2013 Ford Focus ST

[LTC8K6]

The latest issue of Road & Track has a comparo between the Focus ST, the Mazdaspeed 3 and the VW GTI.

The Focus won. Oh, and they recorded a 0-60 time of 5.9 seconds for the Focus ST.

That doesn't sound like a WRX STI...

And it does seem to be well behind the V6 Pony...

On the other hand, the ST is a turbo, so tunes are probably already being brewed up...

 

[z1ggy]

The latest issue of Road & Track has a comparo between the Focus ST, the Mazdaspeed 3 and the VW GTI.

The Focus won. Oh, and they recorded a 0-60 time of 5.9 seconds for the Focus ST.

No real surprise there. I'm going to call around and see if I can set up a TD for the ST. I've driven the MS3 and GTI already...I just hate dealing with sales people after. Is it a crime to have interest in a car, but to not want to buy the damn thing that day??

 

[sdifox]

No real surprise there. I'm going to call around and see if I can set up a TD for the ST. I've driven the MS3 and GTI already...I just hate dealing with sales people after. Is it a crime to have interest in a car, but to not want to buy the damn thing that day??

Of course, you are wasting his time!

 

[Toff]

I was on Edmunds and did the request for pricing for my area. Out of 8 dealers only one actually read my comments about what I actually wanted. I even specified email only and I got like 10 phone calls. I gave them my google voice number tho so it just goes directly to voicemail. Out of the 4 that emailed me and were not idiots, I replied for what I wanted and a price I was looking for and only the decent dealer responded back. Its to bad he is on the opposite side of the city from me so theres no way I'm going over there after work.

If dealers were actually pleasant to work with I would probably have one on order right now. My current car is still dependable so unless the one dealer that was decent gives me a very good price I'm gonna stick with what I have for a bit longer. A new car is a want, not a need at this point.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Of course, you are wasting his time!

Right, he was busy standing around chatting with the other sales goons who weren't doing anything.

 

[sdifox]

I was on Edmunds and did the request for pricing for my area. Out of 8 dealers only one actually read my comments about what I actually wanted. I even specified email only and I got like 10 phone calls. I gave them my google voice number tho so it just goes directly to voicemail. Out of the 4 that emailed me and were not idiots, I replied for what I wanted and a price I was looking for and only the decent dealer responded back. Its to bad he is on the opposite side of the city from me so theres no way I'm going over there after work.

If dealers were actually pleasant to work with I would probably have one on order right now. My current car is still dependable so unless the one dealer that was decent gives me a very good price I'm gonna stick with what I have for a bit longer. A new car is a want, not a need at this point.

how long does it take to go all the way across the town?

 

[Ferzerp]

how long does it take to go all the way across the town?

Have you ever tried to travel all the way across a large city during rush hour?

 

[sdifox]

Have you ever tried to travel all the way across a large city during rush hour?

I flew to Peoria IL to drive my car back to Toronto, ON :whiste:

 

[JulesMaximus]

Have you ever tried to travel all the way across a large city during rush hour?

You have rush hour 24/7? Even on Saturday and Sunday?

 

[Arkaign]

That doesn't sound like a WRX STI...

And it does seem to be well behind the V6 Pony...

On the other hand, the ST is a turbo, so tunes are probably already being brewed up...

Yeah tune + sticky tires = ~5 second 0-60?

I wonder if the tranny is built strong enough?

The first-gen (US) WRX was notorious for being able to mod to very nice power levels, but the 5-speed was a weak link, in particular 2nd gear seemed to fail.

Nice anyway though, and better than expected. It still won't respond as well as a new WRX to mods at 300+ given the FF vs. FA setup. Though it does stand a chance of handling as well/better.

 

[Arkaign]

The latest issue of Road & Track has a comparo between the Focus ST, the Mazdaspeed 3 and the VW GTI.

The Focus won. Oh, and they recorded a 0-60 time of 5.9 seconds for the Focus ST.

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/1110_2012_toyota_camry_first_test/

2012 Camry V6 : 0-60 in 5.8

Of course, go around a corner and that fat freaking Camry will show it's weight.

 

[JCH13]

Urg... nit-picking 1/10ths of a second a 0-60 time... what surface was it done on? Was the driver any good? Are the tires the same? Was the temperature the same? Did they heat-soak the IC first? Was there a roll-out like a drag strip? With or without DSC?

I remember seeing a range of about 5.7s-6.3s 0-60mph times for the first gen MS3, convincing me that this is another paper-racer stat that is only good in a general sense. I.e. is the 0-60 around 6s or 5s? Differences of less than ~0.5s are nearly meaningless in the real world because conditions and drivers will be so different.

