Focus ST

Big Balls

Maybe the GTI takes a few Ks to get an exhaust note with a loosened up engine but it without doubt has one.

Second of all, pure physics will tell you that you WILL NOT leave a GTI in your dust from ANY sets of lights. 25bhp extra against a car with a turbo (lower down grunt than ST) will not allow you to leave one at all until you are WELL into triple figures. Did you race the two side by side?? I doubt it!!

Some of the people in this thread need to realise that to waste another car you need a good 40/50bhp EXTRA to pull any decent amount to be able to say you "wasted them".

I cannot wait to meet one of you lads in an ST on the road, I really can't!

BrianD3

Big Balls wrote:

Maybe the GTI takes a few Ks to get an exhaust note with a loosened up engine but it without doubt has one.

Second of all, pure physics will tell you that you WILL NOT leave a GTI in your dust from ANY sets of lights. 25bhp extra against a car with a turbo (lower down grunt than ST) will not allow you to leave one at all until you are WELL into triple figures.

From
http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,26789-1847556_2,00.html

Golf
Model Volkswagen Golf GTI
Engine type Four-cylinder, 1984cc turbo
Power/Torque 197bhp @ 5100rpm / 207 lb ft at 1800rpm
Transmission Six-speed manual
Fuel/CO2 35.3mpg (combined) / 192g/km
Performance 0-62mph: 7.2sec, 146mph

Focus
Model Ford Focus ST
Engine type Five cylinders in line, 2522cc
Power/Torque 223bhp at 6100rpm / 228 lb ft at 1600rpm
Transmission Six-speed manual
Fuel/CO2 30.4mpg (combined), 224g/km
Performance 0-62mph: 6.5sec, 150mph

My money's on the ST.

Big Balls

What's on paper and what's in the real world are two very different things.

Heard of DSG have ya?? So you can wipe that post 7 seconds figure of your stats for a starter!!

All your figures suggest are that... wait for it... the two cars are very close.

HashSlinging

in fairness less than a second difference is nothing in real world figures, its probably not even a car lenth. In the top trumps world the ST wins on all counts so on that its a better car.

Edit

Anyone know the weight of each car.

BrianD3

Big Balls wrote:

What's on paper and what's in the real world are two very different things.

Heard of DSG have ya?? So you can wipe that post 7 seconds figure of your stats for a starter!!

Well those are the figures and they can't be denied. The Focus accelerates quicker than both the DSG and manual Golf. 7.2 for the manual vs 6.5 for the Focus for 0-62 is enough of a gap to be noticed. I don't have any figures for 0-100 but would expect the Focus to pull out a bigger gap.

Personally I would get a Clio 182 Trophy before either of these cars. unfortunately they were only a limited edition and are now sold out.

HungryJoey

Head over to UK brian. I can assure you no shortage of them over there. Everytime I pop over to the UK I see a couple on the road, Look well they do. Also the Megane 225BHP model looks really well, But obviously uncomparible to the ST and GTI. Actually I was reading the Megane 225 VS the Focus RS ( old ) in a top gear magazine during the summer. And it hammered it pretty much. Similar figures like between the ST and the Golf. But the megane did do justice to the RS. But in saying that, The Old RS wasn't anything amazing.

Hj

BrianD3

HungryJoey wrote:

Head over to UK brian. I can assure you no shortage of them over there. Everytime I pop over to the UK I see a couple on the road, Look well they do.

You sure you're seeing Clio Trophys? Or just the Clio 182/Cup. Not a massive difference between them but the Trophy just improves an already fun car using its suspension tweaks and (expensive) new dampers. All in a car that weighs ~200 kg less than the ST or GTi. An old school hot hatch which is true to the principles of the Mk1 Golf, R5 Turbo and 205 Gti yet in a modern package and with a sub 7 second 0-60 time. As for the Megane 225 - all reviews seem to rate this as fast but flawed and not as good overall as the GTi or ST. I'd still have one though.

HungryJoey

Oh you mabe be right actually. I appologies. I thought there was just a standard 182 Bhp Clio. Thats what I must be seeing, Still plenty of them about though over there. Havn't seen one here as of yet.

pm.

