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ST Spotting......

17K views 63 replies 30 participants last post by  Now534 
#1 ·
I was |..| that close to waiting for the ST to come out and before I plunked down the cash on my new Focus. I needed to make the deal happen and have the car in hand before class started, and even more so, wanted to have a few weeks of driving on it before that. I also wasn't sure I wanted to spend the $25k sticker price as compared to the $17k I gave for my 203A/SE model. $8k buys a lot of mods and a lot of miles in fuel at 30mpg.

I come out of class this afternoon, and whats parked right beside me?!?! A pretty BRAND NEW black ST. First time I've seen one in person, and I'm not sure who's driving it. There are only about 250 +/- students in my program, so I should be able to track him/her down somewhat easily. Had temp tags on the back, and a sticker from Carriage Ford in Clarksvile, IN. Had the MFT in the dash, and a moonroof, I'm not up on the option packages, but I think that's the top fo the line. What a nice looking car! I'm going to try to find the owner and see about a "personal test drive" :D :D....although I doubt he/she'll go for it. I'll get a picture tomorrow assuming the owner has Tuesday/Thursday classes.

Moral of the story....I'm starting to wonder if I should have waited?!?!
 
#3 ·
I saw an orange one on the way home from work. Looks so nice. Maybe in a few years....
 
#5 ·
I agree the ST's are sweet but I am more than happy with my SE. Cheaper to insure, maintain and operate vs. the ST. The reason I would look at a more performance oriented car is for the, well...performance. Then everyone makes the jump to well you have an ST but you should of gotten a Mustang with that oh so sweet 5.0. Now we got a can of worms opened up to which I say if you want performance and MPG then get a 2 wheeler. Liter bike fast is bliss.[nutkick]
 
#6 ·
Yeah but even it I would have spent a few grand more for a base stang I wouldn't have. The
New mustang coming out next Yeah looks too promising.
 
#9 ·
I might have to go test drive one, you know, for comparison purposes :D :D

The sticker price on mine was $21,699 I think. Sticker on the ST2's are in the $25,500 range. I bought on A-Plan, which got me a $17,015 purchase price. No idea what the A-Plan sticker price, or if the dealerships locally would have even let an ST go on an A-Plan sale. So, Assuming there is a $8k difference between what I paid for my '12 203A SE, and a '13 ST2, thats about 68k miles of fuel at 30mpg, and $3.50/gal.

With that said, it's still a sharp looking car, and I bet a ton a fun to drive. I do about 1,800 miles a month which isn't terrible, but it's a good deal of time in the car. The extra power from the ST would be appreciated and used on some of the short entrance ramps I traverse daily. The power is about the only thing I miss from driving our '06 Audi on a daily basis. The 2.0T from the Audi just seems to have "torque everywhere" as compared to the NA 2.0 in the Focus that needs it's revs to make power. I'm betting the ST is more like the Audi in that regard.

I am a little curious how I'll do this winter with bad weather. This is the first time in 15 years I haven't owned a 4WD or AWD vehicle for every driver in the house! Wife gets the Quattro equipped Audi, I get to learn to drive a FWD car in the snow. Luckily the worst snow we've had in the last 2-3yrs has been only a few inches, and was gone by the evening commute home.

ANYWAY.....Back on subject here.....I'll try to snap a picture this afternoon if it's there. I'm guessing it to be a students car, but there are a few businesses on campus as well, so it might be an employee's.
 
#10 ·
I'm getting mine on Z-plan (same as A-plan) for what it's worth. And of course you can't justify getting an ST on economy alone.

If you can (and want to) afford it, it's a nice sporty middle of the road car that has decent fuel economy. I wouldn't get a Mustang for myself because I want to drive the car year around. In my opinion, anything else that will be this much fun would cost much more (aside from a MS3 or something). Other options in the price range would be a WRX (All wheel drive would be nice, but 25 or less mpg highway would not, and I think you're talking more initial cost than an ST anyway). What else compares for the price?
 
