Svt focus car and driver

Today i give you guys my first thoughts on owning a ford focus svt as a daily driver. The focus zx3 is a fantastic car, which made our job that much easier, said andy slankard, svt focus program manager. The svt focus gets its extra power from items including a dualstage intake manifold, variable intake valve system, higher compression ratio with cast aluminum pistons and a freerflowing exhaust. Ford svt focus, mazdaspeed protege, nissan sentra ser spec v. Superbly styled, the sporty focus covers a wide range of needs for many drivers. I bought a brandnew cooper s when they first landed in the u. The original owner of the 02 sonic blue svt focus no. With fiesta and focus sts holding their value securely as well, those of us tightbudgeted american enthusiasts of the hot ford hatch have only one real direction to turn. Featured best selling alphabetically, az alphabetically, za price, low to high price, high to low date, new to old date, old to new. What it did is it eliminated the lazy throttle responds on focus svt. A quick peek under the hood revealed a battery box covered in acid.

Edmunds has detailed price information for the used 2002 ford focus svt. If you drive like a maniac, dont do regular maintnence, and check for leaksetc. Yet some dealers had bailed, in part because svt mustangs couldnt compete on muscle with. Find detailed gas mileage information, insurance estimates, and more. With 170 hp, a closeratio sixspeed manual, and an svtmassaged chassis that made a great platform even better, this car can be unstoppable on the track in the hands of the right driver. It could be that only enthusiasts will notice them, and thats ok. We subjected our dailydriver 2003 ford svt focus to yet another rallycross and a track day at sebring. Shop millions of cars from over 21,000 dealers and find the perfect car. With 170hp and 145lbft or torque, tuned 421 header, getrag sixspeed transmission. The ford svt mustang cobra also known as svt mustang cobra, svt cobra, or simply as cobra is a muscle car pony car model that was built in model years 1993 through 2004 by ford motor companys special vehicle team division or svt, for short. Few things to do on this one, but the majority of effort will be put towards the mustang.

It might not have the power or flair of a brandnew focus rs, but youll get a heck of a lot of car for. Sure it has its share of tweaks here and there, but on the whole, its a fantastic car, and in my experience, quite reliable. The drivers seat has power adjustment and lumbar adjustable support. A recent autoweek carried a brief story about cosworth doing the reengineering of the 2. The ford focus is a compact car csegment in europe manufactured by the ford motor company and created under alexander trotmans ford 2000 plan, which aimed to globalize model development and sell one compact vehicle worldwide. Dec 09, 2015 we subjected our daily driver 2003 ford svt focus to yet another rallycross and a track day at sebring.

Manufacturing in argentina continued until 2008, and it was still on sale in brazil. Datadriven analysis of used cars for sale, and specifically the market for ford focus models. The ford focus first generation is a compact car that was manufactured by ford in europe from 19982004 and by ford in north america from 19992007. With 170hp and 145lbft or torque, tuned 421 header, getrag sixspeed transmission, svt tuned macpherson struts, 17x7 fivespoke. Perhaps these numbers help keep the price down on this valuepacked vehicle. Dec 12, 2019 a direct competitor for the focus svt in period was the mini cooper s, and i owned two of the bmwdeveloped british hatchbacks, too. They secured the class t drivers titles in 2009 and 2011. Sure it has its share of tweaks here and there, but on the whole, its a fantastic car. Its just for funloving car that is a blast to drive, that can function as a daily driver while other vehicles are down for updatesmaintenancerepairs.

Looking back, even to just four years ago, when i consider. My 2000 zx3 has had all the recalls, but otherwise has been troublefree. The car was an animal, but an autotragic a dying one at that. It has been present on car and drivers ten best list, s editors most wanted list, recognized as a consumer guide recommended buy 2005, and named as a contender for motor trend magazines prestigious car of the year award 2008. Apr 01, 2002 the 2002 ford focus svt looks to be a definite winner for some. Invariably, a great many early car enthusiasts end up driving some sort of fwd car. It took the small car and added a lot of performance making it a very sporty hatchback with the aim of taking on the vw rabbit gti head to head. Its a reminder of his days spent instructing at the jim russell driving school at riverside in the mid80s. The new focus svt appeared in late 2001 as a 2002 model. In europe, the basic package will be sold under a different name. Ive owned this car since april 20, it had 170k miles. The car had success in the 20 china touring car championship, and won its class in the 2014 liqui moly bathurst 12 hour. The price includes a nice array of standard equipmentabs, power everything, air conditioning, a decent audio system, and.

The design changes we make tend to be fairly subdued, said andy slankard, svt focus program manager. Svt has also produced special cobra r models in 1993, 95 and 2000. It might not have the power or flair of a brandnew focus rs, but youll get a heck of a lot of car. Show full signature 2002 ford focus svt current daily driver. Ford began sales of the focus to europe in july 1998 and in north america during 1999 for the 2000 model year. The focus that raced in the 2014 bathurst 12 hour was powered by a 5. The focus st satisfies performance fanatics who cant afford the track.

Forums car conversation general vehicle discussion ford contour svt. Driving the svt ford focus reminds me its all about the fun. It would be fair to say that the svt focus is the ringer of the group. Other than my focus st, i had an 05 subaru legacy gt that made around 300350 to the ground, big turbo, fuel upgrades, you name it.

