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Mk 7 vs Focus ST

StockblockGLI

Go Kart Champion
Location
Northeast
Car(s)
2019 GLI
between the 3 dealers in Vegas I’ve visited for service, purchase and parts... you would actually be surprised how the little employees actually own VWs, especially the techs! The employee lots are a mix of other cars.

Two of the techs at my local VW dealer have current gen WRXs :ROFLMAO:.
 

RMinNJ

Go Kart Newbie
Location
NJ
Car(s)
2018 GTI S
My son has Fiesta ST ...somethings are easy to work on on it but some things are not robustly designed.. timing belt, thin sheet metal. It kind of turned me off to the Focus ST when I was shopping..I also could not get over the tiny gas tank on the Focus ST ...250 miles on a tank.. The GTI has so much more design...it was an easy decision.
 

ELHOTA

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Canada
Purely from a driving satisfaction point of view, which is more pleasurable to drive? The GTI has a higher quality interior and the dashboard is much nicer.
Is the nice throaty growl and the Recaro seats of the Focus ST enough to make it a more fun drive?
 

bentin

Autocross Champion
Location
Austin, TX
Car(s)
23 Golf R - 3 Pedals
Purely from a driving satisfaction point of view, which is more pleasurable to drive? The GTI has a higher quality interior and the dashboard is much nicer.
Is the nice throaty growl and the Recaro seats of the Focus ST enough to make it a more fun drive?
Stock for stock, I'd say the ST is more enjoyable. But a rsb and proper tires on the VW close the gap significantly and the tuning potential is much higher. Plus, it's always better to be in. I just couldn't deal with the interior of the Focus RS, but the rest was pretty darn nice.
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
I don't know about the DSG on the Focus ST.. my coworker has had it in the shop 3 times and I think the trans was replaced on the last visit.
I don't think the Focus ST has ever had a DSG transmission. Maybe a regular auto trans.
 

bentin

Autocross Champion
Location
Austin, TX
Car(s)
23 Golf R - 3 Pedals
Are you sure it was a DSG? I think it was a torque convertor automatic.
From WIki - Ford claims that the transmission, a dual-clutch automatic transmission, is designed to improve fuel economy and has issued several software upgrades for the transmission. To date, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not required Ford to issue a recall, nor has Ford done so voluntarily. Focus models equipped with the conventional manual transmission have not been affected by the reliability issues.

I had a lot of rental Focii, that transmission was terrible. Between that thing and the general crappiness of the interior, I just couldn't get excited about a $40k Focus RS. Add in the early head gasket issues and I really felt lucky avoiding that car.
 

Mr. Conundrum

Go Kart Champion
Location
North Carolina
Car(s)
2017 GTI Autobahn
Purely from a driving satisfaction point of view, which is more pleasurable to drive? The GTI has a higher quality interior and the dashboard is much nicer.
Is the nice throaty growl and the Recaro seats of the Focus ST enough to make it a more fun drive?
To echo Bentin, stock for stock, I also think the ST is more fun to drive.

For me it came down to this:
GTI = More refined driving experience. Quieter, more comfortable, nicer interior... But all that smooths over the engagement/fun factor. It's a more laid back car.
ST = Lots of engagement and fun; definitely has personality to it. But, it has a worse interior, comfort, mpg, etc...

If you're thinking about modding, which car's weaknesses are easier to "fix"?
Well, It's alot easier to make the GTI more fun and engaging than it is to try and improve the interior, add sound deading, and improve the mpg of the ST. Some of which you can't even realistically do.

Hence why I'm in a GTI now. If you're keeping it stock though, I can see why someone might choose the ST instead.
 

Subliminal

Autocross Champion
Location
Vegas
Car(s)
Slow FWD VW Hatch
Purely from a driving satisfaction point of view, which is more pleasurable to drive? The GTI has a higher quality interior and the dashboard is much nicer.
Is the nice throaty growl and the Recaro seats of the Focus ST enough to make it a more fun drive?
Have you sat in those seats yet? They were the most uncomfortable seats I've ever sat in
 

SnailpowerMk7

Go Kart Champion
Location
NJ
Car(s)
MK7 GTI SE 6SPD MT
Yeah the Focus was part of a class action lawsuit because Ford decided to keep dry clutches in them when it was advised against doing that. It was already too late and they went through with production. It was some crazy number like, 85% of all Focus autos that were bought had tranny issues already at like 30k miles or right when warranty came up and Ford would deny the repairs.

It was funny because before the lawsuit was issued, I had known 4 co-workers that had owned those cars. It was like the 2010-2015 ish models where this happened, and each one said their tranny went and they were only like a year or 2 old (bought new and used). I was like, nah it had to be something else and they didn't know what they were talking about. Looks like they were right.
 

Unreal1

Autocross Champion
Location
Pittsburgh
Purely from a driving satisfaction point of view, which is more pleasurable to drive? The GTI has a higher quality interior and the dashboard is much nicer.
Is the nice throaty growl and the Recaro seats of the Focus ST enough to make it a more fun drive?

Depends. Base model GTI vs Focus ST, I would say the Focus is sportier and more fun to drive. The GTI only handles well when equipped with the LSD imo, so a PP GTI vs Focus becomes a bit of a toss up. If you plan on doing any track driving I would go Focus just for the Recaros.
 
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