Welcome to the forums!
The questions you asked are pretty general, but you will get plenty of answers from a lot of people. I'll try and answer some of them for you!
Quality is very good. I like it, especially the European Appearance Package--cooler looking wheels, HID headlights and black heated leather recaro interior. Pretty good stuff for a car this price.
Maintenance for me has been zilch. I haven't had any trouble yet, but apparently the clutch is occasionally a problem. It is a "TSB", or Service Bulletin, so if you take your car to a dealership because the clutch is shot prematurely, they will repair it for you as a Recall problem, free of charge.
Tranny's are great. It's the same transmission that goes into the Mini Cooper -S model, and I haven't heard much about SVT tranny problems....just usually a clutch problem I believe.
If the clutch is going to go prematurely, it will probably happen before 20,000 miles. If you go into the 30s and 40s, my guess is you don't have a faulty clutch and it will probably go to 100,000. Don't forget that the amount of people on here who do end up having a problem, is a very small amount compared to how many there are out there. There may be 80 people on here who have had a problem, but there were 14,000 SVTs sold +....small percentage.
I am 6'2, 220. I have long legs but I fit perfect in the SVT. The seat bolster's nicely and the headroom is superb over most japanese cars. Just sit in one when you get a chance and adjust it to your needs. The seat lowers and lifts electronically which is great, I put the seat in the all the way down position and I feel like I'm sittin' real low. Also the REAR headroom is 5 Stars. People our height having 6" plus headroom in the back....and the SVT has the 3 headrests which makes it much more comf.
As far as comparisons between the SVT and the ST go, and there are PLENTY of them if you do the search function, you will find very mixed opinions. I think there is a general consensus among SVT owners, that the SVT was probably the nicest Focus...maybe even one of the nicest cars that Ford has put into production. Especially the EAP package. In fact I think it's only the second car that Ford has put into production that has HID headlights...correct me if I'm wrong, but I think they are the Ford GT and the SVT focus. The ST is a very nice car, and it comes pretty nicely loaded. From what I have seen, and I have driven it a little bit, is that it is probably more along the lines of a japanese compact car. They are solid, and the door seals close like those on a german car, real nice and tight, and the seats are comfy. The interior is much more conservative and squared on the inside. The ST does have 4 wheel disc brakes, but the SVT's are a bit larger and much more powerful. The 2.3 motor is really torquey, but doesn't scream as hard in the higher end. The SVT is less torquey, but it has a 6 speed so you have to drive it like a six speed. If you do that, you will learn to appreciate the variable valve timing and raised cam lobes (alright..I'll just say it's kinda like vtec--even though I know it's not...nobody hate, please.). But yah, Just open it up after 5000 RPMs and listen..it sounds sweet.
To finish this off, I'll just say that I would recommend you drive them both. They will both impress you. The 2004 SVT Focus with EAP was $22,000. The ST, fully loaded, and brand new, is still a fair amount less. That should say that the SVT had a lot more time and thought put into it.
I love my SVT. I'm sure all the ST owners on here love their cars as well. Can't really go wrong with either. Good luck!
