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Hatchbacks Mazda3 Mazdaspeed3 vs. VW V GTI vs. Civic Si
1379 messages, Last post on Oct 01, 2009 at 10:54 AM
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Replying to: creakid1 (Aug 09, 2007 10:52 pm) if the focus or mazda 3 accomplished what they do using a torsion beam, than i'm sure you wouldn't complain.  there is no denying the purity of the type r philosophy. plus creakid, you haven't driven the type r have you? i'd say the brits are pretty savvy on their hatches...they know what they are doing.
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Replying to: creakid1 (Aug 09, 2007 11:25 pm) i was under the impression that that 3 here in states was the only offering with the control blades....so your saying that even your focus st has them? but then again, you and top gear also think that regardless of the suspension, this older focus is more 'fun'? ok i get that. i'm just trying to confirm that this is what you are saying! because you mentioned it 'beating' the 'new' version, whereas i thought the c-1 was kinda oldish and not anything 'new'. |
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never mind, i got educated on wikipedia. i know the differences now, so i guess the question i have is if the mk1focus in europe is the same suspension as the focus st we have here, because the wikipedia article on the american focus that i just finished reading didn't identify the chassis codes on the american focuses, just the euro ones. having said that, compared to the older euro focus AND the new c-1, most euro guys, including top gear, still think that the rabbit feels the nicest with regards to ride comfort, while stil having a sporty edge, even if its not as big as the old focus or c-1. so yeah, you were right. the rabbit does kinda ride like a luxury car.
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Replying to: eldaino (Aug 10, 2007 6:10 am) According to Brit magazines, the better Civic Europeans dream of is the multi-link-rear sport sedan privately imported from Japan! MkV's Control Blades really improved the MkIV GTI. Read post #44 & #45: creakid1, "Ford Focus 2005 release date" #44, 6 Oct 2004 2:56 pm Even today, VW never really duplicated the liveliness of the original MkI GTI, which has torsion-beam. But again, it's the steering that shines, & having multi-link rear on the MkI Rabbit is likely to make it even better. So far, I've collected a non-sport (springs/swaybar modified to match the LX sedan purely for comfort!) '00 Civic hatch, which sucks in steering feel & ratio, but its multi-link Double Wishbones all around was amazing when showing how evenly all 4 wheels drifted the same time! I doubt if the new Euro Civic can achieve such balanced drifting talent, or just having this level of road holding w/o hurting the ride comfort. I also collected an '84 MkI Jetta Wolfsburg (Recaro front seats) coupe & added GTI swaybars. Repairs have been troublesome, but, besides the fun manual steering, the rear seat was very comfy & cushes road shocks uncannily well! Last year, I collected the latest E36 -- '99 328is. Looking forward to power-wag its tail by adding LSD. My latest collection is of course, the just-discontinued '07 Focus ST w/ a big 4-cyl & quick steering ratio, & corners way sharper & w/ less front-end plow than my 6-cyl BMW. I'm still keeping my twin-cam '90 Protege LX w/ TTL suspension, which does scary donuts all the time, especially in the rain. But its steering feel is so good & the ratio is quick.
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Replying to: eldaino (Aug 10, 2007 6:43 am) Only our SVT had identical setting as their ST170. Our ST sedan also had the same suspension but w/o the lowered springs. Euro suspension settings vary from std to Ghia to ST170 to RS. Lately, ours starts from S/SE (no rear swaybar) to SES to ST. Back around '02, our Street Edition sedan/wagon (comes in bright yellow, red or blue) had Euro-setting suspension. I test drove it, & it felt pretty firm -- probaby the Euro Ghia setting. I ordered one but then cancelled it, b/c the Advance Track (stability program) was only available on the softly sprung ZTS. The old-design ligher-body C-170 has no subframes, so the car feels more direct to handle but noisier than the C-1. By the way, the Control Blade is just a cost-effective way to duplicate the expensive multi-link found in the early-'90's MkI Mondeo wagon. For those of you not familiar w/ C-1's (& C-170's) original ancestor Mondeo wagon, here's a recent ST220 sedan version of it: http://www.wheels24.co.za/Wheels24/Galleries/w24_GalleriesModelPicDisplay/0,,675- - - - - - - - - - - - -13649,00.html I'm sure it looks very familiar  http://www.wheels24.co.za/Wheels24/Galleries/w24_GalleriesModelCompNavIndex/0,,6- - - - - - - - - - - 75,00.html & the 1st mass-produced C-1 Focus sedan started in Taiwan since late '04: http://roadtest.u-car.com.tw/roadtest-detail.asp?rid=61 Scroll down & see another interesting corporate face from a Foreign-market Ford. Wow, like the Golf V, it even has rear A/C ducts. No wonder I don't think the exterior of my '07 C-170 U.S. Focus ST looks outdated 
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Replying to: eldaino (Aug 09, 2007 6:36 am) |
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Add a lag-free supercharger to the 1.4 turbo can do no less while less fuel/emission is needed: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/longtermtests/209883/volkswagen_golf.htm- - - - - - - - l This engine is finally coming to America along w/ the new body: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/spyshots/209759/volkswagen_golf.html The bulky, heavy, weak low-end, gritty-sounding & thirsty 2.5 5-cyl is finally dead. So the output of your next std Rabbit can be tuned to "Edition 30" level? & everyone of them can now ride on DSG. I wonder what's gonna happen to the 4-link Control Blade rear suspension when they simplify it this time.
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Replying to: creakid1 (Aug 10, 2007 7:56 am) which ones? all the recent ones i have read are NOT talking about the jdm type r (the sedan you mentioned) but about the torsion-beamed hatch that is exclusive to them. (europe.) i think the type r from japan would fare horrible in europe, its suspension is tuned way to much for track use to be a daily driver for most.
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Replying to: creakid1 (Aug 10, 2007 6:31 pm) man! weak low end? what are you talking about!? thats the problem with the 2.5: its MOSTLY low end! I dunno about the rabbit being tuned to edition 30 levels...where on this report does it say that? and i didn't see where they said they would simplify the control blades...they are just tweaking them. and granted, this is a uk website: the 2.5 engine is nonexistant there, so we don't know what vw of america has in store for us yet, even though i wouldn't mind some different engine choices. I just hope the base price doesn't go up, the interior retains its luxury (thoug i feel that this is going to be the first thing to go, it'll still be nice, about as nice as mazda or honda, but it may not be slightly superior like it is now. And they better keep the rabbit nameplate!) i didn't find any real proof or insinuation that the 1.4 is coming to the US. IT may make the gti irrelevant! to top it off, the mk VI looks only very slightly different than the mkV; and its hard to tell with all the coverings. But i only detect slight refreshings of the body, a bit more muscular. the biggest changes will be under the hood and in how its produced.
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Replying to: eldaino (Aug 12, 2007 2:22 pm) |
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