they make some of the best Focus exhaust systems. A few small tweaks should be enough to add a little rawness back into the Fiesta. For a car guy, a little less refinement can be a good thing.