mannn I love the Foci! my boyfriend just bought a 2002 Black ZX3... he's trading it in in 2004 when the AWD turbo-ed SVT comes out you shoulda waited

 

there's a AWD coming out?!!

 

Funny you mention this, I just found out today my friend who sold his miata for a P5, is selling his P5 and getting a Silver SVT Fosux err Focus...

 

AHH!!! An AWD Foci tuuuurbo?!? Well now.. i should have waited but i'll just tell my friend who i bought this foci from to buy the AWD. The only reason why i got this one for 16 large with 1900 miles is because his dad used to work for Ford so he qualifies for the plan. But his also bought a lightning at the same time and now has since bought another car so when it came down to it.. my friend decided to keep the lightning. So i should have waited but i wouldn't have been able to afford the foci turbo

I'm glad to see a lot of people switching to Foci or SVT Foci. I love my SVT and if i had a choice between the focus and my protege my mom has now.. i would take the suspension and the engine out of the foci and drop it on my pro because the pro looks better. But hey! We can't have everything! hehe

 

Yea theres and AWD turbo-ed foci coming out... they actually already have a sneak peak of it out except its not called a focus and theres only like 4 or 5 of them ... I dont know too much about it I just know about it b/c my fiance is ranting and raving about it constantly Lemme see what I can dig up for yall ...

 

An AWD SVT Focus would be interesting... From what I have heard, when the Protege and Focus move to a common platform in 2004, the Protege will be the only model gaining AWD as an option. However, the SVT is a special model, so it just may happen.

I have drooled over a few SVT Foci I have seen here in San Diego. However, I have to agree with ProtegeMaster about the reliability. My roommate and my sister have Foci... a wagon and ZX3. Both of them have had several problems ranging from emissions component failures (O2 sensors) to transmission problems (auto and stick) to cosmetic problems (rear hatch on wagon dents in the middle while closing - commonly seen problem on them, passenger airbag covers fading quicker than dash, and painted radio and transmission bezels peeling). Hopefully the SVT won't suffer these problems.

Personally, I'll take my ES over a non-SVT Focus anyday. SVT vs. Mazdaspeed... well, that would be a close one. The Mazdaspeed is the better performer with the SVT being more refined...

 

Okay, I agree with everything you said, but this

http://www.conceptcarz.com/folder/ve...asp?car_id=406
http://www.conceptcarz.com/folder/ve...asp?car_id=406

But of course I know the SVT is faster than a stock pro. by a long shot.

 

Boxey, **** give me an M5 any day.

 

Dude, I doubt you will be fishtailing in your focus since it is also FRONT WHEEL DRIVE!!

Aside from the focus being ugly and unreliable, I wouldn't mind having one too (an SVT, of course). I wouldn't trade my Protege for this generation focus, but I am looking forward to the next version.

As previously mentioned, it is slated to have all wheel drive with a 250 hp engine. If they stay true to the concept drawing and remove some of those lame *** points on the lights, it will be an awesome car. The blurb I read in some car magazine said that they wanted to compete head to head with the WRX. Now if they can just deal with the reliability issues....

If it does share the same platform as the next Protege, and they do take care of the reliability issues, I bet the Pro will again be way better looking that the Focus. If that is the case, I will of course get the Pro instead... that is if I don't already own a kick-*** RX8.

 

I was sitting here one day trying to justify the pros and cons of each car to see if i really did want the foci. I looked at paying 16 g's for a car faster then my pro, handles better then my pro (probably not come of yours), it was STICK (huge point), and had well.. only 1900 miles on it. I knew who owned the car and that it had never been abused and two step wax every 3 weeks. This inluded a clay block. The engine was cleaned regularly and no scratches or dents anywhere. Lets face it.. I was sick and tired of getting laughed at by all my friends who go to the track with me with their civics and integgy's and even a VOLVO WAGON! and having then kick my butt in the 1/4. They do beat me now still but i mean.. not by too much. I took into consideration the money it would cost me to get my car to handle as well as the foci also. It would have taken $2500 for the suspension (500 for the coilovers a 1.5" drop and then alignment kit).. new springs etc., etc., etc.... Then the 17's by racing hart were a total of about 1500 WITHOUT tires.. I won't even get into engine mods and costs.. that would have been unbearable. At that point my decision was made. It was the SVT all the way across the board. And yea people may say its ugly but whatever... different strokes for different folks. I worked my butt off for the money needed to pay the difference on this car.. it wasn't something mommy and daddy rushed out to buy me. And yea i do love my pro... but this thing is a better car and turned 2100 miles and no problems as at all.. unless you call someone almost rear ending me a problem?