Go for the focus you dont see 2 many, unlike the gti, i wish i where in your shoes

marku-allen

BrianD3 wrote:

As for the Megane 225 - all reviews seem to rate this as fast but flawed and not as good overall as the GTi or ST. I'd still have one though.

yes its fast but how can anyone like the shape of the REAR :eek: of the car.... YUK.well maybe an anglegrinder will do the trick:D

Henry Ford III

Big Balls wrote:

Nothing. They said they'd review it at renewal time, I heard nothing from them. When is /was renewal? A modded 260bhp Golf is a bigger risk than a standard one. Everyone would accept that I reckon. I'd be concerned about the validity of my cover in your circumstances

The letter is your own concern. I am certain your manufacturers warranty is invalidated however. What Superchips might have said or what a VAG mechanic might have missed is irrelevant.

I'll repeat again, Superchips offer a full warranty. I heard you the first time I'm suggesting your VAG warranty is invalidated. I'd personally much prefer theirs to one given by Superchips. Your own call however.

I've no interest in googling either, and prefer any car as the manufacturer made it. I still think, as do many others more knowledgeable than either of us, that the ST is the superior car. I'll be test driving and possibly ordering one shortly btw.

*Think*, as opposed to *know*. I'll await to hear you've ordered one though. Whatever. Reviewers tend to know their stuff.

As regards ruining the handling to paraphrase - there's nothing to suggest that chassis can take an extra 60bhp either. I'm aware of the R32, but a 4wd setup cannot be compared to a tweaked fwd layout, as you know. Chalk and cheese. The earlier and much less powerful VR6 had fwd. Any clue there?

Read VW Driver (you'll probably say you don't want to and that's fair enough but save the uneducated spouting rubbish then;) ). I'm well aware of how you can ruin the performance and handling of a car, I've also read enough about what the remap companies can do for the GTI.

Bingo. One last question though. If you wanted 250+bhp and the ability to put that level of power down, why didn't you buy a R32 to begin with?

unkel

Henry Ford III wrote:

If you wanted 250+bhp and the ability to put that level of power down, why didn't you buy a R32 to begin with?

That's a valid point. Getting more than 200 bhp from a FWD car and getting good handling is hard. A few years ago it was thought not possible at all. I've only seen 250bhp in a FWD working well with the Alfa Romeo 147/156 GTA tbh

Gatster

[PHP]Think i'll be defo ordering one soon
Just really want to get a spin in one[/PHP]

Did you take the plunge? Tetonic shifts in my co. car policy/allowance (again) are looming up and I may be back in the game for one of these, waiting to hear from the procurement bloke...

mik_da_man

Didn't take the plunge just yet,
Thinkink about heading up north for a test drive in one soon, there are a few ex-demo models for sale up there.

once i get that over I think it'll be all go

Mik

mrbungle

Saw 1 of the orange STs yesterday in Swords, nice colour in the sun and if it was clean, but it was dirty, the day was dull and it looked kinda plain.

Still nice to see one. My opinion, I think it's still a Ford.

Maybe I'm biased, DSG GTI due for delivery in 2 months !!

sharkman

mrbungle wrote:

Saw 1 of the orange STs yesterday in Swords, nice colour in the sun and if it was clean, but it was dirty, the day was dull and it looked kinda plain.

Still nice to see one. My opinion, I think it's still a Ford

I saw the same one in swords yesterday , Nice car , looked very well ...But !!!!

Big Balls

Henry Ford III wrote:

Bingo. One last question though. If you wanted 250+bhp and the ability to put that level of power down, why didn't you buy a R32 to begin with?

That's a pretty stupid question when remaps have been mentioned. Obviously the cost is significantly lower???

An R32 will retail at over €50,000 here and I for one, wouldn't pay that much.

fletch

Saw an orange ST today...some bloody coffin dodger drivin it! Altho I was in front drivin my mates RX8 so didn't feel too bad

Big Balls

If the Love Ulster parade is coming back, I would not be driving an orange car ANYWHERE in Dublin ! :eek:

Henry Ford III

Fair point. That dayglo orange paint is expensive too. A c.€1300 extra. From a marketing perspective it's highly effective obviously, as Golf GTI fans are talking about it.

Performance Blue is the optimum colour imho.

mrbungle

I still think that there should be a slightly more aggressive front on the ST something to make it look a bit more than a standard focus. Maybe I haven't looked close enough.

