High Performance 2012 Ford Focus ST

[Peregrine]

Safest spot in the car, to an extent. That's why she's sitting pretty in the middle in the SVT, because we know that side impact safety doesn't exactly shine on the ZX3-ZX5s.

[DognamedMack]

I don't know much about this car other than what I read here but it is going to be an ST not an RS. I am going to guess it will be the same as the SVT and 05 ST with a rear bench seat seating 5 total. It's also going to get what Ford thinks the US market wants. Unless the unibody floor is somehow different from the base model. Now the Euro model might see be similar to the RS in seating 4. But again it's supposed to be a world car.

But like anything I wouldn't hold my breath until it's made official by Ford

[rgonyer]

God I hope it has those seats.... but I'm guessing they will be toned down.

[rgonyer]

Originally Posted by Fordcus Fan

I got over 36 years of driving in the real world with all the idiots on the street. Driving in a controlled environment with semi.skilled/skilled drivers is a cakewalk in comparison. As for the last 15 years as a field tech driving in all weather extremes with over 3 million drivers, my 8 year old FWD SVTF has got me out of more trouble than any STi or evo could. Not ready for the new focus yet though.

You guys that are comparing the Evo and STI to a Focus SVT are insane. I'm sorry.

I have owned (2) 2003 Focus SVT's now. I *LOVE* the cars. Very fun, great handling etc.

We are also on our 3rd Evo. 1 was a 2003, and the last two have been 2006 MR versions. At this time, we still have both 1 SVT and 1 Evo IX MR. I have 20 years experience driving 120 miles day as well as driving both the SVT and EVO daily.

The SVT is a great car. The Evo is in a completely different league and should not be compared to an SVT. It is a factory built race car with neutral handling, incredibly easy to drive at it's limits, and insane power. It's not fun to drive every day to work however, because it's an animal, loud, harsh ride, etc. But it is a drivers car at $35k.

Again the SVT can't be beat at the price point it was at. But it is no Evo.

http://www.automobilemag.com/feature...ion/index.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y6lIaGZA4w

[kylesvt720]

Agreed rgonyer, the SVTF is no where near an Evo. now if you supercharge and SVT, and put it on coilovers with bigger sways, well it can run with it then.

Evos/Stis are sick cars, but I have one complaint about them. They are not very fast from a roll. These cars run low 13s stock, but trap slow which means they are only that fast because of a brutal AWD launch. An MS3 can walk an STi/Evo from a roll. Granted an Evo would be more fun on a track, but in the real world, I think it can be overrated...

[GhiaFan]

The ST will have 60/40 rear seat like the current ST


sorry this is the best I could find for the next gen ST rear seat

[SVT_ME]

After reviewing the whole thread, I noticed that no one seems to have brought up concerns over eventual modding.

Don't get me wrong, this car packs a lot of go, but at some point we all want to go faster, so my thoughts are as follows:

Now, do you think, like the SVT, they have eeked out all the power they could from a 2.0? I realize it is boosted, and as such, has great potential... maybe.

They claim they have optimized the intake/exaust and have tuned it to what they feel is is well. It may be what they consider well, is, in fact, conservative by a modders standards.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see, but it seems to me that dissapointment awaits...

It would be a shame to have to drop mad money to squeeze a meager amount of power out of it, considering that a little over $1K on the MS3 will allow you to rape most everything (while still being able to corner ).

Also,

They better offer Black on Black seats. Because... Damn.

The placement of the stick seems to be a little far to my eye. but having never sat in it...

And for all the haters of the front end... Just be glad it isn't smiling at you!

[kylesvt720]

Judging by the other Ecoboost engines, I think this will have a fairly small snail, and low boost PSI, leaving room to grow. People are making 450hp out of the SHO with minimal mods, I would think the 300 mark would be pretty easy with this motor, but I could be wrong.

On the SVT they took an aging engine and maxed it out, this is a newly designed motor, so I don't think we'll have the same issues.

[Peregrine]

Originally Posted by SVT_ME

After reviewing the whole thread, I noticed that no one seems to have brought up concerns over eventual modding.

Don't get me wrong, this car packs a lot of go, but at some point we all want to go faster, so my thoughts are as follows:

Now, do you think, like the SVT, they have eeked out all the power they could from a 2.0? I realize it is boosted, and as such, has great potential... maybe.

They claim they have optimized the intake/exaust and have tuned it to what they feel is is well. It may be what they consider well, is, in fact, conservative by a modders standards.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see, but it seems to me that dissapointment awaits...

It would be a shame to have to drop mad money to squeeze a meager amount of power out of it, considering that a little over $1K on the MS3 will allow you to rape most everything (while still being able to corner ).

Also,

They better offer Black on Black seats. Because... Damn.

The placement of the stick seems to be a little far to my eye. but having never sat in it...

And for all the haters of the front end... Just be glad it isn't smiling at you!

You should be able to do good amounts of power with this new ST engine. The SVT was limited because of its naturally aspirated form. A factory turbocharged engine is a better start, since you know that it's somewhat beefier (for the lack of a better term) than what a stock high compression motor like the SVT is.

I hope that this new ST has a forged crank and additional oil squirters like the SVT has.

[SVT_ME]

Originally Posted by kylesvt720

Judging by the other Ecoboost engines, I think this will have a fairly small snail, and low boost PSI, leaving room to grow. People are making 450hp out of the SHO with minimal mods, I would think the 300 mark would be pretty easy with this motor, but I could be wrong.

On the SVT they took an aging engine and maxed it out, this is a newly designed motor, so I don't think we'll have the same issues.

Very true. Just thought i'd bring it up since all the focus seems to be on price...