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'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
Revka
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Ford wasn't satified with just beating the competition in the hot hatch arena, they are preparing to destroy the competition!
EDIT - I just found out that this is a concept. We need to convince Ford to build it!
and the eclipes.wanted to test drive but they would not let me test drive it unless i commited to buy one.very nice looking car.its on my shopping list along with the TIBURON GT V6.
wicked good!
peace
The car handled very well. It was completely stable and felt as if we were driving at a much less speed. Ford has done a great job of tuning suspension while not damaging the ride quality. The stereo is first rate. I believe the list price was just over $18,000. Now if i can only get the cash to buy it!
-Boy, does black ever show finger and palm prints. This is my first black car and I'd heard this, but you have to experience it to appreciate it!
- It has the blue inserts in the seats and they make a nice contrast. The other SVT this dealer had was a red one which is a very nice red but a little too bright for me. The red inserts looked very nice and would also look good with the black I'd imagine. They're nicely subdued and looked classy IMO. Both the leather on the seats, and the fabric inserts, were nice and taut and the dash material seems a little more "flat" i,e, less shiney, than my '00 ZX3 and looks nice. The entire interior looks a little more upscale - as it certainly should;
- I believe the ZX3, since '02 at least, has a feature on the front seats (at least on the passenger's side) that automatically slides the seat forward when you tilt the seatback forward to improve access to the rear seat. For some reason, that feature wasn't included in my SVT. The seats are firmer than my ZX3's and to me seem more comfortable. The lumbar support is nice but the rotating wheel recliner (my '74 Opel and '86 Golf had them) slows things down, particularly if you (or another driver) want to make a large adjustment. It's not a big thing, just needs getting used to, and you can certainly make much finer adjustments with the "wheel" than with the "lever." Don't know why they bothered installing an electric drivers seat adjuster. The wheel on my ZX3 worked just fine.
- I have less than 200 miles on it (~150 miles on my "free" tank of premium) and it is definitely thirstier than my ZX3. This is to be expected given the SVT is rated 21/25 and my ZX3 was 25/33. Still, I wonder why the Acura RSX with 30 more horsepower from it's 2L engine and 6-sp gets 24-25/30-31 (can't remember exactly but it's within that range) and the SVT gets such a lower rating. You get what you pay for maybe?
- The thing that has surprised me the most is how hot the engine compartment and hood gets. Also when the engine is running and you're parked, an enormous amount of hot air exits near the front of the passenger door. The cataclysmic convertor is now under the transmission. Maybe that's why, since it's closer to the door, but boy, the amount of heat exiting there is impressive. I tried wiping some of the bugs off the front of the hood when I put it in the garage and the hood was so hot it was uncomfortable to the touch, and an hour later it was still quite warm. A couple of cables running to the cruise control unit (I think) cross (and lay on top of) the cam cover. They're insulated with a neopreme (or similar) sleeve and I can certainly see why. The whole thing just seems noticibly hotter than my ZX3. I'm going to buy a rugged thermometer and place it under the hood to try and find out how darn hot it does get under there. I could see where some louvers on the hood could be quite useful - if you didn't mind water getting in.
- Unlike most other Ford vehicles these days, the SVT Focus calls for 5W-30 rather than 5W-20. Ford takes no position on using synthetic oil but says if you do choose to use a synthetic you wait 'til the car has 4-6,000 miles on it before doing so. I plan on using Mobile 1 as I did on my ZX3 at that time. The oil temp gauge is a nice addition and you can certainly see that the water warms up much quicker than the oil.
Break-in: You get the regular '02 Focus owners manual and a small SVT supplement. The supplement refers the reader to the regular manual for break-in information. It's not to be found in my manual and the dealer couldn't find it either. My '00 manual said to vary speeds and avoid hard use of the brakes for the first 1,000 miles and that was it. One guy at the dealership said, "Ah, they don't need to be broken in. Run 'um as hard as you like right now." Easy for him to say. It's not his car. I will take it easy for the first 1,000 miles before I see if that 7,200 redline is for real. Has anyone with an '02 Focus been able to locate any info in owners manual about break-in procedures? I wonder if Ford goofed up and left it out? The SVT supplement sure refers to the regular Focus owners manual for break-in info. It sure ain't in mine - least that I've found.
- I need to call SVT to see if Ford has a shop manual for the SVT Focus separate from the regular Focus - a manual for which I still have.
