ZanatWork Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/first-drive-ford-focus-st-mountune-estate-2013-07-26#.UfMPMR-myzs.facebook Yes, I know the torque steer issue is annoying to me (and mentioned in the review, though I'm sure someone here will just decide they don't have valid opinions or something equally silly), but...I've wished for a small performance wagon from Ford ever since driving my buddy's first-gen WRX wagon.I also think the Focus wagon is lovely, in general. Adding power to it makes the hoon in me sad that this variant if very unlikely to get here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IMSA-XJR9 Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 I have fingers crossed the Focus ST wagon is sold here (not holding breath) in the next couple of years. I would purchase one in a snap!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 Think he closest you'll get to a Focus Wagon ST is the Escape with the 2.0L EB engine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edstock Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 Put a Lincoln top hat on the platform, add AWD and give AUDI something to think about? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 I'm sure someone here will just decide they don't have valid opinions More like pretending that the Golf GTi doesn't have torque steer is silly, and pretending that torque steer can be eliminated is silly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLPRacing Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 Think he closest you'll get to a Focus Wagon ST is the Escape with the 2.0L EB engine. I drive one everyday, it's really impressive. It leaves me feeling what a tuned 2.0EB Escape AWD w/6 speed manual would be like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron W. Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 Me, I just like the title. Tired of LXthis, RXthat MKwhatever, happy face front ends, fish face front ends etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 Didn't wagons only account for about 5% of Focus sales when they offered them here before? Been there, done that. I don't think Ford will be in much of a hurry to bring it back here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSFan00 Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 5% is about right. Of course, there was no performance option, and also at the time the notion of a $30K C-class Focus was dubious. And gas was not $4/gallon so many more chose the Edge/Escape-sized vehicles for wagon-type duties (at the time the Escape was BOF of course, not a lifed Foci). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 so many more chose the Edge/Escape-sized vehicles for wagon-type duties And they still would. (at the time the Escape was BOF of course, not a lifed Foci). Escape was never BOF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSFan00 Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 Don't know why I said that. CD2-based truck-like Escape. I don't see how the 20 MPG (real world) Edges will continue to sell 125-140K/year with $4+ gas. As with Focus ST, bringing over the wagon will start to make a lot more sense very quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 (edited) I don't see how the 20 MPG (real world) Edges will continue to sell 125-140K/year with $4+ gas. I don't see that as any obstacle to me buying another one or keeping mine. And there's zero reason to expect that its fuel economy won't improve. I'm averaging just under 22 MPG in my Sport, BTW. I imagine real world numbers on the 2.0 EB could only be better, especially with FWD. Edited July 29, 2013 by NickF1011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MKII Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 (edited) They said Americans won't buy small cars, hatch backs, loaded expensive spec Foci. Maybe wagons are one of those variants Americans won't buy as well Fast, fun, and practical Edited July 29, 2013 by MKII Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 (edited) They said Americans won't buy small cars, hatch backs, loaded expensive spec Foci. Maybe wagons are one of those variants Americans won't buy as well Fast, fun, and practical Hatchbacks have had a proven track record of selling moderately well over the past decade-plus. Wagons have a proven track record of the exact opposite over the same timeframe. Edited July 29, 2013 by NickF1011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 They said Americans won't buy small cars, hatch backs, loaded expensive spec Foci.Maybe wagons are one of those variants Americans won't buy as well Fast, fun, and practical Europe versus USA. Stationwagon is more popular in Europe where as Kuga/Escape is by far more popular in the USA. Ford obviously feels that adding a stationwagon may create internal competition and bleed sales from Escape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSFan00 Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 But the Euro Focus (incl. ST) and Euro Escape (Kuga) seem to have done pretty well! (little) C-max I guess too. We'll see how the new stang does over there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 We'll see how the new stang does over there. I wouldn't expect much from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 (edited) But the Euro Focus (incl. ST) and Euro Escape (Kuga) seem to have done pretty well! (little) C-max I guess too. We'll see how the new stang does over there. Outside of the C-Max, both where existing models already sold in the US. As for ST sales, I wonder at times because there seems like there is a ST at a local dealership from where I work at that has one bolted to their parking lot...its been there since before April! The reason why Ford prefers the Escape to a Focus wagon is quite simply the margins on the Escape are much better then a Focus wagon would ever be. A Focus wagon would start at less then 20K, where as the base model Escape starts at 22K Edited July 30, 2013 by silvrsvt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 The reason why Ford prefers the Escape to a Focus wagon is quite simply the margins on the Escape are much better then a Focus wagon would ever be. A Focus wagon would start at less then 20K, where as the base model Escape starts at 22K Or it could be that the Escape outsells all similar sized wagons by at least a couple of orders of magnitude. Buyers in the U.S. want CUVs not wagons. It's that simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehaase Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 People who would buy a Focus wagon (like me) have little or no interest in an Escape. However, selling the car to the few thousand of us obviously isn't worth Ford's time and money. I certainly wouldn't pay the same price for a Focus wagon that Ford charges for the Escape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 People who would buy a Focus wagon (like me) have little or no interest in an Escape. However, selling the car to the few thousand of us obviously isn't worth Ford's time and money. I certainly wouldn't pay the same price for a Focus wagon that Ford charges for the Escape. That's just it. Ford can sell 20K Escapes every month while a Focus wagon would be lucky to sell 1K/month. It's just a different market. Sucks if you like something nobody else likes but that's life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZanatWork Posted July 30, 2013 Author Share Posted July 30, 2013 I think it could find customers, because $4 gas and the cost/weight of awd systems make compelling arguments for smaller vehicles with utility approaching that of baby CUVs that never see dirt.It's also geographic. When I lived in New Mexico, there was visibly much less market for them (though there were plenty of Focus wagons around), but up here by Seattle? Baby Audi, Subaru, and Volvo wagons are pretty thick on the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 You only need to look at sales volume of small CUVs vs. wagons. They might be more popular in one area but overall the numbers are pretty clear. Americans want CUVs way more than wagons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 Compact CUVS vs. Compact Wagons Compact Coupes vs. Compact Hatchbacks BOF vs. Unibody Coke vs. Pepsi Tastes great/Less Filling Empire vs. Rebellion Pork Side vs. Birds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 (edited) But the Euro Focus (incl. ST) and Euro Escape (Kuga) seem to have done pretty well! (little) C-max I guess too. We'll see how the new stang does over there. Please understand that when you say that Kuga does well, it's sales in Europe are still around a third of those in the USA and that due to higher fuel prices in Europe, people tend to look more towards versatile cars including hatch and S/W over sedan and by extension, people in Europe have to really want an SUV like Kuga to justify all the added costs of ownership over a SW. Arguably, those impediments to owning an SUV are far less in the USA, hence their popularity. Basically, there are completely different buying patterns between the two regions but that's not to say a station wagon Focus wouldn't sell well in the USA, the problem is with internal competition with those 29K/mth Escape sales, why should Ford risk those when they probably see little likelihood of growing sales. We may see a time when the market becomes that fragmented that Ford may need to increase its vehicle variations to keep sales volume high but at the moment, it seems that scales of economy with reduced production complication are driving this coupled with the sales success with the current product mix. Edited July 30, 2013 by jpd80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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