jstein77 said:I've been reviewing the results from this year's Tours, and they've been all over the map. 17 and 18 Civic Si, Focus ST, Genesis Coupe, and GTI's have all had success this year. I guess the takeaway is that you should run what you like and not worry about competitiveness on the national stage. For example, my Focus RS has no presence at all on the National Tour, but we've dominated locally.
You're absolutely correct that the performance has been all over the map, if the max speed is around 55 MPH the civic seems to have the edge because the gearing is a non issue at that point. But Lincoln has more grip and higher speeds and so I think we'll keep seeing a ST vs GTi battle, but I'm really happy for the health of the class to have 3 solid options available for people to choose from, and the Focus values will continue to be affordable as they age and while their overall reliability seems really solid, the Si and GTi will offer new car warrantied options.
When I bought my ST I made sure I wanted to have the car even if it wasn't THE car anymore, but even if the Si becomes popular, it's not going to dethrone or destroy the other 2 like the ND did over the twins in CS. At least not immediately, The ND came out of the box swinging and with no real downside, whereas the Civic has its drawbacks and requires a pedal dance to work.
The RS are VERY fast at a local level and are very approachable, which helps. SS/AS/BS have all gotten VERY fast in the past few years and so it's just a very tough class and the focus has the power to play, but it's just heavy. I've taken Top Pax in an RS in a small softer region, and had the pace to have been top 5 in the very competitive Houston Region and that was my first time in a Focus period about 18 months ago. They are MIGHTY quick.
How the RS drives is what pushed me towards the ST and led to my purchase of one.
