Any experience with a Focus SVT

[Rallyfan74]

I am still committed to getting a FiST, and am trying to stay away from a 20 year old car, I already have one lol, but has anyone ever owned one of these? Just looking around at auction sites and they don't go for all that much, even low mile examples. They seem to be a pretty nice car and I love the styling and seemingly simple non turbo engine. Any thoughts?

 

[lemonjs]

I think the SVT is the same as the ST170 in UK/EU. A few friends have had them as track cars in the past, and there was a running joke that none of them ever made it through a track day without an issue! They all eventually sold them and switched to FiSTs or EP3s.

Even in standard form they feel absolutely gutless compared to the FiST, but handle great and have much better brakes as standard.

 

[Rallyfan74]

I think the SVT is the same as the ST170 in UK/EU. A few friends have had them as track cars in the past, and there was a running joke that none of them ever made it through a track day without an issue! They all eventually sold them and switched to FiSTs or EP3s.

Even in standard form they feel absolutely gutless compared to the FiST, but handle great and have much better brakes as standard.

ahh, interesting, thanks for your feedback.

 

[agangel]

I had a sonic blue SVT focus. It was a blast!!! I was running a Jackson Racing supercharger and 40lb injectors gutted cat and 3inch no muffler exhaust. No big problems but I think the fiesta ST is a better car. HP is made more easily.

 

[Rallyfan74]

I had a sonic blue SVT focus. It was a blast!!! I was running a Jackson Racing supercharger and 40lb injectors gutted cat and 3inch no muffler exhaust. No big problems but I think the fiesta ST is a better car. HP is made more easily.

good stuff, man, I would love to have HEARD your car!!!!

 

[Trekker427]

I came from an '03 ZX5. I really wished I had shopped and waited for and SVT though. Over it's life I swapped the springs with the SVT kit and the rear disc brakes from a guy in Brooklyn who was parting one out. Fswerks exhaust was hella fun but I could never swing their turbo kit and the Jackson supercharger was long out of production and equally expensive. Gutless it may have been but it was still a lot of fun to drive.
Near the end of of its life it developed a wobble in the rear I never figured out. Some rust holes in the floor under the seats meant no one would pass it for state inspection so I traded up to the FiST which is what I had always wished my old ZX5 could have been.

 

[agangel]

good stuff, man, I would love to have HEARD your car!!!!

You could literally hear it from a mile away. I loved triggering car alarms. That car was my first real canyon carver. She'd whine like a pig when I stepped on it because of the supercharger ripping like 7-8psi lol.

 

[agangel]

I came from an '03 ZX5. I really wished I had shopped and waited for and SVT though. Over it's life I swapped the springs with the SVT kit and the rear disc brakes from a guy in Brooklyn who was parting one out. Fswerks exhaust was hella fun but I could never swing their turbo kit and the Jackson supercharger was long out of production and equally expensive. Gutless it may have been but it was still a lot of fun to drive.
Near the end of of its life it developed a wobble in the rear I never figured out. Some rust holes in the floor under the seats meant no one would pass it for state inspection so I traded up to the FiST which is what I had always wished my old ZX5 could have been.

Lol the death wobble

 

[rallytaff]

You had a twerking Ford!

 

[Focused]

SVT Focus is a cult classic (in the very small realm that is the small/euro Ford fan world).

The ST is the spiritual successor insofar as it’s a relatively lightweight super fun small hot hatch, but makes much easier power. That said, hard to beat the simplicity of the NA Zetec. I’m personally planning to add a clean SVT to the stable at some point in the future.

 

[Trekker427]

Lol the death wobble

Wait, is that thing? It was white knuckle in the rain over 50mph. The rest of the time it was mostly just annoying.

 

[pbeatty]

I know its an old thread but I have had an SVT Focus for the last 4 years - I mostly used it for rallycross - Honestly a super fun car to drive. If you find a clean lightly used one that hasn't been modified they can be great fun daily drivers -

Be warned that they are not easy cars to work on and since it is a limited model sometimes it makes it harder to work on because parts are not readily available -

Do not mod the car - If you mod it you are only asking for problems -

Short of my last rallycross event.

https://youtube.com/shorts/f3sm8w5OqMI?si=NZmE1YyKACEHkzP1

Cheers -

 

[Downsy]

It was a good hot hatch for it's day. If you were going to buy a car and mod the hell out of it anyway I would probably have went with the ZX3/5 but if you were looking for a platform to perform well "out of the box" and had no or small mod plans IMO the SVT would have been perfect for its time and had a factory warranty on what go fast parts it did have. I see the ST and most other factory performance cars the same way, though when you have a factory forced induction car it makes certain power mods much easier to deal with.

The issue with SVTs today you find is they had to survive 20 years of ham fisted modders and people who just didn't' care about a lower cost used factory performance car. Finding a good clean example that runs well may be difficult. I see them for sale sometimes in the local are but haven't seen one that's clean and runs well. Most are listed as not running at all or "ran when parked".

 

[Rallyfan74]

It was a good hot hatch for it's day. If you were going to buy a car and mod the hell out of it anyway I would probably have went with the ZX3/5 but if you were looking for a platform to perform well "out of the box" and had no or small mod plans IMO the SVT would have been perfect for its time and had a factory warranty on what go fast parts it did have. I see the ST and most other factory performance cars the same way, though when you have a factory forced induction car it makes certain power mods much easier to deal with.

The issue with SVTs today you find is they had to survive 20 years of ham fisted modders and people who just didn't' care about a lower cost used factory performance car. Finding a good clean example that runs well may be difficult. I see them for sale sometimes in the local are but haven't seen one that's clean and runs well. Most are listed as not running at all or "ran when parked".

There was one on Carsandbids or maybe bringatrailer from last year I think, that was low miles and pristine and it went for cheap. Like really cheap, I couldn't believe it.

 

[Rallyfan74]

I know its an old thread but I have had an SVT Focus for the last 4 years - I mostly used it for rallycross - Honestly a super fun car to drive. If you find a clean lightly used one that hasn't been modified they can be great fun daily drivers -

Be warned that they are not easy cars to work on and since it is a limited model sometimes it makes it harder to work on because parts are not readily available -

Do not mod the car - If you mod it you are only asking for problems -

Short of my last rallycross event.

https://youtube.com/shorts/f3sm8w5OqMI?si=NZmE1YyKACEHkzP1

Cheers -

watched that vid, fantastic! interesting music choice Is it raised up a bit? Have a skid plate?