And my next DD will be....
 

2012 Ford Focus ST First Look - Motor Trend

what a badass little car. Read the article, this thing comes packed with features, boosted, suspended and VERY affordable.

Very nice.

Cool car

For the price, that's a lot of car

Very cool.

seriously though, 250hp/tq, boosted, excellent fuel economy, all the bells and whistles that a fully loaded car should have AND less than 25k? mighty impressive methinks. The center exit exhaust looks pretty sweet as well.

So excited. I'm going to test drive one for sure. My DD is pretty beat up, and this is on my short list of candidates to replace it.

It's a fwd wrx :ugh2:

id rather buy a vw sorry

oh wait i did :)

stfu ford fanboy :mad:

:icon18:

you already know the aftermarket for this thing is going to be good, Ford Racing is already developing parts, as well as Steeda. I'm willing to bet that this thing will make the same power the Mazdaspeed3 does for the same amount of cash. Intake/downpipe/tune, this thing should be at 300 to the wheels EASY. Power to weight, its going to be one quick grocery getter. Torque steer looks like it wont be an issue with the torque vectoring technology, there really is alot of tech involved with this car. Tell me how the test drive goes Shado, i'm curious to know before I order one from the military car sales dept. here. Also, rumor has it that an awd version will be available as well.

:iagree: :gtfo2: fanboi.

Dont seem too bad, for a Ford.

Having driven the current Focus, I'd say it's the best of the bunch when you compare it to the Civic, Corolla, Cruze, Elantra, etc.

AWD version, if cheap enough, could be a direct WRX competitor. That would be sweet. And the Focus has rally heritage to draw on.

As for the MS3, I agree, this hatch immediately competes in that segment. My biggest gripe with the MS3 is the looks. It's a great performer. I might have bought it if I didn't have to look at it in my driveway lol. Focus looks better imo.

I'll let you guys know if/when I get a test drive, but if someone else gets to test it first, please post your experience :tup:

The fwd version already competes with the wrx in price though. You can get a wrx for well under 25k otd with 3.5% tax.

Yeah but sit in a WRX and then sit in a loaded Focus. In terms of overall car, Focus might be the better deal.

I'll take the case!

If you can find one. WRX is such a quick seller, it's hard to find one you like or get them down on price. Don't get me wrong, I'll drive a WRX, too, when I start shopping for DD. But if Ford throws this thing out there in large numbers, it could potentially be easier to talk them down on price and to get one in the exact spec you want. I could be wrong, but that's just what I assume.

:tup:

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/galle...d-focus-st.jpg

:yum:

if that car really is $22k, it'll be the steal of the century. BTW, those seats are sex.

I'm REALLY diggin the center exhaust...

http://image.motortrend.com/f/350542...ar-profile.jpg

not a fan of the yellow, but in a Red or Black, this car will be hot.

and to top it off, this interior completely shyts on a Subaru/VW/Mazda

http://image.motortrend.com/f/336943...r-interior.jpg

I love the sound of that turbo.

If I get into grad school, I'll probably be traveling a lot more, and I'm afraid the Z might have to go.

If this gets decent fuel economy + it produces power + the fwd doesn't kill it...

Hmm!

Am i the only one who just thinks the interior looks tacky?

I think the black/yellow contrast seats are tacky. I think the black leather ones I posted are less tacky. They still aren't "classy" imo, due to the ST and Recaro logos, but I think they look nice and are probably comfy and functional.

the yellow is a bit much

Yeah, I am pretty interested in it as well. My Z is my current DD, though. If I end up needing a second car with 5 doors and more cargo space, I will be looking into this for sure, though.

the center console is looking busy to me, but we'll see how it feels in person, it could be a great second 'practical' car, haha

Here's an update on the ST with initial impressions (as a passenger), courtesy of C&D.

2013 Ford Focus ST First Ride - Feature - Car and Driver

S.

Methinks this car's powerplant will become the new entry level mustang. Afterall ford did say they were working on an EB stang.

kind of like a not as ugly version of the mazda3?

Pics of the ST in blue. I like it a little bit more than the yellow gold, and think it would look pretty decent with blacked-out wheels.

Picture: Other - IMG_7118.JPG

S.