Has anyone heard of when the SVT focus will be available? Thinking of it as a winter car and could be competitive to flog on the slalom courses up here. Thanks in advance....

 

last I heard was Spring, but since 02' Lightnings are out already who knows?

 

Yea when I picked up my Lightning in Nov, we were talking about it, and he said they were due in during the spring.

 

just saw one at the mall about a week ago in blue it looked nice. the 17 inch rims looked goods on it.

 

Does that mean that they are for sale? Did it have a window sticker? I figure that with all of the magazines testing it lately, it must be available sooner than spring.....anyone???

 

im not sure if its for sale yet. living in dearborn mi i see alot of prototypes and any car or truck that come out from ford the dealerships around michigan seem to always get them first

 

Call up some dealerships and see if anyone has one.. or knows when they are getting them. Id imagine they are gonna be somewhat popular....

 

I don't know about this SVT Focus. What I mean is that it really isn't impressive enough to put the SVT badge on it. 170hp? The Toyota Celica GT-S has more hp, as does a handful of other sub-compact vehicles.

On the other side take a look at the Focus FR-200 in the newest SVT Enthusiast, something like 280hp and 250ft/tq! Now that's a sub-compact that I'd buy.

 

Yeah the SVT Focus is nothing in comparison with the FR200....Well if it ever comes into production....I'll be at the dealer

Anthony

 

yeah that FR200 is BAD A$$, we need that to compete with Honda's and all!!! The SVT Focus R is nice as well though, just need that TURBO!!!!!!!!

 

Supercharger for Focus: http://www.jacksonracing.com/pages/sprchrgrfoc.html#

 

I've been following the SVT Focus release for about a year. According to the actual SVT Team members on http://www.focaljet.com it will be available in the first quarter of 2002. I'm looking for a practical but fun alternative to my beater CRX as a daily driver. So far I've tested the Subaru WRX wagon and the Acura RSX Type S. There are several others out there within a wide price range. It is really a neat market right now.

 

Yeah but it will still compete with the other imports. It does have more torque the celica's and all the new rsx's, plus I believe it's a little bit lighter. It's got forged steel rods and high compression aluminum pistons so it has mod potential.

Aside from the WRX it should be right there with the other import sports cars. The Mazda MP3 has the best handling, but is like the slowest. The New Ecplispe's stink. It's got more power Civic Si. The VW GTi is nothing for a v6 hatchback. So really the main competition is the Celica GTS and the RSX. The Acura RSX type S is really nothing special. You have to bring the engine up to 6000rpm just to feel the VVTI (which is a great kick in the pants) but below 6k rpm's the type S feels just like the base model RSX. So even with only a 170hp it should be right in competition with RSX's and Celica's.

 

Boy, some of you guys are tough.

Lets see....... what's wrong with 170 N/A HP, with a 6-speed manual transmission, 11" discs all around, 17" high performance rubber and wheels, true handling suspension that the mags are comparing to the BMW 3-series, and sports seats, for a base sticker of $17,995. Even completely loaded with the audiophile package (much better than the L's), and the winter package (heated seats, traction control, engine heater), it still comes in at about $19,500. That is alot of bang, for not much bucks.

In my opinion, it simply blows away all the other offerings in it's class. More equipment for less money....... better handling........ better brakes......... and more usable torque (like below 6000rpm).

Projected 0-60 is 7 seconds.

Seems to me it wasn't long ago that most V8's didn't even have 170hp.

Top that off with about 30+ mpg on the highway. Yes, I have been seriously considering one, and will own one at some point.

 

Im getting rid of my truck for one. I saw one in FT. Lauderdale at the Hot Import Nights show and the pics in the magazine dont do it justice. That car is awesome in person. They even had an extra SVT Focus engine on display which look impressive by itself. One thing alot of the testers liked about the car was that the torque came on real low like around 2000 rpm instead of most 4-bangers that you have to rev real high to get any power out of them. With everything that comes with it and all for 18,000 its a great buy.