These two are two American vehicles with a great quality to price ratio. While both of them are due to be released for purchase in 2012, the Focus ST was revealed more than a year ago, in Frankfurt.
The Dart is less powerful. It comes with three possible choices for the engine, and the most powerful one is the 2.4-liter 184 horsepower with 171 lb-ft of torque. That can’t even be compared with Ford’s 247 horsepower 2.0-liter Turbocharged EcoBoost engine that delivers 266 lb-ft of torque. Although there is such a big difference in terms of power, the Focus is like a brick wall in comparison to the Dart when it comes to aerodynamics. Dodge really put some work into the aerodynamic performance of the Dart, spending more than 600 hours in the wind tunnel.
Dodge hasn’t released any information on the possible fuel consumption of the Dart, and it is hard to tell which car will win in this department. Ford’s Focus uses an EcoBoost Engine that goes 26 mpg (combined), but this engine also produces 63 horsepower more, so that might make a difference. Either way, both cars will probably have less than average fuel consumption for their class.
Focus comes with a six-speed manual transmission as standard, and there is a high possibility that Ford also releases their 7-speed dual clutch automatic transmission for the 2013 Focus. In the Dart, the standard transmission is also a six-speed manual, and there are other two options: a six-speed dual clutch automatic, and a regular six-speed automatic. The Dart probably wins this one, since the automatic on the Focus is only a possible upgrade.
The price difference is also quite large. The official pricing for the Focus hasn’t been announced yet, but it is estimated that it will cost between $25,000 and $30,000, while the Dart only costs $16,000. So that brings us to the question: are the extra $10,000 worth it? You get to decide that.
