Test drove Focus ST & Fiesta ST @ Ford Drive Event yesterday
6/23/13, 04:19 PM
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Test drove Focus ST & Fiesta ST @ Ford Drive Event yesterday
Just wanted to share some comments and pass along the word for the event incase anyone had not heard and wants to sign up!
Can sign up here: http://fordecoboostchallengedrive.com/
The event is basically a marketing strategy to compare a couple Ford cars (Fusion and Escape) against competitors (Camry and CRV) and also let people test the Focus ST and Fiesta ST through an autocross course.
I went primarily to drive the Focus ST and Fiesta ST on the auto-x course they set up. Everyone gets two laps per car through the course, and you go on your own after a brief overview by one of the pro drivers they had. The Focus ST and Fiesta ST only come in manual, which is fantastic in my opinion, and the course is set up to support 2nd gear only. The Boston course was excellent - they have timing set up to provide some friendly competition in a "time trial" setup. A target lap time is posted based on the pro's opinion of what a good time would be, and then every 1.5 hours or so they take the top 2 times from the most recent ~100 drivers and do a one lap shootout for a small prize. Very impressive setup, the auto-x course at Boston was about 40 seconds (best times were high 38's for attendees, the pro's got low 37's).
The Focus ST was a blast - good power, bit of turbo lag of course, and a very good traction control system. The car rotated very well and responded well to throttle steering - it would really tuck in the rear and drift a bit with some lift throttle in the faster corners. It would understeer especially in the slower corners and the brakes had quite a bit of travel to engage ABS, but that could easily be cured with track pads.
The Fiesta ST felt a bit lighter (which makes sense) and it tended to push less at the limit and was a bit more tail happy which made the faster corners a blast. Power was definitely less, but it was peppy and once the turbo spooled up it took off pretty well. I set my best time in the Fiesta, however I also drove it 2nd so I learned the track a bit by then.
I nailed a 38.83 best time and ended up winning the first shoot out
I highly recommend the event though, I might do the NY one coming up later in the summer too!!
Can sign up here: http://fordecoboostchallengedrive.com/
The event is basically a marketing strategy to compare a couple Ford cars (Fusion and Escape) against competitors (Camry and CRV) and also let people test the Focus ST and Fiesta ST through an autocross course.
I went primarily to drive the Focus ST and Fiesta ST on the auto-x course they set up. Everyone gets two laps per car through the course, and you go on your own after a brief overview by one of the pro drivers they had. The Focus ST and Fiesta ST only come in manual, which is fantastic in my opinion, and the course is set up to support 2nd gear only. The Boston course was excellent - they have timing set up to provide some friendly competition in a "time trial" setup. A target lap time is posted based on the pro's opinion of what a good time would be, and then every 1.5 hours or so they take the top 2 times from the most recent ~100 drivers and do a one lap shootout for a small prize. Very impressive setup, the auto-x course at Boston was about 40 seconds (best times were high 38's for attendees, the pro's got low 37's).
The Focus ST was a blast - good power, bit of turbo lag of course, and a very good traction control system. The car rotated very well and responded well to throttle steering - it would really tuck in the rear and drift a bit with some lift throttle in the faster corners. It would understeer especially in the slower corners and the brakes had quite a bit of travel to engage ABS, but that could easily be cured with track pads.
The Fiesta ST felt a bit lighter (which makes sense) and it tended to push less at the limit and was a bit more tail happy which made the faster corners a blast. Power was definitely less, but it was peppy and once the turbo spooled up it took off pretty well. I set my best time in the Fiesta, however I also drove it 2nd so I learned the track a bit by then.
I nailed a 38.83 best time and ended up winning the first shoot out
I highly recommend the event though, I might do the NY one coming up later in the summer too!!
Last edited by dmichaels; 6/23/13 at 06:13 PM.
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