Hey all,
Just joined from Orlando, FL. I currently drive a 2005 MINI MCSc and have a 1982 Mini for the weekends. Love both of them. Over the years I've owned a ton of hot hatches, but never a Ford. There really hasn't been anything in their lineup that appealed to me. Any car can be made to go straight fast, but to me there's nothing more fun than throwing an agile car through tight twisties!
A while back I was in Germany, and a friend of mine took me out on the Nürburgring with his MINI. That's where I fell in love with the Focus RS. Of course the RS decimated his MINI on the open straights, but what really impressed me was that it didn't lose that ground back at the next set of turns. Not many cars out there that can do that, especially in this price range. I promptly came back to the states and looked to find an RS here. No such luck. Nothing even close to as agile or powerful. What a letdown!
Needless to say when I heard about the new "global" ST, I was more than a bit excited. While I'll still be keeping the MINI, I'll gladly be saying goodbye to my wife's Pontiac G6 when the ST comes out!
I'm glad Ford is recognizing there is a market for big-car amenities without the big car.