So I'm not even sure if this is made by Top Gear or not but it wasn't too bad.

Focus didn't win Hot Hatch of the year...[scratch]

....won something else though. [thumb]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ssGbunIdvU&feature=pyv&ad=4037082726&kw=top%20gear&gclid=CLL6zOeBuZ8CFRHxDAodGzFl3g

Focus as a muscle car and two cars on there (Ferrari 458 and the AMG SLS Gullwing) aren't even available for sale yet... not sure what to say.

Focus as a muscle car and two cars on there (Ferrari 458 and the AMG SLS Gullwing) aren't even available for sale yet... not sure what to say.

The focus is for sale in Europe.... Its the current RS, not the new one...

that is not top gear that is a load of bull, i love my focus but there is absolutely no way a focus would be voted muscle car of the year. its rubbish as they have given an award to a prius which they all despise. the video is not top gear

A. First thing I said was I didn't think it was even made by them.

B. Pretty sure having the RS as muscle car of the year is saying it's a beast of a car.

I want my RS...NOW!

Does Ford think bringing the RS over at the same time the new Focus/Fiesta models are introduced, will dampen sales of them? Hell yeah!

Now, bring it over! Buyers just might wait to see if the RS shows up after the new Focus/Fiesta intro.

I'll be waiting.

Charles

The RS won't be made for a couple years, so we won't know if we get it for a while...

I want my RS...NOW!


Gee, where have I heard that before? [slap]

V [offtopic]

B. Pretty sure having the RS as muscle car of the year is saying it's a beast of a car.

No. Muscle cars are NA, have V8s, and are rear wheel drive. Despite the almost unholy and at times sickening cult following of the Focus RS on this board, it's not in any way a "muscle" car. I don't care what kind of clever differential Ford comes up with or torque limiting systems like Mazdas. 300BHP in FWD is still Fail Wheel Drive.

Now if we were talking a Focus RS with an AWD like Mitsubishi's...then the attention would be well-founded. As it stands, what, assuming it comes over, is its competition? The Speed3. Fail Wheel Drive again. For the 25K you'll pay for a nice one, just plop down the extra 5 G's and get a Ralliart Lancer. [werd]

Gee, where have I heard that before? [slap]



No. Muscle cars are NA, have V8s, and are rear wheel drive. Despite the almost unholy and at times sickening cult following of the Focus RS on this board, it's not in any way a "muscle" car. I don't care what kind of clever differential Ford comes up with or torque limiting systems like Mazdas. 300BHP in FWD is still Fail Wheel Drive.

[werd]
A muscle car is a mid sized car with a large/powerful motor. There's no written rule that it has to have an n/a v8. You're thinking old school. Would you consider a mustang with an ecoboost v6 muscle? I think so. Would a v10 powered mustang be muscle, again, I think so. Also, conceptions and attitudes of vehicles overseas are much different than ours. I would say it is fair to consider the RS somewhat muscle. RS, a fail? That discredits everything you have said right there.... [slap]

There's no written rule that it has to have an n/a v8. You're thinking old school. Would you consider a mustang with an ecoboost v6 muscle? I think so. Would a v10 powered mustang be muscle, again, I think so. Also, conceptions and attitudes of vehicles overseas are much different than ours. I would say it is fair to consider the RS somewhat muscle. RS, a fail? That discredits everything you have said right there.... [slap]

The RS and its fanboys are still fail. Would you really want 300BHP in a FWD DD? I doubt it, unless you'd like to torque steer into a tree. [wiggle] With all the damn hype it gets on this board, it should be a WRC version.

But its place on that "list" is fail anyway because it's not a Top Gear list. They pretty much consider old school as muscle cars, and they certainly hate the Prius. [popcorn]

A muscle car is a mid sized car with a large/powerful motor.

So we're gonna call the Altima SE-R and and STi muscle cars now too? If you let the meaning be that general, then really you're calling 70% of performance sedans muscle cars, what with BMW and all. Just let the definition be one type of car.

The RS and its fanboys are still fail. Would you really want 300BHP in a FWD DD? I doubt it, unless you'd like to torque steer into a tree. [wiggle] With all the damn hype it gets on this board, it should be a WRC version.

But its place on that "list" is fail anyway because it's not a Top Gear list. They pretty much consider old school as muscle cars, and they certainly hate the Prius. [popcorn]



So we're gonna call the Altima SE-R and and STi muscle cars now too? If you let the meaning be that general, then really you're calling 70% of performance sedans muscle cars, what with BMW and all. Just let the definition be one type of car.


You = Fail. The RS has less torque steer than a MS3, with more horespower...

Jeremy Clarkson said it was the single best deal in fun to value of any car built on earth right now.

wow this thread is starting become a bunch of fail. and some ppl need to get their facts in order, u kno european's car terminology, doesnt sync with all of our car terms, so when they're calling the RS a "muscle" car, is simply calling it a powerful car. youmustfocus, get your facts straight.

