Initial Impressions - 2017 Ford Focus ST

"themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles" (themanwithsauce)
07/21/2017 at 16:20 • Filed to: None

Right, so I finally picked up a FoST after three years in a FiST. What are my opinions? One sentence summary - The Focus ST has a firm identity as the slightly more reserved middle child between the FiST and RS, with a very agreeable personality.

Coming from a Fiesta ST, the Focus is very solid and planted, as opposed to the agile and frantic nature of the smaller brother. But the added weight doesn’t feel like it was without merit as the sound deadening, composure, and ride quality are many leagues above the FiST. Sure, the turn in is a little slower and the understeer is more pronounced but it is still a hot hatch and will still devour the turns. In fact I’d go so far as to say that if you sprung for the leather option pack, you could consider this to be a GT car. And I think that’s a great fit for the FoST. A fun, energetic daily driver with the refinement and comfort you want, but more than willing and able to engage in hoonery on a moment’s notice. The FiST often crashed and bashed over minor imperfections and the road noise was MUCH more noticeable. Meanwhile the FoRS is the bigger, badder brother with a much bigger price tag to match. ANd then you’ve got that wing and the AWD and all that go-fast stuff but if you’re stuck in traffic next to an ST then really you’re just paying a premium to be in the exact same boat.....Granted, once things heat up the RS will blow the ST out of the water so the tradeoffs are real. But for an OTD price of about 21.5k (before my trade-in), I can deal with the drawbacks and appreciate the strengths all day, every day.

Overall, I’m extremely satisfied with it. The power delivery is excellent and the extra oomph is noticeable after the Fiesta. The yellow color is just too cool, and it took well to a nice waxing and buffing. I love it. It gets compliments everywhere I go. On the one hand, I won’t lie - I miss the recaros that I had in my FiST. THe base seats are plushy and comfy, but the lack of bolstering was obvious right away. On the other, 4000$ is a lot of money. Hell, 2000$ was a lot of money when I did it for the FiST. Worth it, but expensive. Plus the Recaros only come with the “upgraded” Sync system but the basic radio works pretty well. Definitely superior to the Sync system in the FiST. I think I might do a seat swap down the line. We’ll see if I really miss them or not.

I have more thoughts than this but after 100 miles and a week with the car, I wanted to post something about it to get a few things off my chest and answer a few questions. And at the end of the day, reducing my car ownership costs by about 30$ a month and getting in a brand new car was a no brainer for something like this. THere’s still a week and a few days left in the month! There’s a 4500$ rebate on all FoSTs on dealer lots. If you’re interested, it can’t hurt to look.

DISCUSSION (10)

AestheticsInMotion > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
07/21/2017 at 20:36

Unghhhh that yellow is just fantastic!

How’s the clutch feel? I’ve driven a few Fiesta ST’s and loved them... With the one complaint being a pretty vague clutch with no real engagement “point”, more like a big window that seemed like it was designed to ease people into driving stick

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > AestheticsInMotion
07/21/2017 at 21:21

Clutch feel is a bit better than the Fiesta, IMO. But the shifter is a bit sloppier. I think the bigger displacement and higher torque of the Focus gives it more room to be forgiving since the engine is naturally a bit harder to stall, so the clutch bite is slightly more aggressive. But the shifter feel is inferior to the Fiesta’s. I miss the Fiesta shifter feel and I’m already looking into some potential upgrades. But maybe it just needs to wear in a bit....

And yes, the yellow is fantastic. I’m so bummed the FiST is only available in black, gray, white, and “spice orange” this year. THe only other interesting color for the FoST in my area is fire engine red and it’s just......overdone.

FiST of FuRRY > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
07/21/2017 at 21:55

Awesome yellow! I miss having a car that’s an actual color, but at the same time, don’t miss the attention that I got with my orange challenger.

Been reading your fost/fist updates, thanks for that..... reading them and wonder if I shoulda went fost instead of wrx. Pluses and negatives for both.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > FiST of FuRRY
07/21/2017 at 22:03

If it wasn’t for the value proposition, WRX all the way. But when the price gap is this significant, it does present a problem. All depends on where you’re at and what you’re willing to spend. If you’re comfortable spenidng more, I have no issues saying the WRX is a better car in the high 20k/low 30k bracket. But like I said, when the OTD price is under 22k, good luck finding a WRX for that price. It was a very easy sell since the FOST is significantly better than anything else at that cost and the timing and everything else works perfectly for me.

I am not religious, but I believe that things do happen for a reason because math has a sense of humor like that. If you love your WRX, I think it’s because you were supposed to. At least, that’s how I feel about my cars. I love them because everything lined up and the universe guided me towards them and said “This is what you need right now. Look at how “logical” it is! Oooooooo, so shiny too! Buy it. Buy it now. Thank me later”.

FiST of FuRRY > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
07/21/2017 at 22:21

Totally agree, no regrets. If I needed a hatch, fost all the way! They are offering great deals on them. Subaru does not do sweet deals on the WRX unfortunately. I paid 30k for my 2017 premium out the door. They did offer me a great deal on my trade in though, $3000 more than anybody else, including Ford when I was considering the crowd killing Mustang GT for a hot second.

I really think in the end, the money is not a whole lot different. With the fost, you get a great deal up front, but pay it back on resale value. With the WRX, it’s the other way around.

AestheticsInMotion > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
07/21/2017 at 22:22

Hmm I bet some good manual transmission fluid would do the trick! Or at least be cheap/easy enough to try before switching to an aftermarket short shifter or whatever...

I get why they don’t, but it’s a shame Ford doesn’t make the blue and grey options from the RS available on the other hot hatches.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > FiST of FuRRY
07/21/2017 at 22:26

Oh for sure. If you don’t get your FoST for a deal, you’ll be hurting in the end due to resale being low. And weirdly enough, the smartest thing to do is to skip the options. My nearly fully loaded FIST was worth no more than base model FISTs on trade in. I think the difference was a grand or so, if that, assuming the seats were immaculate. So if you consider resale, a base model FoST bought on a killer deal month in good shape will “hold its value”.

Meanwhile any WRX always has a second life available as a rally car so there’s always that. I think that helps resale value. And is a good reason to buy one.

Cash Rewards > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
07/21/2017 at 22:33

Looks great!

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > AestheticsInMotion
07/21/2017 at 22:49

Maybe. I’m going to wait for 5,000 miles before doing any mods though. THe car has less than 200 miles.....Let’s make sure everything is broken in first. THe FiST shifter was a bit rough at first too. A couple thousand miles let everything wear in quite nicely. I really hope that’s the case here too.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Cash Rewards
07/21/2017 at 22:50

Thanks! I am really happy I got a bright color. I hate gray or silver on a hot hatch lol.