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This was just put on drive.com.au.

Article%20Lead%20-%20wide981830871mgeghi

184kw!

Theres no performance figures on the article It'd have to be under 6 sec's 0-100 though, right? Maybe if it has traction.

This is obviously the baby brother to the RS which apparently doesn't arrive till 2016.

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https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/455589-2015-ford-focus-st/
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Wow petty eccy,think I'll stick with the old Nissans. :-)

unfortunately the Nissan "equivalent" (awd, turbo, petrol, "sports car") is 100k more.

Wish Nissan had of made the sss an awd version.

Was looking at the sss, but ended up with the emo does to more sportiness.

Love it! I think its more aggressive and has a better front end than the current model.

Tossing up between one of these and a WRX for my next car.

If you test drive one can you write us a review? Super keen to know more about it.

Which? The ST or the RS?

The ST has already received rave reviews for being as much fun as you can have with your pants on, as did the previous incarnation of the RS. I thought that the ST's retailed for around the $40k mark? (been on the market for a couple of years now)

Not convinced that AWD would necessarily make it that much better. For not a lot more money, the AMG Benz would snot all over it (unless Ford manage to squeeze a hell of a lot more power out of the ecoboost donk)

Don't get me wrong - I quite like the Focus they're great fun to throw around (mine's just the NA 2 litre Sport). Not sure if the ST would get under 6 sec for the 0-100 sprint either - that's a fairly big ask of a FWD shopping trolley.

Unless you were competing in the WRC, I don't think there were any AWD Focus (Foci??) 6 years ago. I'm happy to be proven wrong, though.

The performance model of the Focus (XR5 turbo most likely, judging by the time period) has always been extremely capable in the twisties, so it doesn't surprise me if one of them. The last iteration of the RS was a rip snorter, and very quick around a race track - despite being an understeery FWD shitbox.

I've owned a few AWD turbos, and yes they are quick. Not going to get into an argument about that. My comment was more along the lines of will the AWD bring a significant power imcrease, to make use of the AWD, and at what cost? The FWD's manage to tame 184kW, so you'd be wanting mid 200's to be able to exploit the AWD system. What does the extra weight do to the balance of the car? Undoubtedly it will be faster, but will it be useable on the public road? More fun? How much dearer?

These are my own opinion, and I respect you have yours. However, remember there have been some truly horrid AWD turbo performance cars over the years. Bolting an extra diff into a car does not automatically make it better, although I'm sure with FOrd's track record with chassis tuning of the Focus, they'll make a decent car out of it. Would I spend the $$? That's a hard one as it's a very tough market segment.

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You're right, the xr5t is fwd. Quickest fwd I've ever seen, and probably will.

I wouldn't expect anything less than perfection when ford starts dealing with their awd focus, after all they have been doing it for years.

Awd would come in handy reguard less of power, where a fwd would start to understeer you could fine tune the awd to push it through the corner and vise versa. Honda has had this tech since the 90's for their accord that was marketed at snowy regions. Pretty amazing when you see how it works, and almost dummy proof in a way that anyone can get in and drive it.

Absolutely - AWD will be a good thing on these. My point was, is the extra cost worth it to me? I'm comfortable fanging FWD's (despite growing up on a diet of RWD) so lack of AWD isn't a big deal for me. If it were only $5-10k dearer than the FWD, then it's a no brainer.

There have been some astonishingly good FWD hot hatches over the years - RS (and now ST) Focus, EP3R civic, DC2R Integra, GTI golf, Megane RS, Clio Sport. None of the above is going to break any land speed records, but for pure driving fun, they are hard to beat. They also all punch well above their weight when it comes to lap times.

  • Like 2

I've got the current ST and it has converted me to appreciate that a front wheel drive car can be fun. It's quick and very refined, but the Megane is finished better (costs more too).

The new Focus doesn't seem to be too much different to the current one. Mostly cosmetic and techno changes (except the AWD RS). Would like to steer the RS when it lands, as I reckon Ford would do a good job.

Torque steer is shit. Tries to kill you at higher speeds in WOT. i call bullshit on the fuel figures, no matter how well behaved I am & types of fuel I use, fuel economy doesn't go below 8.4/100 and I do mostly highway k's.

  • Like 1

Should..... I wish. Not going to put one in. About to change it over.

It was my only negative in not going for the Megane that came with LSD at the time.

Turning off traction control fries tyres easily.

Anyone had experience with the Kia pro-Ceed? I'm aware it is not in the same league, but Seems like awesome value.

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