Repair-It

I like how the Golf R keeps coming up.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ImobeCtRphc

·The Focus RS is a car of expectation and history, but it drops into a market that does have excellent competition. We gathered the three other AWD, 300hp cars available for around $40k, and went to a favorite road in search of fun. That means we dusted off an Evo X to stand alongside the Golf R and enduring STI in this showdown with the shiny new, nitrous blue, RS.

Rarely have we been this excited for a comparison. And after driving them back to back, the results were not what we expected.

I don't really understand why this class of car is so aspirational. If you can afford a $40k car, you can afford a 6th Gen Camaro SS and a beater to daily if you can figure out how to use a wrench. Or a Gen 5 1LE and a nicer beater. Or a C5 Z06 and a car that isn't a beater. Or don't drop $40k on cars period and still go much faster than the RS. For me that is a far better value.

I don't think it's realistic to think the answer for everyone is a 2-door RWD V8 from GM. Also, some people don't want to drive a beater for a daily driver or don't have the space for multiple cars. These two statements don't mean that a car like the RS is the ultimate daily driver, however. As someone who used to be okay with bad or boring daily drivers, I have undergone a philosophical shift as my opportunities to drive my fun car have diminished due to family stuff. Basically what I want out of a daily driver now is trap >=100, some luxury features (auto climate, in car tech, good seats), comfortable and roomy enough to take the family on a highway trip and a good enough chassis that it could be enjoyable to take on a road in the mountains (I am not expecting the Elise here, but something along the line of Kevin's CTS-V would be good). On paper, the Focus RS or Golf R could probably meet my daily driver needs, but I feel like these cars are poor values at their current new prices and there's also a lot of other good stuff out there. The RS will probably have good resale value because of rareness and hype, which means it may never get to a price point where it's actually a good value. The Golf R may be affordable in the used market because it's a VW, but there's a reason for that. I'm also not a huge fan of AWD - I believe that there are some issues with purity of feel, especially when you get into all those fancy electronic differentials and stuff. $40k buys a lot of car like possibly a V2 Wagon, a new Chevy SS or a certainly a low mile CTS VSport Premium, so there's definitely better stuff out there.

I don't agree that the Focus RS is aspirational in the traditional sense of the word. It may be aspirational within very limited circles of car enthusiasts, but most aspirational car buyers are going to head straight to the BMW, Mercedes or Audi dealer with their $40k.

As an aside, it was interesting to see how the Evo's chassis and steering are still fundamentally good. This is something I can personally attest to having driven one. I can also attest to the fact that the low 5th gear makes in virtually intolerable on the highway.

Bob wrote:I don't think it's realistic to think the answer for everyone is a 2-door RWD V8 from GM.

I'm sure there are other examples.

I just don't get the aspirational thing. It seems like the reaction is something like "oh man, that's the insane Focus!". As opposed to the insane BMW 3-series (M3), which is not how people really view it. So because it is still a "Focus" it simultaneously gets credit for being affordable (Focus) and insane ("OMG a 350hp Focus - that must be so awesome"). But as a performance car there is nothing insane about it. And because of the hype the price goes up which erodes the value. So it becomes this theoretical thing that is awesome (enthusiast/family/all weather car), like a GT350R, but in the economy car class and not as good of a value as it first seems. I just think I can do better with more than one car for less money.

Also, some people don't want to drive a beater for a daily driver or don't have the space for multiple cars

I do overlook this and tend to play it down, but like the mission of MMM, you may be more flexible than first thought, if it means accomplishing something you really want to do/have.

It was also annoying to listen to those guys talk about the AWD systems. I guess it makes them handle better than their FWD siblings but real cars don't need AWD in that performance class. I need to see these in the context of Lightning Lap results. Some of GMs performance iron in the past few years has made some cars that people think are performance values look silly. That is why I mention them. I would be happy to mention other standouts if they exist. Cars like the Camaro have made cars like a 370Z or WRX or BMW 3-series (one in the high $30k range) look very unexceptional, across all aspects of performance. The RS compared to those does stand out which I guess is what most people see and think of.

So, you aren't going to lose a 6th Gen Camaro (or a 5th Gen 1LE) on those roads and that is the ultimate yard stick for me (I mean car comparison not a Camaro specifically) - all that AWD nonsense is only an advantage from its FWD stable mate. And yes, I can acknowledge that these are all fun to drive. Lots of stuff that costs $40k and under is fun to drive though.

Bob wrote: As an aside, it was interesting to see how the Evo's chassis and steering are still fundamentally good. This is something I can personally attest to having driven one. I can also attest to the fact that the low 5th gear makes in virtually intolerable on the highway.

Agreed. The Evo narrative was interesting.

And while I gladly admit other people's circumstances differ from my own, I also reject this idea that the car is interesting because it is "affordable." If your wife, for example, approves a Focus for $25k (which is well-optioned by the way), why would she approve one for $40k? $40k buys a lot more useful car than a Focus if you are trying to justify a family vehicle. I guess my thesis is that there is actually a very small niche that will actually buy this car. The rest of the people drooling over it may as well put a poster up in their bedroom of a Lamborghini - they'll never own it unless it becomes cheap as a used car. Unlike a Lamborghini, the RS might but it will probably still not be a good value as a used car compared to other available options at that time. Most of the cars I like depreciate heavily, which is convenient.

As a $27k new car or whatever, I don't think I would be critical at all. At $40k, it's just not that interesting to me.

To use Bill's argument for the Chevy SS, why couldn't they have taken the base Focus for like $18k or whatever and put $10k worth of engine and suspension into it? Would that not be more interesting? Then nothing could touch it for that price. Even a V6 1LE Camaro is going to be more expensive and still not as capable.

Bob wrote:Basically what I want out of a daily driver now is trap >=100, some luxury features (auto climate, in car tech, good seats), comfortable and roomy enough to take the family on a highway trip and a good enough chassis that it could be enjoyable to take on a road in the mountains (I am not expecting the Elise here, but something along the line of Kevin's CTS-V would be good).

I guess this is part of my point. I don't think your preference shift is atypical at all. Oddly, my preferences haven't changed much and aren't that dissimilar to yours now.

But with an Elise in the garage, it makes sense that you don't crave the ultimate chassis in a daily driver. And frankly, a lot of the cars you mention later in your post have significantly above average chassis anyway.

It may also be that one could buy a Focus RS, more or less daily drive it for 2 years, and sell for not much loss. Theoretically any of us could do this if we really wanted to. And that could make the case for car payments (if the interest is low, which it probably is) so you never actually have the cash locked up. But I would never do that - that would be like leasing the car in a way so I'd never really feel like I owned the car. That would diminish my enjoyment of it because I'd be like, oh, I gotta keep the miles down, keep it clean, no mods, etc. Yes I do much of this in my CTS-V but far less money is at stake and I have no specific plan to sell, like you would with the RS.

This should satisfy you: http://jalopnik.com/watch-this-ford-foc ... 1786210325

LOL

When I go to sleep at night, I often pray that this technology never finds its way to the Mustang.