Would a BRZ/FR-S make me more happy than my Focus ST?

I feel like a bit of an ungrateful jerk because I just can’t seem to love my FoST. It’s a beautiful 2013 ST2, with the recaros and such. But I just can’t become a fan of it. My wife had a base 2016 focus and this feels like the same car, only faster. It doesn’t feel like it handles any better. Currently my wife has a 2017 Fiesta ST, and we both love that car. It’s slightly slower, but feels faster. Much more lively. The extra 500 lbs in the FoST is obvious. The extra space of the focus body is nice, but we have an econoline if I really need room to carry something. 

Having said all that, would I be happy with a brz?  Would it fee more engaging?  The FoST just seems disinterested in enthusiastic driving. Sort of like a lazy cat, whereas the FiST is like a super eager to please puppy. I like rowdy. The FoST is not rowdy. I spend 70 miles commuting a day, and the FoST is not doing it for me. 

Is the brz bad in the snow?  Of course I would run snow tires. They seem to have a reasonable trunk, so while not the main thing, but storage is handy as I do use my cars. 

Or, should I just trade for a FiST?  It’s not like my wife and I have both had Miatas for 14 years, we could have the same daily’s as well. They seem to be similar value. As well as a 13 or so brz/fr-s. So price is all similar. 

What do you guys think??

I’m a big guy.  Have you crawled into a twin?   The Fiesta is also a challenge to me but the twins are tough with a coat on.

I’ve read on this forum guys claim the Fiesta ST is better than.....(.fill in the high dollar sports car)

I have only test driven both, and it was several years ago, but I would stick with the FoST for a 70 mile commute.  While I ended up not buying either, the FoST seems to me the better real world daily.  As far as engagement, the engine (stock) in the Twins was a big let down... not inspiring at all, IMHO.  It does have the better chassis between the two, though.

As an alternative, have you done a complete checkup on your FoST?  Might there be something wrong that you're not aware of?  Boost leak or something like that?  It doesn't seem like a stock base Focus should feel anywhere near as fast... 

In reply to Rodan :

Sorry, I guess I worded that wrong. The FoST is wayyy faster, but handling wise it doesn’t seem any better. Where the FiST feels so much better than a fiesta all over, the FoST only feels faster than a focus. I just fee like it’s boring me to death on my commute!  It’s fast and that’s awesome, but it’s not very exciting. 

The car won't make you happy, you will make you happy.

I probably misread it...

Commutes are boring... not really a solution for that.  

More seriously, what tires are you running on the FoST?  Good tires are fantastic on the track or AutoX, but can make a fun car pretty boring on normal roads.  

In reply to Rodan :

Commuting in my Miata isn’t boring!  But with salt on the roads I don’t drive all winter lol. 

It has Goodyear Eagle blahablahblahs on it... they seem to stick pretty well. Maybe I need less traction to be more fun!

I daily an ND1 RF 80 miles a day, but that replaced a subaru crosstrek. I will say that I would prefer something with a powerband like the ND1/2 or the FiST. I know the power band of the crosstrek is slightly different than the Twins but its the same basic motor just with 50 less hp and awd and 600lbs heavier.  I just dont like the way the flat 4 made power.

In reply to joey48442 :

The only real thing I liked about commuting with a Miata was that you could take the top down.  Other than that, the commute is boring.  Traffic is a large part of that- as the odds of having fun on the ONE on ramp that matters is not all that great.

Have you commuted in the FiST?  If you like it better, what is it that you like better?  Perhaps that will help figure out if the BRZ will be that much better than the FoST.

I don't drive the car (FRS) all that much, but I do drive to track events (as far as 7 hours away) and it's not a problem (poly bushings + bilstein/springs).  Again, it's once in a while thing so can't compare to a 70mile commute.  As far as whether it'll be more fun - I think it all depends on what you value.  Acceleration wise it's slower for sure, but it's a willing partner if you want to drive it in anger.  

Driving in snow is no issue with snow tires (I'm in Chicago).  In fact it's more fun because less traction allows the car to appear to have more power than it does, as long as you're not hooning in traffic.  Depending on your commute and driving style, I typitcally see ~35mpg on highway @ 65mph and ~100lb of track tools.  

Why not go test drive a new one and see how you like it?  The car hasn't changed all that much in the last five years (some minor suspension stuff + 5hp).

Alternatively, maybe try replacing the suspension bits to see if that livens the car more so it's not so "lazy?"

