Ecoboost vs Focus St: Pure Fun Factor

[Sterling Archer]

So today I asked one of my friends if I could give his Focus ST a test drive, and god damn that had to be the most fun car I've ever driven. I've also played with a '13 GT in the past, and while that had a rather unique pants-in-the-seat feeling, it just was not nearly as fun to slip around city streets. I think the torque vectoring and turbo was what really made city driving fun with the ST, and the new mustang gets both of those. But until we start seeing reviews, no one can really know how the S550 will behave around turns.

Thus my question to you guys is, throw everything else out the window, which car do you think will actually be more fun? In the end I think it's really the smiles per gallon that matter (I didn't even notice anything else in the ST when I was driving).

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[aspensilver]

It's the tossable size that is so fun on the streets. 171.6 length and 71.8 width.
New 'stang is too big for DD, seems more track optimized. Still the s550 will be awesome, but I'm still considering low mile 135Is or cayman s for the tiny car factor

 

[Sterling Archer]

I was most impressed that it could just do whatever I wanted. If I wanted to recklessly whip it around a turn, it did that. If I want to go fast, it did that.

Did it accelerate quite as much as I'd like? Not quite, but that's where the ecoboost becomes interesting.

 

[foghat]

I dunno.

Have never driven the focus st, but used to own a mazdaspeed 3.

Fun car, but you can't kick out the rear end every now and then (assuming ecoboost can do this) - that is fun. And not worrying about torque steer, though things have progressed a fair bit on that front.

 

[Sterling Archer]

The Focus ST has no problem throwing it's tail out there (if anything it almost oversteers), and I've heard the Fiesta ST does that even better.

That's why I'm curious as to which car will truly be more fun to drive. Obviously the mustang has an entirely different legacy tied to it, but most of my driving will be to work and around the city.

 

[Thed]

You need to drive the Fiesta ST, not as quick in a straight line but it rewards you so much more in the corners than the Focus ST. Undoubtably the best FWD car I have ever driven.

 

[Sterling Archer]

Yeah I'd be open to the idea; again this is about fun factor, not 0-60 times

 

[Trackaholic]

I think those two hot hatches are awesome on the streets (based on reviews). However the Focus ST had some issues lapping Laguna Seca. That track is very hard on brakes, and when they started to overheat, the torque vectoring was no longer effective and the entire character of the car changed.

I'd personally rather have the RWD car, assuming it is well setup. Even if the limits are too high to toss around on the street, I'd rather have the car that could handle the track. But I also realize not many people take their cars to the track, so I could see most people choosing the car that was more toss able on the street even if it couldn't maintain the fun at the track.

Hopefully the Mustang will be great on both the street and the track.

-T

 

[petraman]

This is why I haven't put a deposit down on a Mustang yet... I don't take my cars to the track, but I still value how a car turns over how it performs in a straight line... I'm still worried that the Mustang isn't for me but I won't know until I try it.

 

[Sterling Archer]

Yeah it's hard to say what the new mustang can do in the streets. Again, it technically does have a torque vectoring system in place (just google it), so theoretically it may actually handle city driving very well.

 

[ilkhan]

The FoST is definitely the most direct alternative for me. The FoST is a totally different car being a 5 door hatchback, but it has similar performance and a lot more utility than a Mustang. On the other hand, its FWD and not a Mustang. :/ Choices choices choices.

 

[Brent302]

The FoST is definitely the most direct alternative for me. The FoST is a totally different car being a 5 door hatchback, but it has similar performance and a lot more utility than a Mustang. On the other hand, its FWD and not a Mustang. :/ Choices choices choices.

I can't go back to FWD.

 

[Thed]

I've never had a FWD car. Ranger and F-100, RWD. Volvo? AWD. I cannot own a car where the rear wheels cannot be driven. As much as I loved the Fiesta ST, I just cannot own it. Needs RWD.

 

[OppoLock]

I doubt that the torque vectoring brake hoo-ha is what made it so much fun; I've test driven a FoST as well, and it was the relative light weight and short wheelbase that made it fun to whip around. We won't have that with the Mustang, but that's going to be made up with a better weight balance and superior stability. You'll have more adjustability mid-corner too. Plus with all this talk about torque vectoring... we'll have a real mechanical LSD making proper work of the torque instead.

 

[Sterling Archer]

I don't think that's the full story. Try taking a car with the same weight and wheelbase without torque vectoring and I doubt you'll have nearly as good handling. Seeing how I actually have a car that fits that description, I think I would have a good idea of what weight and size alone can do.

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