Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Need Help Wife and Daughter think Focus is "Cute"

Get it. My "cute" car can show any normally aspirated SVT Contour and 99% of the FI Contours in here its tailights with only $287 dollars worth of mods. (but why stop there with such a huge aftermarket!) $1,000 dollars in suspension also assures no Contour here would come close on an auto-x course. Downside is, they are not cute, they are ugly. They are not plush (oh how i miss my midnight blue leather), and they sure dont have that duratec growl (that part really sucks!) Hopefully, my fiance will go for a used SVT Contour...
If you want plush, and have to go Foci, go SVT.

How fast is that thing Bill..couple of the 2.5L N/A SVTs are in the 14.5-14.7 range. I assume if you are faster it is because
1) You gutted the box
2) You are a very good drag racer.

I think under most circumstances the Focus will be slower, it is at a considerable stock power to weight disadvantage in either ZX3 or SVT form. The vast aftermarket can compensate but not without considerable expense.

To summerize, the car is ugly and slow, but handles well. And it DOES look better than its rivals the Civic and Sentra. So, I give it one thumbs up.

Ok, Ok, I cheated a bit. Yes it is gutted. 2380 lbs (i did spend money on a cf hood and dyna-batt) $37 dollars was a for a drop in panel filter. $250 dollars was for nitrous (a mutt system). 165 hp and 215 tq @ the wheels equals a nice power to weight ratio. I pull handily from a launch or a roll from my best friends 00' Mustang GT 5spd coupe with bassani cat back and bassani x-pipe. (his car ran 14.20 with a horrible 2.4 60 ft)

The focus does take to mods quite well. There are a few 14 second N/A foci on the jet with just bolt ons. Intake, header, exhaust, tb and pulley usually net about 30 whp on a zetec, thats not a bad power-to-dollar ratio...

Tony, better put a stop to that thinking now, or you will end up like Mr. Jardine in Southern Cal who races a H Stock Focus, while his daughters race it in H Stock Ladies, and his wife at least has the good sense to race a 2000 SVT Contour. See a picture of it in this link. You have to click on results on the left, and then on the April 21 event and wait for Adobe...it includes the picture of the Contour. Apparently someone brought a SVT Focus to the same event and the same Jardine guy drove it too in a fun run...but it was slower than his H Stock car, barely, so must not have had race tires. http://www.solo2.com/ Forgot to mention John Coffey ran the same event in a MIATA. There seems to be a lot of this Miata stuff going around. I ain't falling for no banana in a tailpipe, though, a new Altima 3.5SE could be in my driveway soon.

I had a focus rental car when the WP in my 'tour died. It did handle quite well (SE with SPI engine, btw) and had some decent torque but it does have some body roll and feels very tippy. I wouldn't be suprised if it could out handle my tour, but it's not worth it if I $hit my pants in the process :p

I have never been a protaganist (sp?) of the Focus' looks, so I can't help you too much there. Just think how much fun you will have building your own cossie

Get a Civic. :p :rolleyes:

my girlfriend thought the focus was cute too...til she read a bunch of quality issue junk about them

focus is not a bad looking car...but the P5 looks better...

and the P5 comes with a 21mm rear sway bar..STOCK!

Tell them that riding in this car would cause you to become violently ill and if they don't mind riding in a car that smells like vomit then they can have one. That should solve the problem!

Ohhh get the SVT Focus..

D@mn thing drives better than our cars do.