I'm not making this post to beat a dead horse. I just didn't get a chance to say anything.
Since the CSVT came out I had wanted one. Pretty badly. I test drove them frequently and had mixed emotions. No torque for example.
One day a salesman suggested I drive a standard V6. I didn't want to but he was going to let me drive an SVT afterwards. So I said OK. Let me say I was stunned. The similar torque but lower in the rev range was impressive. It had that great duratec sound, just quieter. And it handled pretty darn well. I couldn't believe it. Even I started questioning the merits of the SVT. Was it really not that much better?
We come back and jump into a Silver Frost. The seats were squeaky and loud. Driving around town the SE simply had better pull. The torquey feeling from the standard V6 was missing. I wanted to like it but the car was just asleep.
We finally get a stretch of open road and the difference finally became apparent. You have to let this sucker rev. And rev it did. The tach spun way quicker and the car just came into its own. I started grinning and couldn't stop. I didn't want to take it back.
My feeling is that the SVT is not superior. If it had 40-50 more horses, an lsd, bigger brakes and stiffer suspension than maybe. But it doesn't. We basically got a watered down version of what it could have been.
But SVT must have done something right to make this car so coveted. Maybe its just the intangibles. Maybe just personal preference. If I had never driven the SE, maybe I would have the attitude. But I have, so I don't. Its a fun car. Just giving respect where it is due.
-R-
