So the shopping began.
First, I looked at this 2015 focus ST. Awesome color, shitty dealer, waaaay too noisy of an exhaust.
Next was another focus st and a hyundia elantra sport. Focus st was quick and the steering, OMG is it direct. I didn't like the seats though. Too snug for me. It has the partial leather/cloth ST2 trim level.
Elantra reminded me A LOT of my R/T. It sounded great, wasn't fast but wasn't slow and extremely comfortable. It was also bigger in person too. The car was loaded with everything you could want to less than 20k new. I don't exactly remember how the car drove but, that is exactly it, it wasn't exciting.
Here are some of the cars the Ford dealer has RS and STs
Of course I had to try the GTI. Quick car, refined, quiet on the highway. It also had great handling. Oh yeah, one hell of a mark down too!
I looked at the GTI in the morning but I wanted to compare the Focus ST to it one more time before I decided. I found a used ST3 close by and sat in it. My mind was made up. I was SUPER close to buying the GTI but... the ST has some character, it felt right. The GTI just does what you want with little excitement. With the ST, you floor it and you experience the torque steer and the harshness. I wanted that. I was also somewhat worried about VW reliability. Yeah, I know they are better than they were but the whole dieselgate thing and my sister already needed her warranty twice soo.
So I traded in the neon (which is now on craigslist. Some person will get a great car but, when I was replacing the power steering line, I broke some other things and jerry-rigged it back, and rust). I am sad but also happy to move on. I loved that car and it treated me great. I could not have asked for more from it.
So, next up, my NYG will be for sale this spring/summer and a whole bunch of my neon stuff too. I will still have my 98 r/t and the SRT so I am not done yet. I just need to consolidate. I figure I can get one winter out of the srt and then do the swap next year using the srt. We will see.
