[GronkDaSlayer]

I bought my ST in January last year and since the RS was announced, I thought that I would sell the ST, sell my Lotus (track car) and buy the RS.
In the meantime, I ended up buying another car, which I will track mostly.

I was talking to the the dealer when the new car got delivered, and he said: Why buy the RS? that would be two track cars.
I think that he was right, and I figured that I would just keep the ST as my DD (which is what I use it for nowadays anyway).

I have a track day on Oct 8th at Thunderhill but since there is no way that I'll have 1500 miles on my other car, I'll take the ST
Once that's done, I'll remove the slicks I have on the 17" wheels and use those as my everyday wheels instead of the stock ones.

I still want a RS but that's just superfluous at this point and the ST is perfect for what I do with it.

 

[ddfred]

What is this mysterious other car that you will "track mostly"?

 

[GronkDaSlayer]

what is this mysterious other car that you will "track mostly"?

2016 acr

 

[Baxter]

Wow, not what I expected :haha: That's a slightly different league

 

[p.opus]

No RS for me either. No reason other than I wouldn't get the value out of it. I don't even drive my ST particularly hard (as evidenced by what we were doing in STOA). The RS could get me off the line a bit quicker and I could go 11 MPH faster.

These things are not particularly things that I wish to spend over $10K for. In fact, I may go the opposite way. If my Focus ST ever needs replacement, I'm seriously thinking about the Fiesta ST. It was a lot of fun to drive at STOA, and is even cheaper to buy and operate than the Focus ST.

 

[Bryman13]

2016 acr

Wow, not what I expected :haha: That's a slightly different league

Haha, ditto.

 

[GronkDaSlayer]

No RS for me either. No reason other than I wouldn't get the value out of it. I don't even drive my ST particularly hard (as evidenced by what we were doing in STOA). The RS could get me off the line a bit quicker and I could go 11 MPH faster.

These things are not particularly things that I wish to spend over $10K for. In fact, I may got the opposite way. If my Focus ST ever needs replacement, I'm seriously thinking about the Fiesta ST. It was a lot of fun to drive at STOA, and is even cheaper to buy and operate than the Focus ST.

That makes a lot of sense.
Matter of fact, whenever the ST comes to end of life, I'll probably consider getting a hybrid or some horrendous thing like that. I drive quite a bit for commute and a Prius :question: would be somewhat more economical.
Then again, a Focus SE or a Fiesta SE would also work since the fuel economy on those is pretty decent. No way I'll ever get an electric car...

 

[p.opus]

That makes a lot of sense.
Matter of fact, whenever the ST comes to end of life, I'll probably consider getting a hybrid or some horrendous thing like that. I drive quite a bit for commute and a Prius :question: would be somewhat more economical.
Then again, a Focus SE or a Fiesta SE would also work since the fuel economy on those is pretty decent. No way I'll ever get an electric car...

I had a Focus SE automatic and while it was nice on the inside, if lacked the fizz. Maybe If I got it in a manual, I'd be ok with it, but the DCT was so tuned for fuel economy that it just felt continuously underpowered. I hate to admit it, but If they discontinued the ST and I had to "downgrade" I'd probably go back to a Mazda 3. They've always had a pretty satisfying oomph to them. Nothing Like an ST (unless you're talking about the discontinued Mazdaspeed 3), but still a satisfying drive.

 

[Eric15RRST]

I had a Focus SE automatic and while it was nice on the inside, if lacked the fizz. Maybe If I got it in a manual, I'd be ok with it, but the DCT was so tuned for fuel economy that it just felt continuously underpowered. I hate to admit it, but If they discontinued the ST and I had to "downgrade" I'd probably go back to a Mazda 3. They've always had a pretty satisfying oomph to them. Nothing Like an ST (unless you're talking about the discontinued Mazdaspeed 3), but still a satisfying drive.

I had a '14 SE 5 spd before my ST(acutally i traded the SE for a '10 fusion sport fwd - then the ST) but anywho.. The focus SE AUTO is way more peppy then than stick.. maily b/c it only came in a 5 spd. gears were laid out differently... and it SUCKKKKED. had noooo get up and go at all.

 

[Jaws]

I thought about the RS but in my mind if I was going to spend nearly $40K for a vehicle it was going to be a Mustang GT. I gave some consideration to the 2.3L Mustang but the versatility of the hatchback ST got me interested. There was a large amount of money on the hood of the ST1 recently so I decided to go for it. Very happy with the ST1 and it's well equipped for what I want. I don't miss any of the pricey options the higher tier ST models have and at the end of the day a $350 car payment looks much better than a $600 payment on a RS ......

 

[p.opus]

That makes a lot of sense.
Matter of fact, whenever the ST comes to end of life, I'll probably consider getting a hybrid or some horrendous thing like that. I drive quite a bit for commute and a Prius :question: would be somewhat more economical.
Then again, a Focus SE or a Fiesta SE would also work since the fuel economy on those is pretty decent. No way I'll ever get an electric car...

Of course if the nannies in our world governments get their way, this is what our driving experience will be like in 15 years.

 

[Keebs_yo]

2016 acr

May we see a pic of your kick a$$ track car...:RockOn:

 

[GronkDaSlayer]

@Jaws I was considering getting a 350R actually. I got a decent deal on the Dodge so I went for it but it seems to me that one would have more fun with the 350R than the RS. At least on the track, because on the road, the 350R is just to darn noisy and not as comfy as the RS. I love the look of both to be honest and the Mustang is just amazing!

Unrelated but worth a look: 2016 Motor Trend Best Driver's Car - Motor Trend

 

[GronkDaSlayer]

May we see a pic of your kick a$$ track car...:RockOn:

Sure thing

 

[Keebs_yo]

Sure thing

View attachment 165658

Very nice sir! Liking that blue!

 

[GronkDaSlayer]

Very nice sir! Liking that blue!

Thank you. It reminds me of the RS I will not buy :haha:

 

[p.opus]

Sure thing

View attachment 165658

To misquote the Godfather.

"If you consider a six figure automobile merely a track car... te salud Don DaSlayer"

 

[Ogbatman]

Somewhere in life I see I made the wrong career choice...LOL

 

[cababah]

The RS is cool and all but completely wasted as a DD IMO. The ST is the perfect blend of both worlds and can be had for much cheaper than the RS which is still hard to get at MSRP.

However, I could see how the AWD would be much better for areas that get snow.

 

[p.opus]

The RS is cool and all but completely wasted as a DD IMO. The ST is the perfect blend of both worlds and can be had for much cheaper than the RS which is still hard to get at MSRP.

However, I could see how the AWD would be much better for areas that get snow.

Some people have expressed concern that the ST has been made irrelevant by the RS. To the contrary. I say. In fact I would say the RS is the best thing that could happen to the ST.

The RS is really at the extreme top end that anyone would pay for a hatch with an American badge. The RS200 H is the low end of the Lexus brand and it can be had for about 30K. Never mind that it is a gutless wonder that you'll have to pay for a huge battery later on, You can feel all green inside and that interior is pretty fab.

So even though Joe "Normal" might test drive an RS, Wifey is not going to allow him to spend SUV money on a hatch. And that's where the ST will get him. And if the kids are young enough he might even be able to delay that SUV for a couple of years...

When I bought my ST in Feb, I literally did not see one on the road for several weeks. Now I see them weekly. They are catching on, and I think it's because the RS has gotten the limelight and piqued some curiosity, and when the reality hits, people settle for the ST. Although I personally don't consider purchasing an ST as settling. I see it more as getting great value for money....