USERNAMETAKEN said:Is it a fun car to autocross? I'm new to that game, so probably I'd stick with stock class to start with.
I haven't taken mine to an AutoX yet but I have ridden in others. I was pretty impressed with how well the stock car (with an ECU tune) did even with a ham-fisted driver on all seasons. I'm attending the Octane Academy on Monday so I'll have some firsthand AutoX and track experience to report back on shortly.
The dealer offered me $6k in trade for my Mustang. That's probably half of what I might get for it private party. So I guess I'll put it up for sale on CL and then worry about car shopping later.
Unless he wants to sell me a stripped ST for $16k. It's all how you want to do the math at that point!
Yeah, I got a real lowball offer from the dealer on my trade-in when I bought my ST. Sold it for $5k over their offer on Craigslist instead. There were some pretty good factory incentives at the time so I still bought the car.
BTW: Track and AutoX performance on a stock car (with upgraded pads) was above expectations even on street tires. Not as much feedback/road feel as an older vehicle, and of course it pushes at the limit but the instructors made the cars oversteer at will and gave us a pretty exciting ride-along after our track session ended. Much fun to be had with both the FiST and FoST.
Sorry to be a wet blanket.. but here goes.
My frame of reference is Miatas and other small RWD cars. I own a '16 Focus ST 1 that I daily. It's a sort of fun-ish practical car. The acceleration is fun. But the car isn't anywhere near as playful and communicative as the small RWD cars I'm used to. There's pretty much no information coming though the steering wheel. I've gotten used to the torque steer, but it's still not a good thing.
If I had $20k, could only own one car and it had to be able to haul lots of stuff, and do some light track duty, the Focus ST would be a reasonable choice. But if you can have more than one car, or you don't need the hatch & all that space, there are much better choices: Fiesta ST, Fiat 500 Abarth, FRS/BRZ, S2000, etc.
In reply to LuxInterior :
Nah, no worries. It's good to hear differences of opinion.
I totally get that it's not going to handle as well as a Miata. I used to have a Miata with a full street-mod suspension and it had amazing handling. And my FC RX-7 was incredibly sharp too.
I drove a Protege5 for years, and while the power was weak I enjoyed the feel of the car. I'm guessing the ST would be similar. Again this is still me pontificating without a test drive.
The size and utility of the ST is certainly one of the big draws for me. My Mustang convertible is fun, but not very practical. Once it's done, the TVR will be my bonkers-small-rwd car. The other cars you mention would probably be fun, and I was thinking a bunch about a BRZ a few months ago. But I keep coming back to the hot-hatch layout.
I drove both the Fiesta and Focus and found the Fiesta the better car - better handling, better steering, better match of power-to-chassis. I bought the Focus. I liked the bigger interior (6'5"), more cargo space, more power, and styling. I commute 60mi/day on a straight highway and the shorter wheelbase on the Fiesta was a little rough.
If I wanted to pick one for auto-x or just fun, Fiesta all the way.
I am lucky enough to have space for two cars, so I have the Focus and a BRZ for the best of all worlds.
Worth mentioning - cross shop 2015 and up VW GTI, much more bang for your buck in terms of handling, feedback, and looks (my 2 cents) can be had with 6 speed manual or DSG. Again, my 2 cents.
Test drove a Focus ST with 109k miles on it , I think it was a 2014? rode great, lots of power, immediately after I drove a brand new Fiesta ST and liked it much more, more gokart feeling but thats comparing apples to cheeseburgers at that point.
Now that Ford is no longer going to make the Focus for the US market, makes me wonder if I can scare my local dealer into a ludicrous deal on an ST...
Not sure if this changes anything about your decision, but I have an 2016 ST1 package with ~16K on the clock for sale right now. PM me if you have any interest.
Finally went and test drove a 2018 today. Not the best test conditions - mostly busy Friday afternoon Denver slow & go.
I liked it a lot. My kind of car. It felt like my Protege5 with twice the horsepower. I thought the handling was tight with good steering feedback. Power delivery is different from the Mustang, but very satisfying. Got a few tugs of torque-steer but it didn't seem bad. The clutch was a bit of a mystery and will need a little practice.