- The close ratios (6th is even slightly lower than 5th on my ZX3) are fun, and definitely improve response when you give it a little gas, but I wonder if I'm going to be reaching for 7th on long trips? Probably not, but if they offered one I might consider getting it.
Will report further observations as the car breaks in and the two of us get to know each other better.
That is pretty bad. I think my dad get 26mpg on the highway in his mustang gt. What kind of rpms are you turning at 70mph?
As far as the ride is concerned, before the ZX3 I owned a Neon R/T which also had a stiffened suspension. It was definitely stiffer than "stock" as is the SVT, but unless you drive over cratered roads (which a friend of mine did on Sunday - albeit at 20 mph - to "test it, and it definitely was "stiff") the ride, while firm, seemed very tolerable when driving on LA Freeways. It, naturally, has very good response to wheel movements. Will let you know how my investigation onto the "heat thing" turns out. I'm going to get an oven thermometer and stick it under the hood and scare myself! Bet it gets up to at least 150 degrees. Will let you know though. I'll be driving from LA to Prescott Arizona in July so the a/c will sure be put to the test trying to keep that black car cool.
thedarkwolf: Yup, 25 highway mpg for a 2L car is pretty crummy all right. I remember seeing a 5-sp Mustang GT on the lot that was rated 26 mpg highway. I'll let you know what I get on a sustained highway trip after I get a thousand miles on it. 70 mph is about 3100-3200 rpm. I remember my 5-sp ZX3 showed about 72 mph at 3000 rpm. The learning process continues.
Oh, as I was walking home from the bus last night I stopped into Pep Boys to see what they had in the way of stuff to preserve the (partial) leather seats in the SVT. Ended up buying some "wipes" from ArmorAll for leather. Hadn't seen them before, but then again maybe I never looked. These are the first leather seats I've owned. The ArmorAll leather wipes come in the same kind of plastic containers that the regular ArmorAll wipes come in only the container is brown colored. The seats look shiney when you first rub them but they quickly dry into a "normal" low gloss surface. Throw the wipe out when you're dune. I used two for the entire interior. Since the seats are new they didn't look any different but the "wipes" are sure easy to use. FYI.
manager, asked if they had an SVT, and if I could take a test drive. The answer was yes and yes. Drove 90 miles to the dealer and knew I was in trouble when I saw the car in the showroom with an additional dealer mark-up of $1500. Sales Manager said no drive unless I was willing to buy the car afterwards. I said no way at $1500 over MSRP. (Not as bad though as Burt Ford in Denver who
wanted $3000 over MSRP !) I asked him why he misled me about the test drive and let me come this great distance for nothing. His lame and pitiful answer was " I thought you were a serious buyer. " I said, " How can I be if I've never driven the car. I want to compare it to its competitors." Needless to
say, he'll never have my business or anyone else I can steer away from him. Total disrespect for and indifference to the customer.
I had no trouble test driving a WRX, a Matrix, and a Civic SI. Every SVT dealer should have one demo customers can test drive. Only Ford could pull such a stunt. This was the first American car I'd considered buying in 16 years - my last was...you guessed it... a Ford and it was a horror story that sent me fleeing to the Japanese - and this is how I've been treated. I guess I'll have to drive to Dallas where moses5 somehow talked the dealer into a test drive and did not purchase if I really want to drive one. Biggest draw back of the Focus seems to be the lack of driving range given the EPA figures. Barely
300 miles plus to a tank of gas. You spend an inordinate amount of time at the gas pump quenchiing its thirst. Why with variable valve timing can't Ford have the SVT make the 30mpg the Matrix and the Civic Si do ?
deltawhip1 any thoughts on what that Jackson Racing supercharger will do to the already weak EPA figures ? Down into the teens on both city and highway ? Are the 21/25mpg EPA figures accurate? Is the mileage really that bad ?
The WRX with a turbo, 55 more horse, and AWD does better at 20/27mpg. And gets a 100 miles or so better in driving range with its 2.7 gallons larger gas tank.
