New (to me) car: Civic Si or Focus ST?

[JT20]

I don't think I could own an ST with the RS being out. The ST is just too slow when you know you could be rocking the RS. Heck, I could take an ST in a drag race in my Mazda SUV, lol! Not good enough for a "sporty car". Not by a long shot.

Those CX-5s are quick. Had one pass me at at least 90MPH on PA's two-lane Interstate, known as I-80. Of course, In a rainstorm. It kept it up until the construction zones, too.. Zoom zoom.

My car has a boxer engine and AWD but it's not the fastest in the world. All depends who wants to either out-speed or out-accelerate that day, and how far they are willing to go.. Only one CLEAR winner so far.

 

[RooflessVW]

I think if I was after a car like the FoST or Si...

I'd buy a GTI.

 

[gregk24]

Honda is dropping the SI for now, so get one before they are gone. Some of the Ford 2.0 EcoBoost have issues. Read some consumer reviews and look at reliability rankings and decide for yourself. I know which way I would go.

 

[MacManus99]

I think if I was after a car like the FoST or Si...

I'd buy a GTI.

That would be my choice as well. I drove and raced a 2019 yesterday. Comfortable on the street, and yet still competent on track. A real Jekyll and Hyde.
I wouldn't have any front drive car without a limited slip differential.

 

[A_A_G]

Skip both, and get you a 9th gen Civic Si.

The 10th gen Civic is full of problems and unless you plan to keep it completely stock power wise, I wouldn’t touch a 10th Si.

 

[Oillover]

Yes, we all know the GTI is the holy grail for hot hatches, but even they are not immune to problems.
Given that most in our price range are already off warranty has me less than impressed with their checkered reliability (and before all the Euro lovers start flogging me for being misinformed, I've owned a few German cars that were all well maintained, yet still required a fair amount of maintenance/repairs.... so I'm not a total noob on the subject).

We've also been serious about a FiST from a local Ford dealer who's currently addressing a bad throw out bearing.
While in there, they've also noticed wear on the flywheel and the clutch plate is about 50%, they are replacing it all.

We have little care or concern for how it will do on a track, as that's not one of the things we plan on doing with it.

thanks again for all the info

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

After owning an F-150, won’t buy another Ford. Wife got the Nissan Juke Nismo instead of the Focus ST we were considering. The civic is big but probably better quality.

 

[2EHA]

Golf R with the manual is super mega cool but probably still too expensive. Owner of our shop had his making 400hp at the wheels going toe to toe with modded cobras in a goddarn hatchback

 

[TiGeo]

I seriously considered buying a Focus ST years back. It was very sporty. I ended up choosing Golf Sportwagen. Not that they sell them new anymore but i found it to be more practical and offered good enough performance for less. Owning my first Golf taught me that high power front FWD left a lot to be desired. So i got one of the last new Alltrack sportwagens and am pleased. Coming from your IS350 you might be dissatisfied with a front wheel drive.
If you can find a 6MT 4 motion golf sportwagen its a pretty good setup and can be tuned up nicely. Or maybe a 2016 Golf R if budget allows.

Like this one? 4Motion Sportwagen (not Alltrack) with the Golf R turbo swapped in.