#11 ·
I saw a blue ST2 w/moonroof this morning at a dealer near Haverhill, MA. MSRP was $27.7k. It looked very nice, though I was surprised that the hood shutline fit was not uniform and the left door was (very) slightly misaligned. Oh, and the front calipers were not painted (minor, and easily rectified).

Enough quibbling...it looked great. I'll bet it is a lot more fun that the regular Foci...

To me, the GTI would be something I would cross-shop with the ST.
 
#13 ·
After a quick internet peruse last night. For $25k I think I would have been shopping for something with AWD. There are a couple used options, and new options that open up in that price range. For the $17k I paid, I think I got an exceptional value on a new car.

I still want to drive one :D
 
#16 ·
"legal form of assisted suicide" <--Now theres an extremely close minded view. I'm not wanting to start a flame war, but I bet you've know a efw people to have been killed on a sportbike, and my further guess would be that they were doing something stupid when it happened. Otherwise you've view would include all vehicles without a seatbelt.

Back to the ST sighting though.....Haven't seen the one at school since I made this thread. No idea where it went, but it's not been back. Others at school have seen it, but not myself. I did see one at the dealership getting delivered last night (stopped by to pickup my license plate). Got to sit in this one. Those seats are TIGHT. I'm 6'2" tall 220lbs, and they weren't initially uncomfortable, but I could definitely feel the pressure on the lower back sides of my rib cage. Not sure I would want to road trip in those.

Still a nice car, and a fine alternative to the imports for "Hot Hatchback" entertainment.
 
#23 ·
Got to sit in this one. Those seats are TIGHT. I'm 6'2" tall 220lbs, and they weren't initially uncomfortable, but I could definitely feel the pressure on the lower back sides of my rib cage. Not sure I would want to road trip in those.
I'm slightly thin and the seats are very snug.

Anyone that has a large build can forget the ST2 and ST3.
 
#29 ·
I like that much better than the hatch. I really like that a lot. $28,500 is a little pricey for my budget, but seems like a decent value overall for what you're getting.

Anyone know if the wheelbase changes on the Wagon vs the Hatch/Sedan? Kind of hard to tell from the angles in the pictures. Just trying to see if my mind is playing tricks on me, or if the car actually is "longer".
 
#33 ·
Well to be fair they presume that wagons won't sell here at all, but wagons can't sell if they won't sell any in the first place.

If they had brought us the standard wagon I can see the point of griping about just the ST wagon, but they didn't even give us that option. Preferring to push people into the C-Max hybrid or the Escape in our vehicle's size class.
 
#44 ·
Why pay for your own depreciation, and then that of your new ST? Wait a couple years. They will be much less, and (hopefully) have had all the recalls and TSB's performed already...
 
#47 ·
Dealer by me has a black st sunroof only option for 25,xxx or 23,1xx on the A plan. No matching the rebate though... I bad to try ;). No markups.
 
#49 ·
#50 ·
I gotta tell ya, that inventory search doesn't work so great. A quick overview of it shows that it doesn't really "filter" anything. I selected "Hatchback", "Manual transmission", and "EcoBoost"....still showing me automatic sedans at my local dealer. Kinda defeats the purpose of the filters doesn't it?

More on topic, I saw the black ST again yesterday. I think the owner just has a schedule somewhat opposite mine, as others have seen it a few times, and even commented on it to me. Mostly to ask if I felt like I should've waited. To be honest....no.....I like my SE just fine, and the 36mpg tank of fuel I just burnt through was plenty entertaining.

Now, if we decide to have my wife be a stay at home mom (WOW, daycare is expensive), then we'll be trading away the Audi, and she'll most likely get the Focus as her daily driver.....I'm thinking MazdaSpeed6 as a cheap A4 replacement!
 
#52 ·
Noticed a silver ST2 sitting outside at the local dealer tonight after leaving the restaurant across the street. I think it's available. Going back tomorrow when it's not raining to take a closer look.
 
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