Does the SVT have anti-knock capabilities like the Subie that allows it to run on regular unleaded ? The Civic Si runs normally on regular unleaded. The Matrix XRS apparently does not...it reads "premium unleaded only" next to the gas cap. A salesman told me they put regular in an XRS and it coughed and sputtered like a kid taking cod liver oil. I guess it's probably too much to expect the Ford to have anti-knock properties. I went looking for the SVT because Edmunds lauded it so with rave reviews in their hatchback comparison test. Edmunds rated the SVT over the Honda Civic Si, a car I had already driven and was fairly impressed with. I'd had 2 previous Si hatchbacks in its early 90's version. But can any one tell me why I should prefer the SVT to any of its Japanese competitors, particularly the rock solid WRX
wagon which is at the top of my list and is the hatch/wagon I will probably buy. I've been offered prices on a WRX wagon of $100-400 over invoice for what was Automobile magazine's 2002 Car of the Year. I'm trying to like the American pocket rocket, but it looks like I'll never even get a chance to test drive
one. Is there any compelling reason why I should prefer it to the WRX ? I'm ready to be convinced, but I've not been able to convince myself. Trying to keep an open mind towards the SVT but it hasn't been easy. Any help out there ?
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Phooey with Pretty Boy Bill Ford and Company. My aunt works at headquarters, but Blue Oval Motors can kiss my [non-permissible content removed]. It's bad enough the company is a disaster, but their product is nothing next to real competition. Is it the managers? the dealers? the UAW? Who cares?
Also, sorry to hear about your difficulty with test driving the SVT. I had no problem at all test driving the one here in Dallas. He treated the car as any other ride on the lot. I think I might just wait till the 2003 models are here to avoid any major recalls.
The car seems pretty solid (OK, so it has less than 400 miles on it!) and the Getrag transmission (and ratios) is very nice. I was able to test drive the car I eventually bought (even got it on the freeway) and I hadn't promised that I'd buy it, but they could definitely tell I was serious. For those of you looking for a test drive I hope you get one. Most of the acolades from the magazines seem to be deserved. Just hope my gas mileage truns out to be better than the crummy EPA ratings. Will report in occasionally on the mpg thing as I accumulate more miles. I used to be able to make the 372 miles between LA-Phoenix non-stop in my ZX3 and Neons (the Neon's, a '95 and the '98 R/T, definitely got 2-3 mpg better overall than the ZX3), and there ain't no way I'll be able to do that in the ZVT. Bummer, 'cause premium in the desert is not cheap.
One last thought. I looked at an '02 ZX3 at an auto show and it's seat backs had the same release catch (up near the top of the seat back) as my SVT. However, on theZX3, the seat also slid forward on its tracks to allow easier access to the back seat (the Japanese small cars have had this for years on their 2-drs). The one on my SVT doesn't have this feature. Wonder why they left that off?
Good luck to all in your attempts to test drive one of these things. If anyone in the LA area is having trouble getting a test drive in an SVT Focus and would really like to, contact me here and maybe we can arrange to meet and you can try it out - in a conservative mode of course!
just kidding of course.
There's another SVT there, a silver one with both audiophile package and moonroof, but the moonroof really does take a good inch or two off the headroom; too much for my liking.
Anyway, anyone managed to get one for MSRP ? (or dare I say, less ?)
treva
Revka
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Hatchbacks & Station Wagons Boards
seminole_key: Re: the sound of the SVT v.s. my previous ZX3. The SVT is definitely louder on startup at fast idle. I live in an apartment complex in which a couple of the units (mine being one of them) sit over the garages. I'm a pretty early riser and on weekends I usually pull the car out between 6-7 a.m. Whereas I was never particularly concerned about my ZX3 disturbing the neighbors above me, I definitely am with the SVT. I get out of there as soon as I can. At a steady cruise on the freeway it has a bit of a drone that I don't recall being in my ZX3 but it's far from intolerable - at least to me. It's no Lexus but it just sounds kind of sporty. I've only taken it to 6K briefly once but it had a nice snarl to it. Am looking forward to trying the 7,200 limit after some more miles. As far as the overall sound a pedestrians hears I don't have a clue. I'm wondering if it sounds like the innumerable Civics and Integras with the "coffee-can" mufflers that are running around LA these days. I ended up with the 6-disk Audiophile radio and it's pretty neat. I was listening to FM in the garage the other night (having gone down to the car to put my proof-of-insurance in the glove box) and as I was flipping thru the stations I noticed that the display often gave the call letters to a particular station, and on one NPR program it even gave the date, the name of the program, and the hours and days of the week that the program was on! I about fell out of the nicely contoured seat when I saw that! Overall my initial impressions of the car are quite favorable.
