GTI or OPC

bazz26

I know the ST is a rare site on Irish roads compared to the GTi but there does seem to be a good few 1.4/1.6 litre Focus going around with ST type body kits and big alloy wheels which Ford seem to supply either as a factory or aftermarket option. Imo this deminises the ST and is like all those BMW 316i/318i with M badges or 1.6 Subaru Impreza with WRX rear wings.

sneakyST

yep i have seen a focus 1.6 with ST alloys but the body kits are not the same

JoeA3

yes Bazz, there are souped-up 1.4's with silly bodykits or "ST-lookalikes" as some dealers claim, but you'd want to be Stevie Wonder to confuse a real ST from one of these. Same goes for the Golf, there's plenty of lads driving around in wheezy 1.4 Golfs, on bad boy wheels

Henry Ford III

I agree. The 1.4 & 1.6 Focuses with bodykits are along way from looking like a proper ST.

God I miss that car:(

MarkN

What did you replace it with Henry?

Henry Ford III

A 1.6 Focus. Needs must.

p.s. It's a 3 door Zetec Connection, and it's a good car, but it's a little lacking in dynamic qualities compared to the ST.

el diablo

the Golf GTi every time. please do not buy the Opel. it's a very easy decision to make..;)

mrbungle

MarkN wrote:

I never saw more than 440-460kms out of a full tank in the GTI unless heading out of Dublin for a few days etc

I was getting around 600-615kms per tank and then got it service and started to get 650-670kms per tank !!

My journey is country dirt roads to main road to M1 to work and we don't drive slow up around Louth hey !!

ando

Personally I think the Opel is the best looking out of the current lot. Blue especially! GTI is nice and makes the most sense, but oh my god its far FAR to common now, driving home last night 3 passed me by within 2 mins!! After spending so much money on a car you want to feel special and unique but I don’t think id get that in a GTI.... to many hairdressers drive them! IMO the ST looks very plastically and bulky, not smooth or natural look but I would say is the best handling car, would be the most fun to drive, especially after a remap if you went down that road. Id say the new Civic type R is really a lot of fun to drive but oh my god its so ugly at the back... New Cupra doesn’t really do it for me either...

Personally if I had the money, it would be the Audi S3. Really impressed by it, looks, performance and its so rare aswell but the money needed for that is stupid!!

If I had to buy the GTI it would have to be in white with red trim around the grill and the old GTI style rotary phone alloys.

But i'd still take an orange ST every time. They are seriously cool.

Everyone concerned about fuel consumption shouldn't be buying cars like these.

JoeA3

mrbungle wrote:

I was getting around 600-615kms per tank and then got it service and started to get 650-670kms per tank !!

My journey is country dirt roads to main road to M1 to work and we don't drive slow up around Louth hey !!

wow, I struggled to get that from a tank in my 1.6 Audi! I've barely managed 500 kms in the GTI to a tank, but most of my journeys are short stop-start.

omega man

The Astra opc is a howl to drive, very raw but getting all that power down in wet conditions is a problem. The GTI will be reliable and has more than enough power and looks the part (a lot on the roads though) but i went for the octavia RS over the GTI for a few reasons, VW dealers been one! With the family and all that i also prefered the bigger RS and it came with far more standard kit than the GTI and for a few grand less too. To answer the question, i would go for the OPC purely for originality.

RobAMerc

bazz26 wrote:

I know the ST is a rare site on Irish roads

Funny you should say that, on Saturday comming up the N7 I overtook two ST's both blue near Naas - I was a bit shocked - was actually going to hang about for the first (06 reg) one to catch the second (07)(as that one was going a fair bit slower) to see the reactions.

Before someone says it - I was not confusing the 1.4, kitted model - these were both bona fide ST's