You = Fail. The RS has less torque steer than a MS3, with more horespower...

Jeremy Clarkson said it was the single best deal in fun to value of any car built on earth right now.

So we're defying physics now? Gobs of torque plus FWD is always gonna be a disaster in the real world.

I wouldn't be so quick to put my trust in the RS 'cause it's a Focus. I'm basing my distaste on pure science.

IMO, just have a damn AWD production Focus and be done with the whole thing. Have a huge aftermarket, compete with Mitsu and Subaru. Otherwise, the RS is just a (potential) $26K waste of time. Why pay all that money for FWD, really? Especially after having owned an SVT, Kyle, you should know that the FWD limit is pretty low. How much more power would you squeeze out of it before you're spinning through three gears? It becomes pointless in the real world.

I just wish the some of the people of this site could take off their Ford blinders for 10 seconds and look at things logically.

^^then why be on here, if u think a focus is bunch of fail?

and cars like the srt-4 neon, caliber are boosted FWD cars, so do they suck as much as the Focus RS?

What you call $26k waste of time, I call a hell of a fun time!

^^then why be on here, if u think a focus is bunch of fail?

and cars like the srt-4 neon, caliber are boosted FWD cars, so do they suck as much as the Focus RS?

The SRT-4's were huge amounts of fail, but for different reasons. The Neon was still assembled like a Neon...horribly. A great performer though, stock power. That's really pushing the limits of what FWD can handle on the road. I wouldn't mind owning one if they weren't put together like crap.

The Caliber is just a whole bunch of fugly fail. It's shaped like a minivan, plus 265TQ? You might as well plan your funeral now with how poorly that thing handles.

The original Speed3 had huge torque-steering problems, too. Even what I'd consider the top performer of the FWD cars, the Cobalt SS/TC, has too much torque steer. It's just silly to put that much power in an ass-dragger. Light power is where it's at for FWD...autocross.

And as long as there are WRXes...the RS fails. If these high-powered FWD compacts are 23-24K brand new and you want to be serious about performance, why not just get a 25K WRX? So you get 40 fewer horses than a Speed3, but hey, at least you've got the tech to actually use all the damn power.

Don't get me wrong, I like FWD at times. I like the Focus ZX3/ZX5 and the SVT. But the RS is just silly. I'm not shocked you guys are so hostile about my opinion of the RS, but I am shocked that you won't listen to reason on the subject. I'm not brand-loyal. I'd roll in a Hyundai if its performance appealed to me and it was put together well. The very fact that I'm on a Ford forum even though I drive GMs should prove that easily enough.

What you call $26k waste of time, I call a hell of a fun time!

Not that it couldn't be fun, but wouldn't you feel a bit silly when you see a Lancer Ralliart or WRX on the track (assuming there aren't huge sweepers and straight lines everywhere)?

The SRT-4's were huge amounts of fail, but for different reasons. The Neon was still assembled like a Neon...horribly. And as long as there are WRXes...the RS fails. If these high-powered FWD compacts are 23-24K brand new and you want to be serious about performance, why not just get a 25K WRX? So you get 40 fewer horses than a Speed3, but hey, at least you've got the tech to actually use all the damn power.

Don't get me wrong, I like FWD at times. I like the Focus ZX3/ZX5 and the SVT. But the RS is just silly. I'm not shocked you guys are so hostile about my opinion of the RS, but I am shocked that you won't listen to reason on the subject. I'm not brand-loyal. I'd roll in a Hyundai if its performance appealed to me and it was put together well. The very fact that I'm on a Ford forum even though I drive GMs should prove that easily enough.


You're right! Forget everything the actual car afficianados said! I'll take your word, I'm sure you've driven all the cars.... As for the track, yeah.. because most people spend tons of time there.. The RS is a very nice car. The ralliart is in my opinion very ugly. I like the WRX's, and I'm with you on the caliber and what not. The cobalts can all be burned, they're ugly. We're all entitled to our opinions, but seriously how are you going to bash the RS when you've most likely never driven one, and most likely never will.[smackbum]

Not that it couldn't be fun, but wouldn't you feel a bit silly when you see a Lancer Ralliart or WRX on the track (assuming there aren't huge sweepers and straight lines everywhere)?

Not nearly as silly as if I were driving an 04 malibu [poke] [neener](j/k(kinda)).

fail for a malibu...lol

Fugly fail on mali!


...although I had one as a loaner, and pretty comfy inside. (do have to give it up for that...)


Still fugly fail!!!

Not nearly as silly as if I were driving an 04 malibu [poke] [neener](j/k(kinda)).

Hey, it gets me 32MPG highway. MPG happens to be priority right now.

