Given that Ford is abandoning the car market, there are a few of these left for just under $20k, asking price with Ford cash back incentives. Now that the platform is 5yrs old, WWGRMD? Great buy? How HPDE-friendly are they?
(Obiously GRM would buy a beater Miata with Teddybear rims for $400 and then swap in an LS, but let's try to confine opinions to what $20k gets you in the new car market.)
I'm of no help but I'm in for info as I was just discussing this with a recent grad here who has been looking at them. He's looking to replace his aging mazda 3 and said he found one listed for 16.5k tho most of the others are around 18-19k. I told him it seems hard to beat that price if it's something you enjoy driving. I've driven the regular focus and didn't hate it, I assume the ST is that much more fun.
I'm looking to drop <=20k, but mine will be a C5/C6 so the LS is already taken care of.
I met a guy at the autocross last weekend who paid about 20k for his. He said Ford was offering some sale and incentives, and really wanted it off the lot (it was a '17), so he got if for something like 8k off sticker.
Seems like a hell of a new car for ~20k.
I love mine but I had brake issues at the track. The electronic brake distribution aka fake torque vectoring is very taxing on the brakes and stay active even with the systems "OFF"
I toasted my pads, rotors, and fluid before the end of the day and I wasn't even going all-out. YMMV and Road America can be hard on cars with the long straights. Not sure if there is a way to defeat the EBD.
I have had a lot of success with the ST at ice autocross, though. The stock suspension works great here and braking in a non-issue. I ended up keeping the ST as my daily and getting a BRZ for HDPE and rallycross. The BRZ was flawless at the track.
Autotrader shows 14 brand new Ecoboost/manual trans Mustangs for under $20k at the moment.
You'd get a RWD configuration with 60 more hp and 50 more tq than the ST and the same fuel economy. Probably more of a composed "GT" car than a rabid hatch, but if you want to talk about compelling buys, and a lot of car for the money the Mustang gets my vote.
I just bought an ST about two month ago. I think it was $21K with taxes and all.
Mine is the most basic model - no Recaro seats or fancy stereo - but I like it a lot. Just ticked over 1000 miles on it. Handles great. Great power. I've not done any track days - just around town duties, so I can't talk to the HPDE question.
I’ll second wiscocrashtest’s concern. Wasn’t the driver, but rode with someone aggressively driving on the Angeles Crest. Didn’t take long before you could smell the front brakes. I seem to recall someone makes a real limited slip diff for them, though.
I considered buying one back in 2014, and liked it, but actually preferred the Fiesta ST. I ended up with a Fiat 500 Abarth, but a lot of that had to do with how much cheaper they were.
I have a owned a '17 Fiesta ST for almost a year now and absolutely love it. It's seen 20k of daily driving miles so far, no track or autocross...yet. I did recently attend the ST Octane Academy driving school at Utah Motorsport Complex where we got to drive both Fiesta and Focus ST. Both are very competent cars on the track with simple brake upgrades, the FiST is so tossable but the FoST has the torques!!! I will definitely be autocrossing the car in the near future.
I'd test drive them both and try cars with the Recaro seats to see how you fit in them. I often regret not buying a car with the Recaro package as I hear they wear in nicely but the base seats allow for frantic ADHD repositioning on longer trips. Shifter position seems to be a complaint about the FiST but I have long arms and I didn't like how my knees were constrained by the FoST steering column.
My local Ford dealer has an RS sitting on the lot marked way below MSRP. Not sure about ST model inventory.
The Focus ST can be a potent track weapon with a bit of work. ( LSD / Brakes)
They strike me as great DD cars. They may not be a sexy as an Ecoboost Mustang, but they are comparable performance wise, and the Focus is way more practical. (real back seats, huge hatch, FWD for the winter, etc.)
If you are going to do HPDE/Track stuff the brakes will definitely be a problem. Stock brakes will not last thru a 20 minute session. I have two friends who have ST's and the first thing they do when getting to the track is swap the pads for track pads. IIRC, Carbotech XP10's for the front not sure about the rear.
A few more comments:
The Recaros are sexy and awesome for about 10min. For me, they got uncomfortable after that. I have a 40min interstate commute and the "base" seats are much more comfortable. I hate the options package scheme for the ST- I wanted the base seats, HID lamps, but no sunroof and no SYNC+ or whatnot. Can't do - stripped base ST1 is the only choice for me then. I believe the HIDs were on the ST3 "loaded" package only so that means sunroof and full leather.
Regarding the Fiesta vs. Focus vs. Mustang - the Fiesta is the "best" car of the bunch. Best handling, motor and chassis match perfectly, encourages you to push it everywhere. You can't not smile while driving it. The salesman who went with me was a motorcycle guy and took my to his favorite cloverleaf. I was damn-near 3-wheeling it and he was saying "go harder." The Mustang felt the least refined and the motor sounded god-awful in the car I drove. It was technically the fastest but didn't feel it. It's the largest and feels it. The variable steering goes from light to heavy but none of the settings have any feedback. The Focus was not as polished as the Fiesta - there is too much motor for the FWD in my opinion. But that torque and noise gives it a baby musclecar feel that I love. I'm also tall (6'5") and the added space over the Fiesta was welcomed. The stock suspension will also give you lift-off oversteer if you're into that. It's the most tail-happy FWD car I've driven.
Hal said:If you are going to do HPDE/Track stuff the brakes will definitely be a problem. Stock brakes will not last thru a 20 minute session. I have two friends who have ST's and the first thing they do when getting to the track is swap the pads for track pads. IIRC, Carbotech XP10's for the front not sure about the rear.
I swap pads before taking any car to the track. If quality pads and fluids won't cut it for a 20min session, then a car has insufficient brakes. As superficial as it sounds, the Blue Metallic paint caught my eye and got me thinking about it.
Other than trying to see out of the car the 4 cylinder Camaro is a good option in that 20K price range.
In reply to Tyler H :
I test drove a car in that same blue and thought it looked very nice. It doesn't photograph very well, I think. Then I saw the orangy/red color and I was sold!
I do really like that new blue they have for the 2018 models. You're right it doesn't photograph well, at least in the sunlight. I thought it looked pretty good on a cloudy day though.
Turn the driver aids off and it should use less brake to control wheelspin, though you'll have more to deal with.
Fitting RS brakes is an available upgrade path, 18" wheels are the minimum though.
A mechanical Limited Slip will help reduce load on the brakes, but there are other considerations with that.
You'll need to log in to post.
