The Focus is 5.8 inches longer and 140 pounds heavier than the GTI, but the extra sheetmetal doesn't translate into more interior room. There are two fewer inches of rear-seat legroom in the Ford but more space in the cargo hold. Some may miss the compactness of the old two-door SVT Focus, but thankfully the extra head- and legroom don't compromise the dynamics of the modern four-door. The new ST is a real back-road hooligan. As soon as the going gets tough, the intrepid Ford will roll up its sleeves, take a deep breath, and assume total attack mode. Screaming from apex to apex, flying over brows, and crashing into dips, the Focus prepared by the Special Vehicle Team snaps after every pothole, kicks every ridge, and fights every surface change. Corner by corner, the blue streak will tighten the line a little bit more, push the braking point deeper and deeper into the bend, celebrate the fine art of lift-off oversteer, turn in eerily late yet never lose composure or adhesion. This awesome performance is accompanied by a spine-tingling soundtrack composed of tires howling for mercy, turbocharger vanes whining under full boost pressure, and ABS/ESP chips snarling in despair. Criticism? Maneuverability suffers from the oversize turning circle, the steering keeps pulling and tugging in protest, and the suspension setup is as stiff as a dry martini on the rocks.
Step out of the Ford and into the VW, and you enter a different world. It is quieter, less mechanical and physical, more structured and refined, German engineering wrapped in German build quality. Sehr schoen. The GTI is creamy and seamless, a tall-gear-and-low-revs express, very well balanced and very quick. If the ST is a slalom king, then the GTI is a master of winding roads. What this car does best is pick up momentum and carry it through, constantly compressing and expanding energy like one big muscle on wheels, totally elastic and yet absolutely sure-footed, an intelligent projectile that has learned to fly up and down, left and right, slower and faster. Even on the optional nineteen-inch Pirelli PZeros (a size not offered in the States), the car from Wolfsburg is more compliant, more comfortable, and more laid-back than the ST. True, the VW's steering is not as quick as the lightweight direction-finder fitted to the Ford, but it is less nervous at high speed and doesn't allow torque to work your palms as hard as the ST. This overriding smoothness is further enhanced by the dual-clutch automatic transmission, which never ever puts a single dent into the perfectly progressive acceleration curve. Things to be improved? The brakes are too soft, the fuel consumption is too high, and the list of available high-tech extras is too short.
These are two different cars for two different types of customers. An ST buyer might briefly look at the GTI, but the mind-set of a prospective Volkswagen owner is probably too resolved to consider the extroverted Focus. As is almost always the case, the final decision is a matter of taste and ability. Both contenders are seriously quick, but the Focus is sharper-edged. Always on the prowl, dynamically quite radical, and totally committed, the ST is a highly involving hot hatch -- despite and because of its rough-and-ready personality. It is, in a nutshell, the better choice for young and keen drivers and fashion-conscious street jockeys. In the other corner of our imaginary ring sits the VW, which is is better balanced, less playful, and more mature than its challenger. A deceptively quick cruiser, the sixth-generation GTI might be ultimately less engaging than the Focus, but it is finely honed and complete, a master of the nuances of motion, an amazingly versatile tool, and truly rewarding to drive. On Sunday mornings, after a round of golf or for that impromptu back-road detour, you would invariably reach for the Ford keys. At other times, however, most of us might be better off with the fob that reads GTI.
You may find that it's shockingly good for the $. Or you may hate it, who knows. But anyone who even likes a little bit of power and appreciates a good $/go-fast equation should feel that sucker to redline in the first 2 gears.
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