Cars featured 2002 ford focus svt race car super street. Not sure if there is any hp gain but my 2003 focus svt is now much more peppy. It was designed to be an economical sedan ford could market not only in the u. Apr 01, 2009 the original owner of the 02 sonic blue svt focus no. The svt got a hot engine, a good trans, and some exterior work to set it apart from the normal focus. The focus placed on car and driver magazines ten best list for five consecutive years between 2000 and 2004. Modifications to the engine include a dualstage intake dsi manifold, variable cam timing on the intake camshaft, and an.

I bought a 1999 new cougar based heavily on the same platformengines. He was also a championship winning professional driver and owner of datasport, providing coaching, test driving, data acquisition, and race car engineering services to the racing industry. Manufacturing in argentina continued until 2008, and it was still on sale in brazil until 2009. Mar 01, 2002 it would be fair to say that the svt focus is the ringer of the group. We bag most individual magazines in plastic as soon as we get them to keep them in the best possible shape for you. Lets just use private messages on the forum for now. The result is the 7,500 produced in the united states are part of a.

However, there is one american pr challenger now, the ford svt focus, a 170horsepower version of the threedoor, horsepower zx3 focus hatchback. Since 2016 the svt has been more of a weekend toy, fun car. On paper, the svt focus looks like it will have the goods but, like you, ive said id never own another ford product. But in 2002, ford introduced its own hot hatchthe svt ford focus. The ford focus hit the streets in 2000 as a sedan, hatchback, and wagon. That is until fords special vehicle team svt got their hands on it. Driving the svt ford focus reminds me its all about the.

Its reflexes are distinctly sharper, its steering is precise, and it. Choosing a lightweight battery for our svt focus ford svt. It was our family daily driver until 2016 when we bought a new focus st. The svt focuss suspension invites hard driving by being firm but not punishing.

Some pictures of my focus svt focus fanatics forum. So we took the barbie sponsored ford focus svt and installed our act clutch that we had lying around that gave us and filled the tranny back up with amsoil jeewhizbang unicorn tears that they overnighted from japan because those guys are just the bees knees and then went for a rip with our traxxas rc car to end the day. And in 30 years or so, settled into our barcaloungers, thats what well remember most vividly. Choosing a lightweight battery for our svt focus ford. Jun 24, 2002 however, there is one american pr challenger now, the ford svt focus, a 170horsepower version of the threedoor, horsepower zx3 focus hatchback. Compared to todays allwheel drive focus rs and its 350 horsepower, the svt focus 170 ponies might not sound like much. With the arrival of the 96 ford mustang cobra svt, the threat is suddenly very real. Ford svt focus clutch replacement ford svt focus project. Shop edmunds car, suv, and truck listings of over 6 million vehicles to find a cheap used. I used to have to push hard in traffic to fill the gap my car and the car in front. The svt focus has only the barest hint of torque steer to go with its quickness. The svt, while great fun in the handling department, was really disappointing in any factor regarding speed.

I remember passing our jade pig racing teams truck and trailer at a high rate of speed in a 1955 ferrari 250 gt europa rally car only to see eric. Two carry legendary names, and the third is the winner. I tried getting one of these after my svt focus but all the ones i could find had over 200k miles. Since that time some 150,000 svt vehicles have been produced, including several versions of the cobra both coupe and convertible and lightning pickup, the svt contour sports sedan, and both three and fivedoor versions of the svt focus. The 2002 svt focus is a prime example of the ford special vehicle team s design philosophy, which seeks to subtly emphasize the vehicles capabilities. The 2002 ford focus svt looks to be a definite winner for some. By continuing to use this site you consent to the use of cookies on your device as described in our cookie policy unless you have disabled them. This engine helps set aside the svt focus as a real drivers car, and we are proud to have developed it with the special vehicle engineering team at ford.

A direct competitor for the focus svt in period was the mini cooper s, and i owned two of the bmwdeveloped british hatchbacks, too. This engines castiron block already has the strength, rigidity and durability necessary for the. The ford focus first generation is a compact car that was manufactured by ford in europe. It takes you back to your first car, the one you drove for two. Save money on used 2002 ford focus svt models near you. Theres no mystery about the reasons for its great driving dynamics.

Car and driver compared those cars with the svt focus in its march issue and found the ford came out on top. The svt cobra was a highperformance version of the ford mustang, considered as topoftheline as it was positioned above the mustang gt and mach 1. Oct 14, 2019 the svt got a hot engine, a good trans, and some exterior work to set it apart from the normal focus. They like it much better than the wrx, the specv and mp3. The price includes a nice array of standard equipmentabs, power everything, air conditioning, a. Then, we walked out to it one morning, clicked the unlock button, and were met with nothing. Check out our first drive of the 2002 ford focus svt that paved the way. Fswerks itg coolflo air intake system ford focus spi zetec svt 2.

Ford focus 2002, cpa2002 viper series reclinable steel tubular frame racing seats by cipher auto. In standard focus models it produces hp at 5,300 rpm and 5 footpounds of torque at 4,500 rpm. The years he lived in southern california were enough to. Bodeman front left cv axle drive shaft assembly driver side fits 20022003 ford focus svt w6 spd. On a lonely twolane road somewhere in southern california, a honda driver pulls. Modifications to the engine include a dualstage intake dsi manifold, variable cam timing on the intake camshaft, and an underbodyonly catalyst system. The original focus was primarily designed by ford of europes german and british teams the focus was released in july 1998 in europe, succeeding the ford escort, and.