Ford Focus ST

[THE_EGG]

Finally another (reasonably affordable) performance wagon. At least to me the only competitor would be the Octavia vRS estate. Ashame they might not sell it here. Although even for me, the styling is a bit over done and I drive a DS3 :/

[Mk3 AAA]

Finally another (reasonably affordable) performance wagon. At least to me the only competitor would be the Octavia vRS estate. Ashame they might not sell it here. Although even for me, the styling is a bit over done and I drive a DS3 :/

Maybe Volvo too, but probably not in the same price range. (dammit...something wrong with me, love a fast Volvo wagon, something so wrong and so right about them)

[THE_EGG]

Maybe Volvo too, but probably not in the same price range. (dammit...something wrong with me, love a fast Volvo wagon, something so wrong and so right about them)

nah man you're not crazy, I think a C30 would be a cool, laid back hot-hatch and they come at a great price too.

[Cookie28]

Maybe Volvo too, but probably not in the same price range. (dammit...something wrong with me, love a fast Volvo wagon, something so wrong and so right about them)

My mum had a red 850R a few years back... hot wagons (particularly) Volvos are just awesome!!

[Mk3 AAA]

My mum had a red 850R a few years back... hot wagons (particularly) Volvos are just awesome!!

Was on my short list before I got the VR, but we had an 850 in the fam' already. The 5cyl just has some wonderful harmonic pure, shame this ST Focus didn't get it.

[walbjj]

the ford focus st does look like great value, except i would like to know about the build quality. one of the main reasons i left japanese cars and got into the gti was the superior build quality and better feeling of luxury that it has over my previous japanese cars.
now admittedly, i havent sampled the current japanese offerings bar the civic type r, and that was nowhere near the gti.
i understand the ford is a euro built model, so it might be better built than if it was say a north american car.

if i was buying, then i would still lean towards the vw, purely because i prioritise ride comfort and build quality over "good value".

however, one car that im keen on is the new mb a45 amg. the new a class is goign to debut at the motorshow this sept and will probably be delivered in march 2013 with the amg following after. priced aroung $85k.

[elephino]

I'm expecting the A45 to be about $70k to compete against the BMW M135i, which is a little under 70k.

As for the Focus ST - damned good value. Comes standard with bi-xenons, navigation (only 5" screen though) and part leather recaros.

[Candyman]

Drive away on an E82 is usually around early 80's

The Merc option list is what will push the price up, as usual

At least the Merc will actually carry 4 people

[DkN]

If you own a VW and want the best performance for the money then you clearly bought the wrong car.

IMO the Focus ST is styled and marketed at a different crowd to the majority of GTI owners, but it's getting closer to GTI territory, closing the Euro gap if you will. If it also has good build quality it is proving that Euro quality can be done for less, which would put pressure on VW and that's never a bad thing. As American and Japanese cars start hitting closer to home I see VW having to either up their performance or lower their prices and that's just win-win for us

For now though, cars like the Focus ST may be signs of things to come but I doubt VW sees it as an immediate threat to the GTI, let alone the R. Opinions will always differ but I think it's safe to say that the majority of us will not substitute this for a GTI or R - otherwise we would have all run off to buy a Mazda 3 MPS or something by now.

[walbjj]

I'm expecting the A45 to be about $70k to compete against the BMW M135i, which is a little under 70k.

As for the Focus ST - damned good value. Comes standard with bi-xenons, navigation (only 5" screen though) and part leather recaros.

The a45 Amg won't be that cheap. I'm guessing with the good options it will be circa $90k, hell, a loaded Audi s3 can get to $110k ffs which is ridiculous

[Mk3 AAA]

I still think this car is a great trade-off between WRX and GTI, and that's where a lot of 20s, 30s, 40s professionals are stuck having to chose a tipping point, but the ST is a little bit boy racer, a little bit grown up. Not too much of either.

[pologti18t]

The a45 Amg won't be that cheap. I'm guessing with the good options it will be circa $90k, hell, a loaded Audi s3 can get to $110k ffs which is ridiculous

Why wont it be as "cheap" as a M135i? That's its competitor. The A250 AMG pack is a 125i competitor and it priced similarly.

And what do you mean by "the good options"? Why do people start adding phantom options to car prices to prove their point?

[walbjj]

Why wont it be as "cheap" as a M135i? That's its competitor. The A250 AMG pack is a 125i competitor and it priced similarly.

And what do you mean by "the good options"? Why do people start adding phantom options to car prices to prove their point?

Well seeing as u seem to have inside knowledge I'll have to wait til mb actually release info rather than take your expert opinion
Just because they r competitors doesn't mean the a45 can't have a slight premium.
Once u add on road and charges, I wouldn't be surprised if the car is $85k.
As far as "phantom" options, mOst people know the euro brands r notorious for bumping the final price with various options. Vision pack, set nav, wheel uPgrades, etc. granted it will be top model, so options might be all thrown in, but again, I'll wait til sept. but saying that, I was at morrisons mb at chatswood on tues taking delivery of a new car for my uncle and the car salesman was the one telling me his info, but I knew he was full of it as his mouth was moving

[THE_EGG]

Well seeing as u seem to have inside knowledge I'll have to wait til mb actually release info rather than take your expert opinion
Just because they r competitors doesn't mean the a45 can't have a slight premium.
Once u add on road and charges, I wouldn't be surprised if the car is $85k.
As far as "phantom" options, mOst people know the euro brands r notorious for bumping the final price with various options. Vision pack, set nav, wheel uPgrades, etc. granted it will be top model, so options might be all thrown in, but again, I'll wait til sept. but saying that, I was at morrisons mb at chatswood on tues taking delivery of a new car for my uncle and the car salesman was the one telling me his info, but I knew he was full of it as his mouth was moving

Totally agree, examples would be the DS3 vs. Mini vs. MiTo. They have very different price tags but are direct competitors.

At the moment the 1-series seems to be of great value, especially the 125i and 135i models. I wouldn't be surprised if Mercedes give it a premium price over the 1-series. Although they will probably have to drop it to around 1-series prices eventually.

TBH I think the Focus ST is priced just right.

[elephino]

Totally agree, examples would be the DS3 vs. Mini vs. MiTo. They have very different price tags but are direct competitors.

At the moment the 1-series seems to be of great value, especially the 125i and 135i models. I wouldn't be surprised if Mercedes give it a premium price over the 1-series. Although they will probably have to drop it to around 1-series prices eventually.

TBH I think the Focus ST is priced just right.

3 not overly different price tags once you take into account their target markets. The DS3 is about $33k, directly up against the Mini Cooper. The MiTo is about $41k, directly up against the Mini Cooper S.

The A45 will be about $70k - within one or two thousand of an automatic 135.

walbjj, saying the car will cost $85 once you put options and on-roads on is not a correct comparison with the BMW 135 as the price I was talking about both both that and the A45 is the retail price (oh and actually would put it line-ball with the 135 anyway). If you include options, then you might as well try to predict discounts. Options that people buy vary significantly (except for Lexus when they have 1 option for the car).