Yeah, the owners manual says to shift into 5th at 41 mph, but if you watch that shift indicator while you're in 4th, it'll give you the UP arrow when you get to 31 mph. It seems kinda low to me, but Ford isn't telling us their rationale for that guidance and why it's different from the book. Obviously, they're concerned about gas mileage, but why the two different guides is puzzling.
31MPH in 5th would be around 1350RPM according to my calculations. That's too low if you're trying to keep accelerating. It growls a bit at that low RPM range.
shift light is for mpg performance. i had the same thing on a honda crx hf. short shift, keep rpms low, save gas. nice for what it is. ignore when you wanna go fast.
i shift very often like this around town. 1 to 2, to 4 to 6. and this is around town, less than 40 mph by the time i get into 6th. sometimes on flat or downhill stop or not coming to complete stop at turn, i start off in 2nd.
i really wish this car had a tight 1 to 5 and a very high 6th for cruising. 6 gears almost seems a waste.
A forum community dedicated to Ford Fiesta ST owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!