Hi Guys

Currently driving a WRX Bugeye De-cat and remap but really like the new Focus ST. Anyone driven one of these? Whats it compare like to the Scooby?
I'd probably be brave and go for the orange too

Paul

 

Find out what the power output is.....

Because if I spent a load of money on a 2.5 turbo and it was only a little bit quicker than my car i'd be pi$$ed off....

 

I'm sure its around 225 BHP and same sort of lbs feet.

 

No point then.....

unless you buy it then start to mod it to get some decent level of performance out of the 2.5....then you've got to wait for the warranty to run out etc....

 

It may be powerful, but it's still just a Ford Focus.

 

and so it will depreciate less, costs less to insure, be cheaper to service, and be a lot nicer inside than the Scooby...

 

Good points - only downside is it would cost a fortune to detango !

 

Do I take it you have a focus then? I have always had VW's (GTI's, V6's etc) in the past and this is my first scoob (WRX PPP) there is no doubt that VW's are put together extremely well BUT they dont touch the impreza in respect of it's thrill factor and rally status i.e. turbo noise, rumble of the flat four and that big scoop in the bonnet. Opening up the garage in the morning and I know which I would sooner be looking at !! A Focus is always gonna be the more sensible option but thats not why you buy cars like this IMO

 

I agree that they do look nice, but your sacrificing awd for fwd and a car thats not as geared towards performance as a scoob is. If your looking to mod, the wrx has much more potential and has a vast aray of aftermarket goodies all there for you to load the plastic up with. For what it's worth I had a tussel with a FST and a boxster a few months back and trounced the lot

 

I work for ford and have driven a fair few of these new Focus st and i can say they are quick and the seats are nice, but apart from that i just not to keen on then, it might just be me but i see them everyday, the best colour they come in is red, as they said on top gear they only come in blue and that orange well they dont, they come in red, silver, black, blue and orange

 

I had one of these for a weekend test and it was very nice to drive and did feel pretty quick but got loads of torque steer which I just could not live with.

I really noticed the low down power compared to my Scoob, 6th gear at 50mph, foot down and instantly responds.

But once I got back into the Scoob I realised just how much better 4WD really is and how much faster it is.

I think the Focus looks very nice but just wish it was 4WD and cossie powered, then I may be tempted back to a Ford!

 

I`ve done quite a few miles in both cars and my comments to add to the above would be that the ST is thirstier and averages about 18mpg due to the fact the 5 pot motor has to be and loves to be revved , the WRX handles much better with better damping and tolerance of all road surfaces and doesn`t understeer like the ST , the ST has better more solid steering in sport mode and a few more toys , servicing costs are similar , ST is cheaper to insure.But the WRX puts that smile on your face that very few cars can every time you drive it and thats what its all about - pure driving enjoyment.

 

But then again, coming on a subaru site and asking which is better will almost always have biased opinions......so take it for a boot and see what you think

 

Thanks for all your opinions. I'll give it a go and see how it drives. I just like changing my car. I've had 2 focus's before and I think they drive well. Feel a bit sharper than the subaru but they were 1.8's so performance wasn't too good.

 

if only ford did 4WD again!

 

I think the problem there is largely the same as the last Focus. The last focus chassis wasn't designed for 4WD so to make it 4WD and then sell it would put the asking price over £30 easy.

The new RS Focus would have to be over 300 to make it worthwhile over ST and although the new chassis is more capable of accepting 4WD it will still cost loads to sell.

Didn't Ford lose a good few grand on every one of the last RS Focus sold?

Mind you didn't the old Escort Cossie have a completely different rear to the normal Escort? Same with the Nissan Sunny GTIR - complete re-design of the rear to fit the 4WD.

 

The Volvo V50 T5 is 4wd, and is essentially the same car as the Focus, (hence the similarity in the front end styling) still no Scooby though.

I used to have an 850 T5R for about 18 months, great motorway car, effortless, but much prefer my STi, much nicer to "drive"

The Escort Cosworth, was COMPLETELY different to the cooking version, Sierra floorpan clothed in Escort panels

 

Yep, and that's to say nothing of the fact that the Escort of that year (mk 5) was an absolute DOG of a car! The chasis team can only do so much!!

Ns04

 

here comes the part about *the twisties*

serious though you are asking on a subaru forum, the likleyhood is people would be more in favour of wait for it....... the subaru including myself

 

I was tempted to buy a newer WRX STi but looking at the new evo magazine turned me off the idea when I saw an article comparing it against a Vectra VXR!! They even said it was better than an STi in some respect!! Not good at all!

 

Owned a WRX PPP for 20k miles and test drove a ST recently.

Bad Points

Torque steer was noticable even in the dry but was not too bad - just need to adjust driving style to suit.
It didn't feel too fast but pulled from low down consistently so probably was a good deal faster than it felt. Once on the move probably similar to the WRX.
Really drank the juice, more so than the WRX.
Small boot (if thats important to you)

Good Points

Would have been £200 pa cheaper than the WRX to insure
Miles better interior (especially on the 3)
Personally thought it handled better than a standard scoob.

I personally would have one over a standard WRX if i was to buy either now.

 

Thats one of my problems too. The interior could be a bit more quality. So many rattles. I'm constantly holding the dash to see where the squeeks and rattles are coming from.