In reply to alfadriver :

I hear you. But after all these years with miatas, I’ve never tired of them. I’ve probably commuted/pleasure drove them 200k miles collectively. I think I love it so much because it feels like they have a purpose. Something I wrestle with myself, I ften feel like I don’t have much purpose but that’s a different discussion ha. 

I have commuted in the fiesta, as my wife is off on fridays so I’ll take her car. I love the higher revs on the highway, the fact that it feels more wrung out, the choppierness of the shorter wheelbase, the road noise, the less weight that seems to not soak up all the sensation of the road, and it also has a way better located cup holder, which is strangely as important to me as a lot of those other quirks

In reply to bcp2011 :

I’ve thought of that but I don’t think that will hide the weight!

In reply to bcp2011 :

We tried to yesterday but the dealer had just closed when I rolled up!

joey48442 said:

In reply to alfadriver :

I hear you. But after all these years with miatas, I’ve never tired of them. I’ve probably commuted/pleasure drove them 200k miles collectively. I think I love it so much because it feels like they have a purpose.

If you want the visceral experience I think the twins will do it much better than a Focus.  They were designed for different purposes...  And if you really want to have more of an aural experience with a little more power, a set of headers/exhaust/tune + springs can wake up the car quite a bit.  With headers/exhaust + light weight wheels you can prob get ~100lbs of weight savings.  If you don't need back seat, etc. you can go even further... I've seen cars weight 2500 that still seem liveable on daily basis, but that definition varies person by person...

I went through the same thing with mine. I couldn't find any reason to get rid of it. . . It was reliable, fairly fuel efficient, a good auto crosser, and comfortable for daily commuting. It's just missing chutzpah. It is so competent that it gets kind of dull.

So I sold it and bought a C5, put bucket seats in it, and have some maintenance item to fix most weekends. But, I'm smiling all the way to work and back, especially in the snow on Blizzaks.

If you traded your fost for a fist i don't think you'd regret it. If you get into a frsbrz i think there is some chance you will regret it. If you buy an ND Miata i don't think you'll regret it. 

Vigo said:

If you buy an ND Miata i don't think you'll regret it. 

This is another option if you don't need the back seat or storage space... NC or ND Miata...

maybe a Fiata for the fun turbo.

Doing burnouts in gridlock is fun. It’s hard to do sitters in. Fwd. but much easier in a rwd with crappy 400tw tires. I watched a pickup in Portland gridlock ROAST his back set. He Shut down the Ross Island bridge for a few minutes. I was two cars back and standing on my hood encouraging him. Though I doubt he could see me after 30secs... there are creative ways to liven a commute, though most aren’t legal. 

I can’t really tell you what will work for you.  I can tell you that based on my experience cheap cars that exceed expectations are always better than more expensive cars that fail to deliver.  

I was not a fan of the Fiesta ST ride quality and the Twin ride quality is worse IMHO. The Fiesta has solid mid range punch, not as good as the focus, but solid. 

The twin is nothing close. If you like the power. You will miss it in a twin. Full honesty... I don't like twins... 

I would encourage you to look at a GTi with a performance pack and the diff. They're nicer cars to own. 

In reply to spacecadet :

I get you. The power isn’t a big deal to me. The one thing the FoST does really well is go, but quick acceleration is the thing I get bored with the soonest.  

In reply to spacecadet :

The only issue with the MK6-7 GTI's is that they are more refined than the FoST. In most cases that's a good thing, but it seems like joey48442 is specifically looking for something more lively than the FoST. I had a MK7 GTI SE (power pack, VSC, Golf R brakes) and I ran into the same issue as Joey described. I just couldn't love the GTI.

I suspect most of it is down to the actual commute itself and not any particular fault of the FoST in this case or the GTI in my case. But in my opinion your best bet is  to go with the attributes you know you like, probably something like a NC/ND Miata.

When it comes to driving any RWD in the snow, tires are key. I drove the "snap oversteer prone" AP1 S2000 through six Chicagoland winters and was fine with Continental DWS'. A true winter tire will serve you even better. I'd be much more concerned if you were targeting a heavier car with big torque output, but light, good handling sports cars tackle snow just fine, with the proper tires.

AnthonyGS said:

I can’t really tell you what will work for you.  I can tell you that based on my experience cheap cars that exceed expectations are always better than more expensive cars that fail to deliver.  

 

Agree here. I daily an 02 zx2, light, gets great gas mileage and is pretty fun to drive. iI drive about 70 miles most days too.

Its also pretty badass in snow as long as we arent talking a foot of snow