Henry Ford III

Ok guys test I drove an ST today for about 25 minutes. Alone

It was pretty damp and I wasn't going that quickly but can report this:-

1/. Engine. Loads of power and a wide band of torque. It was a brand new car with delivery mileage, so I took it relatively easy, but performance and grip were impressive. The exhaust makes a lovely noise when you blip the throttle, and there's a great "thrum" of an engine note higher up the rev band. A 5 cylinder engine is a first for me, and the noise is muted but purposeful at the same time. Power delivery is linear - no sudden surges, just lots of pull, in any gear.

2/. Ride comfort was quite good, considering the performance nature of the car. It's firm, but won't rattle your teeth out.

3/. Recaro seats (it was an ST3 with leather) were superb. You stayed in place.

4/. Gearbox - for a brand new car the shift was superb. The clutch "takes up" much quicker than on a "cooking" Focus.

5/. Brakes. A bit of a shock tbh. They bite hard, and quickly. I got used to them after a few minutes. Very powerful anchors.

6/. Build quality. No issues. Seems very well put together.

7/. Interior. Not that different to a regular Focus tbh. Black headlining makes it feel purposeful. I didn't really look at the additional instrumentation - I was too busy driving.

8/. Handling. Didn't push hard at all. Too damp. I'd imagine it'll be excellent.

9/. Visual impact. The car was blue, and even at that quite a few heads turned and gawped. Wasn't important to me, but might influence a few.

All in a very impressive bit of kit.

I want one. Badly.

Henry Ford III

Henry Ford III wrote:

Ok guys test I drove an ST today for about 25 minutes. Alone

It was pretty damp and I wasn't going that quickly but can report this:-

1/. Engine. Loads of power and a wide band of torque. It was a brand new car with delivery mileage, so I took it relatively easy, but performance and grip were impressive. The exhaust makes a lovely noise when you blip the throttle, and there's a great "thrum" of an engine note higher up the rev band. A 5 cylinder engine is a first for me, and the noise is muted but purposeful at the same time. Power delivery is linear - no sudden surges, just lots of pull, in any gear.

2/. Ride comfort was quite good, considering the performance nature of the car. It's firm, but won't rattle your teeth out.

3/. Recaro seats (it was an ST3 with leather) were superb. You stayed in place.

4/. Gearbox - for a brand new car the shift was superb. The clutch "takes up" much quicker than on a "cooking" Focus.

5/. Brakes. A bit of a shock tbh. They bite hard, and quickly. I got used to them after a few minutes. Very powerful anchors.

6/. Build quality. No issues. Seems very well put together.

7/. Interior. Not that different to a regular Focus tbh. Black headlining makes it feel purposeful. I didn't really look at the additional instrumentation - I was too busy driving.

8/. Handling. Didn't push hard at all. Too damp. I'd imagine it'll be excellent.

9/. Visual impact. The car was blue, and even at that quite a few heads turned and gawped. Wasn't important to me, but might influence a few.

All in a very impressive bit of kit.

I want one. Badly.

Cool sounds good

Although if it has delivery millage its safe to assume the brakes havn't been run in yet, which might explain the hard bite.

Gegerty

Drive a 1.6 zetec. don't know if its the same brakes on the ST but I noticed a hard bite to them as well when i first got it. they do soften up nicely though.

BrianD3

I saw a blue ST in Cavan. Looks like Jackson's Ford Garage have one. Also saw a northern reg silver one.

TBH I wasn't too impressed by the exterior styling. But it's not surprising as the normal Focus is a plain and high set car and there's only so much tweaking that can be done to improve things .

Henry Ford III

Happy days. I will be ordering a new ST tomorrow, having sold my C-Max this evening

mik_da_man

Lucky Chap Henry,

Hope to be ordering mine soon too.

Just out of curiousty what extras are ya getting on it?

Mik

Henry Ford III

Metallic paint, heated front screen and a spacesaver spare tyre.

Nothing else. I'll probably sell it within 12 months, so any further extras would be a waste of money.

Brend

Personally i would prefer the Golf R32, Fords dont have great resale value because they start to fall apart after about 5 years.

bazz26

The Focus ST is most similar to the Golf GTi rather than the R32.

And while I am not a big fan of Fords they have been building them pretty good for the last 10 years or so. Build quality and reliability in the Focus and Mondeo is far superior unlike the days of the Sierra and Escort/Orion.