High Performance 2012 Ford Focus ST

[FocusSTHopeful]

screw the Focus, I WANT FEISTA ST news. probably not gonna come out before spring :(

I need a car by then, so crossing fingers for a release in the first half of 2012. bleh

[azdamay]

If the release is being pushed back, it's probably because they are trying to avoid repeating the same mistake they obviously made with the current Focus. In other words; maybe the ST isn't ready for prime time yet and rather than release it half-baked and have everyone bitch about it, they are waiting until the issues are resolved. But then, everyone about that.

[MacAttack]

Originally Posted by DrkKnight614

Competition...what competition? Who else has a 250+ hp and tq five door fwd hatchback that will offer the features the ST does? What...the GTI? The aging Ms3? Certainly nothing in the US. Im sure theres a very good reason for the wait, let them do what they need to do so this thing is really really good.
Posted via FF Mobile

You're right, and that's the only reason I'm still waiting for it.
Mazda Speed 3? Issues with gas milage and torque steer.
WRX? Faster in a straight line, but bad on fuel, and understeer amuck
Veloster? Not turbo'd yet.
The GTI isn't too bad, but I don't like the looks as much.
And then there's the less direct competitors (for me), like the Hyndai Genesis Coupe, or (maybe) the Subaru BRZ.

Truth is, I'd love to have the patience to wait for the ST, I like it a lot, more than the competition. But they just keep pushing the release date back. Now it will come out a year from now, and you'll have to throw on winter tires immediately. Ford should have put more effort into releasing the ST in April of 2012, if not this fall.

[revolutionregained]

Uhhh sedan?! C'mon....

[FocusSTHopeful]

Originally Posted by MacAttack

You're right, and that's the only reason I'm still waiting for it.
Mazda Speed 3? Issues with gas milage and torque steer.
WRX? Faster in a straight line, but bad on fuel, and understeer amuck
Veloster? Not turbo'd yet.
The GTI isn't too bad, but I don't like the looks as much.
And then there's the less direct competitors (for me), like the Hyndai Genesis Coupe, or (maybe) the Subaru BRZ.

Truth is, I'd love to have the patience to wait for the ST, I like it a lot, more than the competition. But they just keep pushing the release date back. Now it will come out a year from now, and you'll have to throw on winter tires immediately. Ford should have put more effort into releasing the ST in April of 2012, if not this fall.

to be fair, the GTI has a better interior (high quality AND simple. not the technical mash-up the Focus ST's looks like). Suspension between the two cars will be close....despite not being a rocket, the GTI has a direct, progressive suspension.
The focus will be faster, no doubt, the GTI has decent speed, but the ST is up 70 horses.
Finally, the ST will start around 27, it looks like, and good luck getting a deal. the GTI can be had for 23 flat if you go with a non-leather/non-sat nav version.

Sooooooooo, its a toss up. add another $600 and you can re-flash the GTI's ecu for +50bhp, and +70 ft-lbs torque, no other hardware needed. (voids the warrenty, but you can set the flash back to stock, so the dealer won't know)

[MacAttack]

Originally Posted by FocusSTHopeful

to be fair, the GTI has a better interior (high quality AND simple. not the technical mash-up the Focus ST's looks like). Suspension between the two cars will be close....despite not being a rocket, the GTI has a direct, progressive suspension.
The focus will be faster, no doubt, the GTI has decent speed, but the ST is up 70 horses.
Finally, the ST will start around 27, it looks like, and good luck getting a deal. the GTI can be had for 23 flat if you go with a non-leather/non-sat nav version.

Sooooooooo, its a toss up. add another $600 and you can re-flash the GTI's ecu for +50bhp, and +70 ft-lbs torque, no other hardware needed. (voids the warrenty, but you can set the flash back to stock, so the dealer won't know)

So, you could get the GTI to have the same power as the ST, it has a 2 door option, it has a similar handling system that applies power to the outside wheel, and the only real issue I can find with it is it looks bland and has goofy looking wheels?
I've got to question why more people aren't looking at the GTI as a possibility...
Truth be told, if the ST lives up to the hype, it could be a better car. But it's at least a year away from launch. :/

[FocusSTHopeful]

Originally Posted by MacAttack

So, you could get the GTI to have the same power as the ST, it has a 2 door option, it has a similar handling system that applies power to the outside wheel, and the only real issue I can find with it is it looks bland and has goofy looking wheels?
I've got to question why more people aren't looking at the GTI as a possibility...
Truth be told, if the ST lives up to the hype, it could be a better car. But it's at least a year away from launch. :/

the focus ST could def be a better car, but the price has to be right. And for the record, I dont see a huge lack of GTI interest. if you're talking about THIS message board, well thats to be expected. I'd think those @ vwvortex would feel the opposite.

