- First Name
- Tom
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2021
- Threads
- 17
- Messages
- 178
- Reaction score
- 266
- Location
- Traverse City, Michigan
- Vehicle(s)
- 2012 Fiat 500
- Thread starter
- #1
I've have had my Outer Banks only three days, but I've already learned a few things that contradict what others have said on this forum.
1. I don't hate auto start. Perhaps it's because most of my life I have driven a manual, but I find the auto start stop no trouble at all. I don't immediately take my foot off the brake and stomp on the gas, so for me, I don't notice any power delay. As far as the slight vibration when the engine restarts; it's an engine starting, what do you expect? Mine doesn't jerk or jump or anything.
2. Gas mileage is way better than I expected. Again, I'm pretty light on the pedal, and I also live in an area with a lot of roads with 55 mile an hour speed limits, which is a sweet spot, mileagewise. But in mixed city/highway driving I am getting 34mpg. That only one tank of gas, so things will change, but initially I'm comfortably over 30mpg. For comparison, I never got over 28mpg mixed on my Subaru Crosstrek.
3. It's been a long time since I drove a Ford. My several cars have been Subaru, GM, Saturn, and Fiat. The Ford Outer Banks feels like a much more sophisticated vehicle. The tech is second only to maybe Honda, (I drive my girlfriend's CRV often) but I like the Ford Sync3 better. Sync4 must be something amazing.
4. Ford missed the boat on the Cruise Control switch. Every car I've ever owned or driven, even rentals, have had the Cruise controls on the right side of the steering wheel. Ford chose to move it to the left. It's almost like moving the turn signal to the right and the wipers to the left.
5. I don't like rear window tint, or the inside mirror. I don't know which is to blame, but I feel like I can't even see out of the back window through the mirror. It seems like a day/night mirror stuck on dark. Am I alone on this?
6. I knew this because I'm not a jack rabbit driver, but the 1.5L has plenty of power for me. I have owned many cars with less power. I'm glad I didn't get a BL just for the 2.0L engine.
That's all for now. I'm sure I'll have more observations as I drive more, but overall I'm really happy I waited.
Tom
1. I don't hate auto start. Perhaps it's because most of my life I have driven a manual, but I find the auto start stop no trouble at all. I don't immediately take my foot off the brake and stomp on the gas, so for me, I don't notice any power delay. As far as the slight vibration when the engine restarts; it's an engine starting, what do you expect? Mine doesn't jerk or jump or anything.
2. Gas mileage is way better than I expected. Again, I'm pretty light on the pedal, and I also live in an area with a lot of roads with 55 mile an hour speed limits, which is a sweet spot, mileagewise. But in mixed city/highway driving I am getting 34mpg. That only one tank of gas, so things will change, but initially I'm comfortably over 30mpg. For comparison, I never got over 28mpg mixed on my Subaru Crosstrek.
3. It's been a long time since I drove a Ford. My several cars have been Subaru, GM, Saturn, and Fiat. The Ford Outer Banks feels like a much more sophisticated vehicle. The tech is second only to maybe Honda, (I drive my girlfriend's CRV often) but I like the Ford Sync3 better. Sync4 must be something amazing.
4. Ford missed the boat on the Cruise Control switch. Every car I've ever owned or driven, even rentals, have had the Cruise controls on the right side of the steering wheel. Ford chose to move it to the left. It's almost like moving the turn signal to the right and the wipers to the left.
5. I don't like rear window tint, or the inside mirror. I don't know which is to blame, but I feel like I can't even see out of the back window through the mirror. It seems like a day/night mirror stuck on dark. Am I alone on this?
6. I knew this because I'm not a jack rabbit driver, but the 1.5L has plenty of power for me. I have owned many cars with less power. I'm glad I didn't get a BL just for the 2.0L engine.
That's all for now. I'm sure I'll have more observations as I drive more, but overall I'm really happy I waited.
Tom
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