Ford Focus ST vs. Volkswagen GTI vs. Mazdaspeed3

[streetxracerx102]

Road & Track compared the ST, GTI, and MS3. "Does the new Focus ST have what it takes to de-throne two proven performances?"

http://www.roadandtrack.com/tests/co...s.-mazdaspeed3

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[YellowJellyBean]

I like this quote from the article (SPOILER ALERT):
"This is the new highperformance standard against which any other mass-produced car with a 4-cylinder engine will be judged."

Calling the Ecoboost engine "Boss 2.0" was also pretty funny.

[alaskanzx5]

now that was a good read, they realy did a good job comparing them in every area they could. a few videos of the 3 different cars would have been nice to see how each handles the different tests realy would have made this a much better comparison.

honesly i want the st, but i just cant justify getting one because i have 2 accidents on my record right now so insurance is just to high. the more reviews i read the more i want to get one. maybe i will see how much the monthly payment would be on a base model with no down and put what i would be using as a down towards getting ahead on insurance rather then getting the st2 package becuase all i want that for is the seats anyways.

stupid reviews having me going back and forth with myself about if i should or shouldnt get one.

[alaskanzx5]

Originally Posted by YellowJellyBean

I like this quote from the article (SPOILER ALERT):
"This is the new highperformance standard against which any other mass-produced car with a 4-cylinder engine will be judged."

Calling the Ecoboost engine "Boss 2.0" was also pretty funny.

im thinking the ecoboss would have been a better name for the engine.
2.0 ecoboss or boss 2.0, they both sound mean but the 2.0 ecoboss sound more gas freindly while still sounding beastly.

[swansong]

I was so pumped when I got my copy in the mail Friday. Had to skip to the result before I even got back to the house. Sounds like R&T are in love with the car. I'm sure other mags will find ways to harp on it, most likely MFT related, but R&T tends to judge based on pure performance for the most part.

My favorite quote:

Wearing big 235/40R-18 Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 tires, the ST sticks to the skidpad at a bordering-on-preposterous supercar-like 0.96g. That number is so ludicrous, it’s a bit mystifying that this Focus goes through the slalom at only 65.8 mph—a half-mph quicker than the Mazdaspeed3 and 0.9 mph faster than the GTI.

0.96g. Wow.

[Paladin]

.96? thats close to lotus territory

[felixthecat]

Awesome, for ford. Times sure change. When I was looking for a 4cyl. car, I looked a Mazda's mp3, Spev V, GTI & the SVT, then Ford switched it up w/ the st. Great read= R&T. I jumped right to that article, like everone else.

[whynotthinkwhynot]

Nice article, with SCT tuning, I wonder how far those acceleration numbers would change. Also, with .96G and such a low slalom score- is that driver error? Or simply not pushing it hard enough?

[Focus112]

Love this, all the clows on mazdaspeedforums laughed at the thought of the ST beeting the MS3...its not even close

[RonMaiden]

Not really surprised by the results and they were overall predictable and am looking forward to seeing the ST up against some harder hitters in the same price range like the WRX and Genesis coupe especially around a track.