The gas and brake pedals are really far apart. I like to do the roll-my-foot gas-blip on downshift, and there was no chance here. I've done the true heel-toe on other cars, but the layout didn't really work for that here either. And those brand new brakes are pretty touchy.
Initial price with all the "Rebates and Savings" was $20,352. They offered me $6k for my Mustang, and then revised it up to $7500 when I was unimpressed. With tax their "Today Only" price was just under $14,800. Not bad. I'm going to hit up a couple other dealers and see if I can put the screws to them a bit more.
whiskey_business said:Not sure if this changes anything about your decision, but I have an 2016 ST1 package with ~16K on the clock for sale right now. PM me if you have any interest.
BTW, thanks for that, but I'm looking for a new car with a trade-in.
Try a Fiesta if you can find one to drive. I found it more fun, and if you don’t need the extra space, it’s worth a look.
Purchased!
The paint color is dazzling! Pictures don't do it justice. I didn't expect to like the color until I saw it in person. Even spent extra for the color.
Looks great, congratulations!
That is a gorgeous color. Was the mustang a gt or a v6? Should have asked you about it before you traded it off. Haha
Thanks! Drove it across town the morning and I'm absolutely smitten! Everything I've known about manual transmission shift points needs to be reevaluated. Fourth gear is the new third gear. This thing pulls hard in fifth! It even does ok in 6th.
It handles better than my Mustang too, but that's sort of not a fair fight. The Mustang had bone stock suspension and I never put sticky tires on it. Pure pleasure-cruiser. This ST has some teeth!
dculberson said:That is a gorgeous color. Was the mustang a gt or a v6? Should have asked you about it before you traded it off. Haha
My Mustang was an 07 GT convertible 5 speed. Fun car and I'm glad I bought it, but I knew all along it would just be for fun for a while.
It developed convertible-top gremlins. Intermittently stopped working correctly. I tried to fix it myself and couldn't identify the problem, and then finally gave up and took it to the dealer. They did what I didn't want but what I did expect. They started replacing stuff without doing a decent diagnosis. After two weeks and $2500 they gave it the "All Good". I brought it home and the top would not go up. Pissed, I turned around and headed back over. Half way over, on a lark I tried the top again, and sure enough it went up. Misery.
So I got the ultimate revenge: I traded the car to the same dealership. The service department will get to do the diagnostic job again now, but it won't be on my nickel! I would have felt guilty selling it to a private party.
Internet fist bump for buying a new car on the same day. I'm a big fan of the Ford Focus too.
barefootskater said:Internet fist bump for buying a new car on the same day. I'm a big fan of the Ford Focus too.
Rock 'n roll! What did you buy?
Armitage said:I haven't taken mine to an AutoX yet but I have ridden in others. I was pretty impressed with how well the stock car (with an ECU tune) did even with a ham-fisted driver on all seasons. I'm attending the Octane Academy on Monday so I'll have some firsthand AutoX and track experience to report back on shortly.
How was Octane Academy??? Worth a road trip to Arizona?
Whoops. Not Arizona, Salt Lake. Even closer!
USERNAMETAKEN said:barefootskater said:Internet fist bump for buying a new car on the same day. I'm a big fan of the Ford Focus too.
Rock 'n roll! What did you buy?
Honda Fit. No turbo, so you've got me beat (and a little jealous), but it'll see some autocross as I have time over the next few years.
The Fit is a cool car! There's a lot of good utility there and I like the looks. I'm sure the Honda aftermarket has a turbo for you somewhere...
LOVING the Focus. I'm getting used to the clutch actuation. The power delivery is giggle-inducing. Handling is spot on. I even synced my phone, and I'm not really a "phone guy". I'm just really nervous in parking lots now...
Awesome car! We have a fiesta st and a 2003 focus svt. I love both cars. Our big problem is the harsh winters we subject our cars to, the poor focus is really getting hit hard. I wasn't able to get to octane academy, good on you for making it. Just get a set of autocross tires. We really beat on our tires at auto cross!
Have fun!
The FiST has the same difficulty with heel-toe shifting. I've seen where people make a spacer to move the accelerator closer to match the brake pedal. In my FiST, I've just adapted my driving style. Congrats on the FoST, it should be a fun, reliable ride.
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