 

Sad to see your protege... Congrad. to your ride, Ford Focus SVT... yummy

 

As an owner of both a Focus ZX3 and a Protege5 i have to comment on everyones perception of the supposedly abysmal reliability of the focus.

Reading message boards for the Focus it seems that the cars seem to be either total lemons or perfect reliability wise. European Built Foci (not available in the US unfortunately, all of ours come from Mexico) are built as well as any BMW or MB. Its the mexican built ones that seem to have problems, and it is not something that stems from the fact that they are built in mexico.

What happened is that when ford decided to bring the focus to the US (it was a europe only car to start out with, designed 100% by Ford Europe) they knew that people would never pay $25K+ for a car so small and with only 130 HP. They HAD to make it cheaper if they wanted to sell any. In order to do so they changed things around a bit and used cheaper parts for many things that can do the job, just not as well as the original european spec.

In my personal experience the Focus has been Mechanically perfect. its almost 12 months old and Has 12,200 Miles on it. Sure we had to take it in for the rear wheel bearing recall, but i won't complain when ford wants to fix my car for free. Most people seem to have good results with the focus, but the few who don't have horrendous problems. The Inconsistency across the product line is what makes it look bad. Most are awesome, and a few totally suck donkey *****. If the Focus had a problem more like the recent VW Jetta window switch breaking thing where EVERY SINGLE one breaks, but its only a minor problem then peoples views of it would be very different.

Also, North America needs the Focus RS. The SVT is totally lame compared to that turboed AWD monster.

I also like the look of the ZX3, unless you are looking at it from directly in front or behind. As long as you have part of the side in view then it looks just as pretty as the Protege5. The sedans and station wagon Foci are butt ugly though, i'll admit that. I'm glad i don't drive one.

Both my focus and the P5 are red, and they both happen to have black trim and 16" aluminum wheels and they both look sexy parked next to each othe ron the street. I just need a digital camera so i can show you all the beauty

 

Wow. "The Inconsistency across the product line is what makes it look bad"
What's that!? That's a reliability issue. Buy the car- roll the di. Sometimes you get a good one, sometimes a bad. It's like an employee, if he shows up late half the time would you say he's reliable? Doesn't sound appealing to me. I'd rather put my money on something that is statistically reliable. But that's just me. I'm glad yours is fine- but please don't TRY to defend the reliability of the focus. It's like me trying to defend the reliability of my beloved SHO.

I know a little bit about the SVT. My best friend owns one. Dynamite car. Chassis is stiff, transmission precise, engine strong, suspension PERFECT. Yes, the suspension is perfect, no roll in the corners, no jarring on the bumps. Mazda would do well to study the SVT model for suspension tuning.
But the car has hiccups. It's a running joke on the FocalJet board that the cars are in the dealership more than their owners garages. But that's O.K. with my friend. For what it is- the SVT is king. An affordable, year-round run-about with above average looks, style, speed and reflexes. Hell, the suspension is worth the price of admission alone. I love his car and never fail to remind him of my envy everytime I get in and out of it.

But lets compare apples to apples. It's only fair to compare the standard power-train proteges to the standard power-train focuses. Despite the fact that the 5 comes damn close to the SVT in price- I mean the focus wagon gets pretty pricey too. When shopping for my car I drove a decked out ZX3, and found the car to be fairly impressive for the price. But the Protege was smoother in the engine and the controls, had far better quality in the cabin (I have an ES), and not to mention an excellent reliability track record.

That being said, you can really only compare the SVT to the MazdaSpeed. The SVT is cheaper, and better balanced. The MazdaSpeed is pricier and more of a niche car in that it sacrifices some day-to-day driveability for performance. Much like the RS does. I hasten to mention, though, that the only area the MS bests the SVT is in acceleration- and then by only a thin margin.

Anyway, enough rambling, congrats on the new car.