silver_bullet: As far as quality of the SVT to the ZX3 I owned previously, they're pretty similar. I had no complaints on the ZX3, especially considering its $14,430 MSRP that included abs, side airbags, a/c. and crusie but with manual windows, mirrors, and doors, and a 5-sp. The leather on the SVT seats is much nicer (thicker and smoother to the touch) than the leather option on the other Foci, and the dash appears to be slightly rougher textured with more of a matte finish (kind of like the Golf/Jetta) than the ZX3. Under the hood they're the same except the SVTs plug wires are covered in the valley of the cam cover and there's a second scoop (both of which appear to go to the intake, though that doesn't make sense - need to check this out further) that wasn't on my ZX3. Most of the major pieces had a streak from a white grease pencil, suggesting perhaps it was indicative of a QC check. Hope so. Don't remember seeing that on my ZX3. Also, where the EPA label under the hood on my ZX3 included a statement that one was supposed to use 5W-30 oil, the same label in the SVT doesn't say anything about oil viscosity. As I've mentioned in earlier posts, unlike the rest of the Focus line that now requires 5W-20, the SVT still requires 5W-30.
Miscellaneous comments: The SVT doesn't seem to have the same sliding feature as the regular '02 ZX3. That's the one where when you tilt the seat back forward the entire seat slides forward to ease access to the back seat. The latch to tilt the seat back forward has been moved to the top of the seat like on the regular '02 ZX3 but the seat doesn't slide forward. I don't know if that feature was left out of the SVT (and why) in general or if it's just with my particular SVT. Anyone else notice this? I'll call SVT and see what they have to say.
I kind of like the fact that they've painted over the side trim and door handles. When I used Armorall on them with my Autumn Orange '00 ZX3 I always seemed to smudge the stuff on the paint, and when I waxed the car the wax always seemed to get on the trim and was hard to get off. Now since it's all paint (mine is black) I just slap the wax on all over the place and don't have to worry about the Armorall. I'm not crazy about the new honey-comb grill as it will be a pain to get water stains out of all those darn openings. The ZX3 was much easier to clean that way. Since tha car stays under a cover in th garage all week though, I don't have to wash it very often. Just use a Kozak to dust it off and a "Glosser" (They're pretty neat) to get rid of any smudges.
I enjoyed the article on the SVT in the Agusta Chronicle though I see they're still giving incorrect EPA mileage estimates. They reported it as 24/30 when as we've all come to find out it's really only 21/25. I miss the 25/33 of my '00 ZX3. Still, as I mentioned earlier, I've already gotten 26 mpg so it doesn't appear to be as bad as the sticker.
Have a nice Memorial Day weekend everyone. I plan to put some more miles on the SVT going to check out the March AFB Museum near Riverside, about 65 miles away. They had a sign I noticed last week saying they were going to open up some aircraft for public viewing tomorrow. In another 400 miles or so I'll see what it sounds like at 7,200 rpm.
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Revka
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silver_bullet - Good suggestion about using the shop vac to blow out those "honey-comb" openings on the grill. I used to occasionally use it that way to blow the water out of my side view mirrors on my ZX3, but more often would just go for a drive and stop a couple of times to wipe off the water that had blown out. Since I usually wash the car before most folks think they should be getting up, I didn't want to disturb them with the shop vac. Given these honey comb openings though, I may have to delay my wash time 'til I think it's time for the upstairs neighbors to get up!
Filled up my second "real" tank of gas and got 26.6 mpg. I think that's going to be pretty indicative of what I can expect to get as my driving is monotonously the same and my ZX3 never improved that much after it got "broken in." It hovered around 30 in the same conditions as I've been driving the SVT. The SVT is getting 3-4 mpg less than my ZX3 which is sure a lot better than their respective EPA highway ratings indicate. It's interesting how different models (even of the same basic car) differ so much from the EPA ratings, under the same driving conditions e.g. my ZX3 never reached its EPA highway mileage rating (33) the way I drove it, and under the same driving conditions I've already exceeded the highway rating (25) for my ZVT.
One last point. I have a friend who has a ZX5 with the 6-disc in-dash cd player. It does have a slightly different face plate though in that it has a "scan" feature and the Audiophile system in my ZVT doesn't have that feature. The interesting thing though is that I wondered if the little "thing" you remove (it's located just above where you insert the cds) to disable the radio was unique to a particular radio. Anyway, I stopped by his place over the weekend and he removed his "thing" and put mine in and his radio worked just fine! It didn't even have to be snapped in-place. Never tried that with the cassette in my ZX3. Wonder if the removeable piece in the Focus cassette would work with any other Focus cassette? Probably would.