 

[Arkaign]

Ah, JCH, my point wasn't necessarily to say conclusively that the Camry beat the pants off the ST or anything (hence the winking smiley), nor even to say that a Camry is 1/100th the fun of something like a Speed3 or ST. Just goes to show that the typical "hot" hatch is about as slow in a straight line as a family car w/V6, and sometimes slower.

~5s is a big difference from ~6s. Getting to ~4s is even bigger imho.

But yes, I agree that taking as wide as possible a dataset is better. Cherry-picking a single stat from a single test can be very very deceptive.

 

[JCH13]

Ah, JCH, my point wasn't necessarily to say conclusively that the Camry beat the pants off the ST or anything (hence the winking smiley), nor even to say that a Camry is 1/100th the fun of something like a Speed3 or ST. Just goes to show that the typical "hot" hatch is about as slow in a straight line as a family car w/V6, and sometimes slower.

~5s is a big difference from ~6s. Getting to ~4s is even bigger imho.

But yes, I agree that taking as wide as possible a dataset is better. Cherry-picking a single stat from a single test can be very very deceptive.

Haha, I know, I just wanted to divert the thread away from 0-60 times before it got out of hand.

 

[JulesMaximus]

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/1110_2012_toyota_camry_first_test/

2012 Camry V6 : 0-60 in 5.8

Of course, go around a corner and that fat freaking Camry will show it's weight.

Ah, but how fast is the Camry around the Nurburgring?

 

[Arkaign]

Ah, but how fast is the Camry around the Nurburgring?

lol, who knows. In my hands, 10+ minutes, probably 11 In Sabine's hands? Who knows hahhaa.

I know what you're saying though, stupid performance measures. The most important one is always smiles per mile or arguably smiles per dollar. One of the most fun cars I ever had was a $500 Mustang 5.0 from the early 80s that had some redneck mods. It was an absolute MASSIVE piece of crap, but was hilarious to drive.

 

[Ferzerp]

You have rush hour 24/7? Even on Saturday and Sunday?

The guy explicitly said he wouldn't drive there after work. People with regular hour jobs have to contend with rush hour after work.

 

[JulesMaximus]

The guy explicitly said he wouldn't drive there after work. People with regular hour jobs have to contend with rush hour after work.

He said, "Its to bad he is on the opposite side of the city from me so theres no way I'm going over there after work."

So, he can't go there on the weekend?

I work regular hours and drive 60 miles through San Diego rush hour traffic 5 days a week.

Sounds like he's just making excuses if you ask me. Then again, the fuck do I care if he drives it or not...

 

[JulesMaximus]

lol, who knows. In my hands, 10+ minutes, probably 11 In Sabine's hands? Who knows hahhaa.

I know what you're saying though, stupid performance measures. The most important one is always smiles per mile or arguably smiles per dollar. One of the most fun cars I ever had was a $500 Mustang 5.0 from the early 80s that had some redneck mods. It was an absolute MASSIVE piece of crap, but was hilarious to drive.

When I first moved to CA I bought a 1986 Mustang GT Convertible 5 speed. It was definitely a fun car... not the fastest by any means but it was fun to drive, especially on a sunny day with the top down. It didn't handle particularly well, the brakes sucked, the chassis was weak, but I liked it so much I bought another Mustang GT 5 speed years later to replace it (a coupe-much better chassis and brakes).

I've driven the Camry. A more boring and numb car has never been invented (slight exageration). The only feature that overshadows its boring driving characteristics is its ugliness.

 

[Arkaign]

I have no argument against that I think people who buy Camrys actively hate driving.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

I test drove an ST a while back and it was pretty nice. Definatly had some getup and go, and could go around corners with very little body role. The weird thing is to get it in Reverse, there is a little thing under the shifter ball that you have to lift up on to open the R gate. Took me and the salesman a few minutes to figure that one out.
I wouldn't look into trying to up the HP since it's a FWD vehicle. It's got tq steer already, adding more power will just make it worse.

 

[Toff]

I know what you're saying though, stupid performance measures. The most important one is always smiles per mile or arguably smiles per dollar.

This is exactly right.

As to driving across town, I'm a lazy azz.

I do want a new car but its a want, not a need as of yet. Plus I'm playing the game to see if I can get a better quote. I can wait.

 

[Alienwho]

I want to trade in my '12 mustang for a focus ST since I've got a baby to haul around now.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I test drove an ST a while back and it was pretty nice. Definatly had some getup and go, and could go around corners with very little body role. The weird thing is to get it in Reverse, there is a little thing under the shifter ball that you have to lift up on to open the R gate. Took me and the salesman a few minutes to figure that one out.
I wouldn't look into trying to up the HP since it's a FWD vehicle. It's got tq steer already, adding more power will just make it worse.

I had a SAAB that was like that. You get used to it.

 

[vi edit]

I had a SAAB that was like that. You get used to it.

My old Mercury Mystique (based on a Euro Mondeo platform) had a reverse lockout ring too.