I've driven an SRT Neon. Wasn't stock, but close to it. Would be nice to have if I wasn't scared of dying in it (just like the old Eclipses). Been in an SRT Caliber...completely unimpressed. The steering felt almost as sloppy as the Malibu. [eek]

Haven't driven a Ralliart, only the Evo X MR. Flappy-paddle nonsense is not my idea of fun. Felt weird to drive it around normally while in manual mode. Automatic for most intents and purposes.

Seen many Subies, but never had the pleasure to drive a new (08+) WRX/STi. The old ones were torque pigs though, like high-powered FWD.

I've gotten to drive some fun cars in the last two years from a 2400lb. Civic to a 480WHP Evo IX MR. I have some perspective on cars' characteristics, or at least I hope so (no, I'm not being sarcastic).

As for the new Ralliarts, I am inclined to agree. I really don't like much about the Lancer family in general for the current generation. Would rather have an old Evo IX.

And as far as the car mags/aficionados go, I take 90% of what I read with a grain of salt. It's hard to respect the opinion of reviewers like Ross Rappaport with huge biases or lots of the fool who tout the Prius as the saviour of the world. I try to form my opinions on logic and numbers. [werd] Which is why I didn't buy an Eclipse when I was 17...logic prevailed. LOL

The Malibu was pretty much chosen for me after a huge fiasco with my first car (I had a Mazda 6). I didn't have too much of a choice, but that's pretty obvious I think. What teenager wants a grandpa car? [hihi]

Cobalts are ugly, kinda. But then again I liked the Cavalier for a while...the only great thing about the Cobalt's body is that most people wouldn't know it's an SS if you removed the badging.

Will I ever drive an RS? Probably not, but I'm willing to bet none of us on this forum (at least in America) will never be able to own one. If it does make its way here to be sold, I'd go drive one to get a firsthand account of its capabilities. Until then, though, I would hypothetically save my money for a WRX, assuming I was in the market for a 25K car.

Fugly fail on mali!


...although I had one as a loaner, and pretty comfy inside. (do have to give it up for that...)


Still fugly fail!!!

Oh hell yeah it's fugly! [rofl] Especially after the way NYC has treated it. Dents and scratches out the wazoo.

I get to drive tons of cars. I'm interning with Enterprise, I'm in my last semester of College. The malibu is okay, but feels cheap. Same with the cobalts, calibers, and even the mighty corolla. The Focus trumps the competition in its class imo. The fusion is very nice as well, I'd take it over the others in its class. I'm not a devout Ford fan neither. Right now I have a dakota r/t, a 3.9 dakota 4x4, a 69 Chevelle, and my Focus. The Focus and my boat are going in the Spring and Im picking up a Tahoe, or an Expedition
The only Chevys I really like better than Fords right now are the Tahoes and Suburbans. Every other comparable car Ford is hands down nicer to me. I LOVE the Edges. Traverse/Acadia---failure.

Traverse/Acadia---failure.

Soccer-mom mobiles = fail in general. When it's time to have kids, I'm getting a Legacy Outback or something comparable. If I don't need AWD at that time, I'll get a Focus wagon, in Ford makes another...

As much as I used to hate the Flex, after driving one with leather/heated seats/sunroof/navvy/back up camera I have to say I would love to have one for a long trip [thumb]

As much as I used to hate the Flex, after driving one with leather/heated seats/sunroof/navvy/back up camera I have to say I would love to have one for a long trip [thumb]

Every time I see a Flex, I want to steal one and do a Woody scheme on it. I think it'd look awesome.

A woody Flex would be tight...

It'd still be ugly lol. Ugly, but verrrry comfortable.

The Focus RS did in fact win Top Gear's muscle car of the year! Reason being, it's the fastest and the most powerful front-wheel-drive Ford has ever produced in Europe. The show is produced in EU, so the US's definition of "muscle car" is a little different...

Also, just wanted to let all The Stig fans here know that Top Gear Season 13 is now in full swing - you can catch it on Mondays @ 8/7c on BBC AMERICA. Check out a sneak peek of Episode 2 here (http://www.bbcamerica.com/shows/topgear/video.jsp?bclid=60711630001&bctid=62892527001)! Want more info and other goodies? Head over to http://bbcamerica.com/TopGear.

Best Buy Sells Top Gear Seasons, I spotted a season or two on the shelf at work

Also, just wanted to let all The Stig fans here know that Top Gear Season 13 is now in full swing - you can catch it on Mondays @ 8/7c on BBC AMERICA. Check out a sneak peek of Episode 2 here (http://www.bbcamerica.com/shows/topgear/video.jsp?bclid=60711630001&bctid=62892527001)! Want more info and other goodies? Head over to http://bbcamerica.com/TopGear.

Preeeeeety sure 95% of the Top Gear fans here have seen most (if not all) of season 14 already. [thumb]

Yeah, Season 14 aired abroad already... for those us just catching it on television here in the US, Season 13 is new.