The next platform Focus will be able to support AWD. It wouldn't be like a Mits AWD though, it would be more like a Matrix. Weak but functional.

 

Fast doesn't equal good

The svt focus is a great stock class auto-x car. I buy a car for handling not all out speed. I wouldn't get a svt focus though, the msp costs the same price and I like it better overall. I dunno everyone knocks the svt yet I dunno anyone that has driven one and still knocks it. Must be all that mag racing going on

 

i have driven the focus ZTS and if the hatches are like even the svt then they will suck anus. that car is apiece of ****. no matter what you do it will drive like a ton of bricks. it cannot handle well, it has terrible brakes and sits up high like it is a ****ing SUV. it is the worst car that i have ever driven. i have also owned a civic. the focus was worse. i dont care if ford will put in a turbo and AWD tranny it is still going to be a POS. my 2 cents.

 

again a ZTS and svt are not similar at all
a svt is one of the nicest handling fwd cars out there. It's just like saying an msp sucks because a base protege is slow and doesn't handle that well.

 

My other car is a Focus, and I'd have to say that a stock Focus is a far, far better platform than a stock Lancer. Ford loses money on these things because they engineered it to be a 'world car' platform, which is to say a single design for the worldwide market. A focus in europe might have different trim, etc, but overall it's very similar to what we get here, except in Europe they can charge well over 20K for what we pay 15K for. Americans perceive value as a function of size and that's why the Focus has to be cheaper than a crappy Taurus which costs less to make. (conversely, this is why they can charge a 15K markup on an Expedition) Since they had the european market in mind, the car has a sophisticated multilink rear suspension and when you get the European Handling package, a base Focus with the zetec would eat an OZ rally for lunch in the twisties. Automobile magazine nominated the Focus as an all-star because they say it's the best small car chassis out there, bar none. The Focus is also the basis for the Mazda 6, which is probably the best handling midsize family car out there..

I realize that a WRC car is not a stock car, but the WRC Focus is arguably the best car in the WRC. If it wasn't for some reliablility issues Ford needs to work out, they'd probably be leading the manufacturer's championship (lots of times where Ford is leading the rally in the second day, only to be thwarted by a gearbox or engine failure).

Personally I like the design, at least it doesn't look like anything else.

 

Ford Focus SVT
Acceleration (0-60 mph): 7.49 sec.
Acceleration (Quarter Mile): 15.40 sec.
Braking Distance (60-0 mph): 115.33 ft
300 Foot Skidpad: .91g
Curb Weight: 2,593 lbs


Sources
http://www.commondriver.com/e02fofocu0106.asp
http://www.edmunds.com/new/2003/ford...denav..8.Ford*
http://www.escortfocus.com/html/ford_focus_svt.html
http://www.invoicedealers.com/cars/r...rt-Compact.asp

 

the svt focus is around the same price for the ralliart lancer which has the upgraded engine and suspention. so comparing the svt and a base oz is not a very good comparison. if you were going to compare a base zx 3 to an oz then the oz will win. that is what i was comparing. svt took the focus platform and modified it and ralliart took the lancer platform and modified it.

 

The RS is a 30 grand car I doubt it would sell very well. It just doesn't have the straight line accelleration that the STI and the EVO have which is very important to Americans. I'd get one but I'm probably the exception.

I think the Focus RS is hella better than the SRT4. The RS is built to handle & brake. The SRT is built to go fast in a straight line. The SRT will prevail at the drag strip but if these two cars went at it on a road course or an AutoX course it be a whole different story.

 

I still think the zx3 will kick an oz lancer's butt in every performance category stock vs stock

 

Check this out..Been hearin about this for awhile..

Autocar magazine. Focus Cosworth. Rumored to cost £30,000, the turbocharged 4WD 310bhp Focus will do 0-60 in under 5 seconds and is geared at fighting the new and upcoming Mitsubishi EVO 7 and the Subaru Impreza WRX. 18" alloys with 235/40 Z-rated tires will be rollers for this monster. The Cosworth Focus will be led in by the £17,000 170bhp Focus ST170 possibly next Spring. Besides the obvious power difference, the WRC wing on the Cossie will be the visual difference between it and the ST170.

Will the U.S. and Canada, see these models? I'm praying.

 

I definitely think the Zx3 is faster than a stock lancer.

 

we'll have to set this up one day. to really see which is better. anyone in? or

 

The SVT/ST170 won't be here much longer but I wouldn't be suprised if an awd forced induction fed Focus is here in '05. Does anyone know how pounds converts to $?

 

I don't really care for the ford focus, but I was reading sport compact or super street and they had a pic of a 300+hp fucus that looked pretty damn cool. It had BIG overfenders and it looked alot like there rally cars. It was a picture of it at a gas station. It said all wheel drive, and a bunch of other goodies.

It is in the same market as the evo sti. A car that weighs that lil with 300+ hp could do some vandamage out on the streets. I will try to find the article.

 

Yes a bone stock lancer will NOT perform as well as a focus. Trust me I have a focus and have raced numerous lancers. When it was stock it was still way ahead of the lancer ,modified yes it is still quicker and my car handles like a go-cart. BUT yes it still sucks and it's slow!!!But at least it looks good.....Well mine does anyway!