If you regularly drive twisty roads, or spend a lot of time at the track, then by all means get a powerful sports car. But for typical suburban driving, a hot hatch can be more fun. I really liked the Ford Focus in SE Sport trim, but the 160-horsepower 2.0-liter engine isn’t up to the capabilities of the chassis. For 2013 Ford is adding a Focus ST that’s turbocharged to yield 92 more horsepower. Should be fun. But the price?
The Ford Focus ST starts at $24,495, exactly $4,500 more than a base Focus SE. Based on TrueDelta’s price comparison tool, about $1,500 of the difference can be ascribed to features other than the ST’s engine and wheels/tires, leaving $3,000. Load up both a Focus ST and a Focus Titanium, which eliminates the wheels, the tires, and various other features from the equation, and they’re $29,825 and $27,280, respectively, a difference of $2,545, about $400 of which can be accounted for by feature differences. So Ford is charging about $2,100 for the ST’s engine, Recaro seats, and chassis tweaks. Seems more than fair.
The Focus ST’s base price undercuts the very fun but aesthetically challenged 2012 MazdaSpeed3’s by $300. But the Mazda is better equipped. Adjust for this and it has about a $400 advantage. Similarly load both cars up (ST3 Package on the Ford, Tech Package on the Mazda), and the MS3 is exactly $2,000 less. Adjusting for feature differences cuts the gap to about $1,100.
Compared to the car that launched the segment, the Volkswagen GTI, the Focus ST is $270 less before adjusting for feature differences, and about $700 less afterwards. With a mere 200 horsepower, the GTI isn’t quite in the same class. But the 256-horsepower Golf R has all-wheel-drive and lists for $6,435 more than a loaded Focus ST. Even adjusting for feature differences, including AWD, leaves it over $5,000 higher.
The 265-horsepower Subaru WRX is another AWD option. The 2012 WRX lists for $1,850 more than the Focus ST before feature differences, and about $1,200 more afterwards.
When the new Focus launched last year the new Focus seemed pricey, especially compared with the previous car. How could they possibly add a high performance variant without pricing it out of the market? Well, they’ve managed. The Focus ST is priced very competitively. A MazdaSpeed3 is the cheapest of the bunch, but its interior and overall level of sophistication don’t compare to the Ford’s. It’s EPA fuel economy ratings are also much lower, 18/25 vs. 23/32 MPG. Unless these aren’t considerations, or the Focus ST turns out to be considerably less fun to drive than the Mazda, then the Focus ST strikes me as the one to get.
Have another car you’d like to compare the Focus ST to? This can be done here: