[svt focus 777]

I went to a stealership on my lunch break and sat in a silver 5 door SVT Focus they had in the showroom. Impressions:

Seats felt comfortable, but a little odd considering there is one power control for up and down and the rest is manual - ?wtf

Lack of an armrest will prove to be the most frustrating part of driving it. Do they make aftermarket armrests that simply snap into the space?

Trunk space and overal asthetics were nice. Shifter felt solid, ( Steeda's shifter will be better though)

I looked around the car and it seemed pretty roomy for a compact. I definitely want the Recaro seats instead though!

I have seen how people complain about the small sunroof, but it seems in line with the size of the vehicle.I mean how big of a hoe would you like? hmmm?

Headlights: The new headlights look sweet. I'll bet they're bright as hell too.

Rude service!! I stood at the main desk for over five minutes waiting for some assistance. No one assisted me. If you encounter Midway Ford in Miami, Florida...keep driving. Apparently if you don't look spanish, they don't help you. Four salesman saw me walk in and simply looked the other way. (Not that I would buy down here anyway..I prefer the stealerships in Broward.

Overall: Well, I haven't test driven the car yet, but it's pretty well put together. The true test will be the test drive. Having driven a Mustang GT for two years, I want to see how much torque I'll actually be losing, and if the improved handling is an even trade.

It's a nice car that would take some getting used to, but overall I give her an 8 out of 10 for a car in its class.

What do you guys think of the lack of armrest, partial powered seats, and overall comfort of the car?

 

[dalola]

I was concerned about the armrest as well. But now, I don't miss it, except for the storage space. There's precious little of that. Keep in mind, you can put a ZX3 arm rest in if you really need it.

The partial power seats are a little funky, but hey, it's a $20K car. The biggest anoyance for me is the seat bottom separating from the back when you adjust it. The entire seat should go up & down to keep the lumbar in the right position. Overall, I find the seats very comfy though, and decently supportive(again, it's a $20K car).

Overall room and comfort, you won't beat the Focus in this class. It has awesome interior volume, bettering cars much bigger on the outside. Coming from a 'Stang, you'll love all the room.

Yeah, you will miss the low end torque, but I think everything else you will enjoy more. The car is wonderful to drive, so dynamically balanced. It's a great road car, with loads of practicality thrown in. For fun on a budget, it's hard to beat.
~Dave

 

[Thero]

Thats kewl. At are Dealership (Southren California) We have a Silver SVT Focus in 5 door and a Sonic Blue one still. We also have a Orange one and a Yellow one as well. Those are pretty sweet but the colors are a little to much for me.

 

[wileytheman]

Partial Power Seat: Better than nothing!
Lack of Armrest: Never missed it. My hand sits in my lap or on the gearshift (that actually sounds kinda bad...)
Overall Comfort: Not too shabby for a $20k car. It's pretty comfortable on a long trip.

 

[Fordson]

The armrest isn't missed, and I just came from a car that had a nice one. Just took a long trip in the new car, and since the rest wasn't there - just kept it on the wheel. I read the complaints about the lack of the armrest before I bought the car, so I was keeping an eye on it, if you know what I mean - not an issue for me.

The Recaro seats only come in the Euro package, which only comes on 3-doors. The factory seats are good enough that I was willing to keep them as the price of having the 5-door. Frankly, when the SVTF came out last year, I had ruled it out (sadly) because it was only available in 3-door. The power bottom, that rises and falls independent of the seat back, I actually see as a plus - it lets me move the "sweet spot" of the lumbar support up and down on my back, and get a new position every once in awhile.

I read a BMW (I think) road test awhile ago, and they dinged the car because it didn't have a power recliner - only manual...give me a break. I don't really care if it's manual or power, as long as it adjusts.

The HID headlights are out of this world. I turned the brights on the evening I got the car, and my wife started practically yelling "holy s***!"

The torque is definitely not what you are used to, but this thing has more torque than any 2-liter I have ever driven, and the variable valve timing? - it works. Don't get me wrong - below 2000 rpm, there is nobody home. Get 2200 rpm, and that baby pulls. Generally speaking, you don't downshift for hills unless you're below maybe 2600 on the tach. And that's in any gear. The engine is so flexible that in everyday driving, you can kind of pick what gear you feel like being in, at any given time - car doesn't care whether it's at 4500 in second, 3700 in third or 3000 in fourth.

One warning - the car really breaks in - don't expect great performance with 150 miles on it - if you can test drive a demonstrator with 2500 miles on it, do so.

Interior, as far as ergonomics and build quality, is years beyond the Mustang - no offense. Close the door and your ears pop. Feels like my wife's Passat inside. The Audiophile system rules, too. Even coming from your nice sound system, I bet you will be impressed.

 

[J-Rod]

My opinions (not worth much

)

The armrest, do yourself a favor and drive a 5-speed ZX3 with the arm rest and you'll know why SVT decided to leave it out of the car. I was literally shifting with the tips of my fingers because I had to position my hand in an weird configuration to get around the arm rest. You get used to it not being there...

If you're coming out of a GT, then be prepaired for a suprise. There are a handful of guys that have come from GT's so they can pipe up if they are reading this. If you're a torque/HP freak then this is not the car to get. Don't get me wrong, the SVTF can get out of it's own way (and has some spunk in reserve) but it's not a GT by any means (power wise).

Your best bet is to do exactly what you said... take it for a test drive. A buddy of mine at work who owns a new Lightning was looking at getting a SVTF for a daily driver. I let him take my car out during lunch to run it around. With the correct mentality, (knowing full well it's a 4-cylinder) it can be a fun car. He was pretty impressed and had the typical responce... "it feels like a go-cart" so I think he's going to get one to tool around in.

 

[BlackSVT]

My $0.02
I thought I'd miss the armrest too, but after 17k miles I still don't see a reason for one in this car.

As far as missing torque, I agree completely with Fordson -- For a 2 liter, the SVTF is better than anything I have driven. In normal, everyday driving, pick whatever gear you like and it won't complain. It's so much easier to drive than my wife's 94 Probe GT was (2.5L V6, ~165hp, ~160ftlb). There's absolutely no comparison to her Integra either. Now that was a car with no torque. Anything less than 5 grand on the tach and there was nothin' gonna happen.

Compare it to Mustangs torque-wise? Obviously there is no comparison. My 89 LX (which eventually ended up SC'd, cammed, intaked, header'd, gear'd, re-headed... How'd all that happen? I dunno. Don't ask me, it just happened

) would blister anything else on the road and most on the strip, just hope for no turns and a LONG shutdown time. I never got around to brakes...

The 96 Cobra is probably a more fair comparison than the 89. Straight-line, wrappin out every gear, the Cobra was quite a bit quicker. Daily driving, wanting to pass some blue-hair doing 50 in the left lane, I always felt the need to downshift in the Cobra. In the SVTF, I usually leave it in 5th (or 4th or even 6th) and just go. No downshifting needed for a "normal" pass. I can't explain it. Maybe I just expect less from the little 4cyl?

Handling - the SVTF beats everything I've owned or driven hands-down. The Probe was probably closest, but still aways back. The Cobra felt like what it was: a solid rear axle, 1000 lbs heavier, 20 year old chassis design. I never did feel comfortable tossing that car around.

Other than not having a strip-car any longer, I haven't missed the Stang or Cobra since picking up the SVTF.

FWIW...