I should hit a thousand miles next weekend (I bought the car May 5th) so am looking forward to see how it sounds approaching 7,200! I took it briefly to 6K in second gear beneath a freeway overpass and it sounded pretty good. So far nothing has fallen off. I did notice the hood was not level (i.e. it was lower than the adjoining fender on the drivers side and flush on the passenger side - the gap between hood and fender on both sides was the same) but that was easily remedied by just adjusting the rubber "stop" on the drivers side. So far, no other quality glitches have been noted. The doors seem to close a little more solidly than on my ZX3 but that may just be a variance from car-to-car rather than an ZVT thing, plus my ZX3 had manual windows whereas the ZVTs ar electric. Will keep my eyes open. Oh, I noticed the red SVT where I bought mine is still sitting out front after five weeks. I wonder if the demand is going to equal the supply? Maybe most folks are really only interested in the SVT Lightning and '03 Cobra. They sure are different critters than an SVT Focus. So far I'm glad I made the purchase I did.
SVT won the comparison, Civic Si 2nd, Tiburon GT V6 3rd and SE-R Spec V last although it was fastest in straight line.
Thanks.
I noticed that the 8 1/2 x 11 placard that they have for the SVT Focus has a picture of the guauges with the lights on. Try seeing if a dealer will give one up. I'd take a picture for you but I don't even own a camera. From what I've noticed in mine, I've only had it for a few days, it's back lit in green like one of those timex indiglo watches, kinda makes the guagues seem like they're paper being backlit.
I ended up with a sonic blue w/ (obviously) the blue interior. The dealer had three on the lot, mine, black/blue, and black/red. Growing up in Miami, I refuse to own a black car with a black leather interior just too damn hot. All three of the cars were fully optioned.
So mine has the sunroof, audiophile stereo, and winter package. I too could of done without the audiophile system, don't get me wrong it's not a bad system but I tend to go really high-end with my stereo systems, but for the six hundred or so bucks they are asking for the upgrade, I would say that it was worth it, it includes the in-dash six disc changer, upgraded speakers (to two-way) and the trunk-robbing sub.
I definetly wanted the winter package, now that my company has me living in Maine, the AWD of the Subaru I traded was great for a Florida boy driving in his first New England winter, from what I understand this past winter was a mild one. The heated seats will be a blessing, the engine-warmer I could probably do without, and the traction control beats having just standard fwd. Having had the car for a few days I must say that the traction control is by no means a satisfactory replacement for the AWD. The AWD is an enabler, while the traction control is definetely a disabler. But I didn't expect to like not having AWD. I've had to get use to having torque steer again, but it's by no means abusive in this car, just something to get use to again.
I really wish they would of put a limited-slip differential in this car, my NX2000 had one and it was great.
I definetely wanted the sunroof, so I understand how you would want to put one in.
I'm still on my first tank of gas at 200 miles and I haven't had it on the highway except for a brief stint just to see how stable the cruise control was. I'm not too impressed with the gas mileage, so far. I've always owned small Japenese cars (323, NX2000, Civic Si, Impreza RS)which usually got decent mileage even when driven hard, with the exception of the Suby. Of the 5 cars I've owned, the NX2000 still is my favorite, but that car was a big lemon.
Other minor quips, which obviously didn't stop me from buying the car, are no locking gas cap/cover, no lockable glove box (unacceptable in a hatch back), no center arm-rest, I wish they would of offered the xenon-lights from the European ST170 as an option, I also prefer the European front bumper of that car, makes it look a little more upscale.
I think I'll be happy with the car, that is until I can afford to buy an Audi S4 Avant, but there are student-loan and mortgage folks standing in my way of getting to that any time soon.
I will definetely keep everyone posted on my experiences with the car and it's gas mileage. I'm hoping that this room will pick back up now that the cars are out there and relatively easy to buy.
Revka
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Hatchbacks & Wagons Boards
At 281.5 miles, with the Low Fuel indicator on, I filled up with 11.06 gallons of expensive, $1.57 a gallon 93 octane gas. If I'm calculating correctly 281.5/11.06 = 25.45 mpg.
25 MPG is not bad especially since only 45 miles of it was highway driving. I think the real problem here is such a small gas tank.
I won't post my mileage every time I fill up, just when I notice a big change.
P.S. This car loves the back country roads in Maine.
P.S. I didn't really want a black one either but the red (while a very nice red) was just a bit too much, and I'm tired of all the siver cars in LA. That's the # 1 color choice for new cars according to a blurb I saw on TV and based on the number of silver cars I see of all types I sure believe it. I'd originally wanted the Sonic Blue but there just weren't any around. I wish Ford offered a few more color choices.