mazda 3s 5dr or focus svt 5dr?
 

this car is actually going to be for my sister. she wants something sporty, but with 4 doors and decent gas mileage. i think we have it narrowed down to these 2 cars. both are '04 and the same price. there are a few 3's to choose from 5-sp and auto, all have 11-18k on them. the SVT has 27k on it but it is a fully loaded "euro package" heated leather recaro's, moonroof, 6-disc w/ sub, hid's, etc. how does everybody like their 3's, and how do you think they compare to the SVT? any input would be appreciated. thanks.

focus svt all the way. I've thought about buying one myself. Mods are much more plentiful and cheaper for the focus. Tuning is much easier also. Also, the euro package is really sharp. How much are they asking for it? That would be a better estimator.

asking $15900, thought we could get them down a grand or so...

yikes...thats a lot higher than I thought. I've seen regular SVT's here for $10K with 20K miles.

p.s. the 3S is nothing to sneeze at. I also think it's a much nicer looking car and mods are coming but the focus is a lot like the ford civic now....much more plentiful and cheaper aftermarket.

unfortunately $15-17k seems to be the going rate around here for either car....
i also like the look of the 3 better than the focus, but ultimately it's not up to me. i think the prices on the cars are a bit steep to, but i'm not the one who has to make the payments and i can't seem to find anything better for her within about 2 hours drive. i'll keep my eyes open.

honestly, sometiems it' s better to widen your search area.

I bought my wife a $30,292 RX8 about 4.5 hours away from me for $22K otd with only 3K miles on it.

If you go with the FSVT get an extended warranty. I've had alot of friends with ContourSVTs that have problems after three years.

I wouldn't even think of going with the Focus... just my two cents. I've never owned an SVT, but I had a 2002 ZX3 and had brake problems like crazy, a really peculiar "wibble-wobble" sound from the manual transmission when in neutral, and all manner of wierd paint defects on the hatch.