Probably a bit soon, but I wanted to write this while the Focus was fresh in my mind.
Focus shines in the following:
Paint (clear coat). Had it a week and already have a deep scratch that I can't help but feel would be negligible on the Focus. 2 stone chips after < 100 KM of highway driving.
Violence: I could easily chirp tires and pin myself back in my seat in the Focus. Pulled like a mofo and I'm puzzled why compared with the WRX: weight, torque specs are pretty darn close (more torque less weight in the Focus, but it comes on later).
Head Unit/stereo (Harmon-Kardon in WRX, Sony in the ST): the WRX is so laggy making voice commands, even with the suggestions turned off. Bluetooth call quality is pretty brutal. Hate how incremental the volume is: feels like you have to hold Volume +/- button on the steering wheel forever. HK in the WRX has better clarity, but the 10-speaker Sony system trounced it for stereo image and bottom end; HK sounds so narrow, like there's a single speaker in the center console.
Clutch/shifter: WRX feels like an el dente lasagna noodle; just some mushy play in there I don't like. And the shifter feels Fisher-Price at best, kind of crunchy notchy vs. smooth notchy of the Focus ST.
Aero Dynamics/Wind/Ride: I couldn't believe how much the WRX buffeted and wallowed in modest wind on a country highway (going 90 KM/H).
The WRX gets the nod for:
Seats: The Recaros were not FFF (Fat Friend Friendly). Actually unless your lady is a narrow Asian teen, she'll bitch about those seats. Weird thigh bolstering that was cramp city after long rides.
Exhaust: the Focus piped in the engine sound through the firewall, but it was hilariously feeble when you'd actually hear it in Real Life (tm). Got a lot of laughs taking people for a spin while I wound it out, then did the same with them on the curb as I flew by.
Refinement: The interior gets laughed at compared to the GTIs of the world, but it's a step up from the Focus for road noise, general comfort, smoothness on acceleration; can flip it into "family sedan mode" pretty nicely.
Turning radius the Focus was hilarious lock-to-lock: you'd think you're driving a bus trying to park sometimes, like 3 years later, I was still overshooting parking spot turn-ins...
Focus shines in the following:
Paint (clear coat). Had it a week and already have a deep scratch that I can't help but feel would be negligible on the Focus. 2 stone chips after < 100 KM of highway driving.
Violence: I could easily chirp tires and pin myself back in my seat in the Focus. Pulled like a mofo and I'm puzzled why compared with the WRX: weight, torque specs are pretty darn close (more torque less weight in the Focus, but it comes on later).
Head Unit/stereo (Harmon-Kardon in WRX, Sony in the ST): the WRX is so laggy making voice commands, even with the suggestions turned off. Bluetooth call quality is pretty brutal. Hate how incremental the volume is: feels like you have to hold Volume +/- button on the steering wheel forever. HK in the WRX has better clarity, but the 10-speaker Sony system trounced it for stereo image and bottom end; HK sounds so narrow, like there's a single speaker in the center console.
Clutch/shifter: WRX feels like an el dente lasagna noodle; just some mushy play in there I don't like. And the shifter feels Fisher-Price at best, kind of crunchy notchy vs. smooth notchy of the Focus ST.
Aero Dynamics/Wind/Ride: I couldn't believe how much the WRX buffeted and wallowed in modest wind on a country highway (going 90 KM/H).
The WRX gets the nod for:
Seats: The Recaros were not FFF (Fat Friend Friendly). Actually unless your lady is a narrow Asian teen, she'll bitch about those seats. Weird thigh bolstering that was cramp city after long rides.
Exhaust: the Focus piped in the engine sound through the firewall, but it was hilariously feeble when you'd actually hear it in Real Life (tm). Got a lot of laughs taking people for a spin while I wound it out, then did the same with them on the curb as I flew by.
Refinement: The interior gets laughed at compared to the GTIs of the world, but it's a step up from the Focus for road noise, general comfort, smoothness on acceleration; can flip it into "family sedan mode" pretty nicely.
Turning radius the Focus was hilarious lock-to-lock: you'd think you're driving a bus trying to park sometimes, like 3 years later, I was still overshooting parking spot turn-ins...