I agree the GTI wheels suck, but I like the looks. The focus ST will look AWESOME, on the outside at least. I've metioned several times how much I dislike the interior, even though many people here says their loaded foci are very natural feeling...I still jsut dont like the way it looks.

Its a tossup for sure, and the delay of the focus doesnt help.

Now the Fiesta ST is really piquing my itnerest, but sadly Im not anticipating good news on a release timeframe. Maybe once the LA show opens for all on Friday...we'll start seeing a release date?

probably not :(

[sassynapoleon]

Originally Posted by FocusSTHopeful

the focus ST could def be a better car, but the price has to be right. And for the record, I dont see a huge lack of GTI interest. if you're talking about THIS message board, well thats to be expected. I'd think those @ vwvortex would feel the opposite.

I agree the GTI wheels suck, but I like the looks. The focus ST will look AWESOME, on the outside at least. I've metioned several times how much I dislike the interior, even though many people here says their loaded foci are very natural feeling...I still jsut dont like the way it looks.

Its a tossup for sure, and the delay of the focus doesnt help.

Now the Fiesta ST is really piquing my itnerest, but sadly Im not anticipating good news on a release timeframe. Maybe once the LA show opens for all on Friday...we'll start seeing a release date?

probably not :(

The GTI is a good car and the ST looks like it can be a winner as well. I spend time both here and on vwvortex and both communities are civil for the most part when looking at cars from other brands. I really like the look of the Focus ST both inside and out. I'm a little sad that "tangerine scream" from the concept is more like "lemon squeeze". The orange looked good, the current color is a bit too taxicab for me, so it's back to blue as a color choice. I also liked the concept Focus ST's interior better, but I'll get over the lack of contrasting stitching.

I'd take a Focus ST over a GTI, even if the GTI could be chipped to be more powerful fairly easily. But the car that keeps me lurking over at vwvortex is the Golf R, which ups the ante with AWD and a better turbo. More expensive, yes, but it looks to be a nice car.

I suppose if I actually look to start buying something next year and the Golf R is on dealer lots and the Focus ST is still vaporware then it might not be much of a decision. I'm pretty disappointed at the feet dragging. :(

[MacAttack]

Originally Posted by FocusSTHopeful

the focus ST could def be a better car, but the price has to be right. And for the record, I dont see a huge lack of GTI interest. if you're talking about THIS message board, well thats to be expected. I'd think those @ vwvortex would feel the opposite.

I agree the GTI wheels suck, but I like the looks. The focus ST will look AWESOME, on the outside at least. I've metioned several times how much I dislike the interior, even though many people here says their loaded foci are very natural feeling...I still jsut dont like the way it looks.

Its a tossup for sure, and the delay of the focus doesnt help.

Now the Fiesta ST is really piquing my itnerest, but sadly Im not anticipating good news on a release timeframe. Maybe once the LA show opens for all on Friday...we'll start seeing a release date?

probably not :(

If the Fiesta had more power, I'd be interested. It looks like the Focus has a better power to weight ratio than even the V6 mustang. It's hard to not be interested in that.

[FocusSTHopeful]

Originally Posted by MacAttack

If the Fiesta had more power, I'd be interested. It looks like the Focus has a better power to weight ratio than even the V6 mustang. It's hard to not be interested in that.

yea. the fiesta ST weighs at most 500 (!) lbs less than the GTI (assuming the fiesta ST weighs close to the base fiesta)

at 180 horsepower, this thing has the potential to be SUPER fun to drive. Just thinking about a sub 3000lbs hot hatch is...I NEED MORE INFO, FORD