Andrewj

Any views?

MY99 Turbo is killing me financially.

Want something nippy but much less expensive in terms of service costs (60k for £600?), service intervals (7500), petrol (£40 per week), but still some fun to drive.

Thanks for the comments.

Aj

Student Phil

I looked into one recently but never got round to a test drive. The reason for this was that I popped along to my local BMW dealership and testdrove a Mini Cooper. I fell in love instantly and ordered one the same day, decent spec, for 14k. The handling is awesome, its nippy although not fast, it costs £100 for 5yrs servicing, is economical, holds its value amazingly and most of all, puts a huge grin on my face whenever I take it for a spin. Alright, the image might not suit everyone, but take one for a spin before you decide.

16vmarc

how about a clio cup?

Rich D

iTrader: (12)

The ST170 aint that quick... drive one & see.

Go for a Clio Cup, or a 172 if you want all the toys!

jasey

Had one for 3 months - it had to go cos it didn't go

rb5 286

iTrader: (2)

test drove ST170 when looking for new car for wife, when comparing to 1.6 and 1.8 zetec there was hardly any difference in performance, ok it has sport suspension, big brakes and flash interior but the extra £5k tag and 16 insurance group seemed OTT

ended up going for the 1.8 MP3 model which with FMC employee stood us in for £9k brand new.

I would suggest going for the Civic Type R or Leaon Cupra R for same sorta money a ST170 is going for, have seen 2nd hand ST170's in Ford dealer for £17k!!!!!

WRX Wannabe

Ibiza Cupra 200+ BHP and are going 51plate for 8K - 10K

Check the FOR SALE section as Gills Fan has a sweet example for sale

Full spec and a BARGAIN IMO

Rajd

Andrew,

I went from a MY00 to a ST170 six months ago. The performance, while nowhere as good as an Impreza Turbo, is very good if you keep the revs above 3500. It's also very good on the twisties.

I did miss the the kick in the back from the turbo for the first couple of months but my driving style has now adjusted and I would say for real world driving the ST170 is almost fast as the MY00.

From the financial point of view the ST170 does about 30 MPG (22 for the Impreza), costs me £250 less to insure and only needs 1 service per year (about £110).

IMHO the ST170 has a better interior and the understated looks means that you can park it anywhere. But I do miss the sound of that Boxer engine and the rumble from the Scoobysport exhaust.

If you're thinking of buying new don't pay anywher near retail price (£16100) for the ST170. With good haggling you should get at least £3K off. I got mine for £11,800 but that was with the Ford employee discount. If you're buying second hand go for a 2003 car, the 2002 cars suffered from lots of problems.

Raj

DuggE4

I test drove a ST170 and thought it was a pretty good drive, the Focus has always been a good 'cornerer' (any of the sports suspension models). It was ok but personally if you are going from an MY99 turbo, you are going to be disappointed by the lack of go.

The other thing to think about is how its value is going to drop like a stone if you get a near new one. I think the Leon/CTR/Cup 172 offer more smiles for the £s.

Saying all that though I do like the interior and its very easy
to drive with good vision. I suggest you try to do back to back test drives of its competition on the same day before parting with your wonga and going for a ST170. I have also heard about the earlier ST170's suffering from some teething problems.

rb5 286

iTrader: (2)

one of my mates had a 2002 model, it spen 95% of a year in the garage as there was throttle problems and other minor things, they changed the ECU no more than 19 times in this year and finally gave him a brand new car as they couldnt get to the bottom of the problem!!!

the focus is a gr8 looking car and with the 17's and sports package as standard offers more fun then the standard foci, it all depends on wot u want out of the car at the end of the day.

i personally dont like the NA cars where u have to rev them hard like the st170 & civic type r to get the power delivery as it sounds like the engine is about to rev its last rev.

i have de tango'd our 1.8 zetec 03 focus and fitted st170 wheels and fog lights and it looks the same on the outside, closer inspection gives away the small brakes (soon to sourced by my bro in FMC) but the insurance for both of us fully comp & protected in around £300.

get your self over to ffoc.co.uk and look in the ST170 section for info on these cars and ask away, they are a freindly helpful bunch.

Steve vRS

How about an Octavia vRS?

£15500 brand new, servicing every 2 years and I'm seeing 35+ MPG easily!

Not much slower than my old Fugly once it's moving through the gears too.

Steve

ScoobyJawa

Bag of rubbish, much better cars out there for the same price.

My 13 year old 205 GTi runs rings round them in performance and handling. There's no way in the real world a ST170 is even close to a bog standard UK Impreza.

Gary VR6

Clio Cups rock. And gradually fall apart. Which is a shame. Cos they make you smile every time you drive them.

what would scooby do

I looked at getting a 170 as a second car to the scoob, they are too expensive, too slow and insurance group is too high. I got a saab turbo for half cost and group 14 insurance..

If you are set on getting one, wait a while for prices to drop as they are deffo over priced at the moment..

Andrewj

Thanks Jon.

The comparison with Scoobs was my doing, as I'm considering moving from a MY99 Turbo to a 170. Just wanted to get a feel for how shocked I'd be by the lack of power etc.

So far, the jury seems to be split fairly evenly between those who hate the ST ("bag of rubbish" etc), and those who, whilst appreciating that it's not in the same league as the scoob turbo in terms of performance, feel that it's entertaining to drive.

Think I'll get the 60k service done now, and enjoy the scoob for a few more months, before reconsidering my options again in the spring.

Thanks for the input guys.

ChrisB

Was it Evo that suggested trying the TDCi Focus along side the ST170? The diesel is down on BHP but kills the ST on torque.

logiclee

Ford now do a TDCi Sport.

Same looks as the ST170 but with a TDCi engine.
They are also doing a free fuel for a year offer.

Lee

Andrewj

Think the TDCi Sport takes about 9 seconds to get to 60. Not sure I could live with that after a scoob turbo...damn the expense!

rb5 286

iTrader: (2)

the TDCI engines are great, i test drove the ST mondeo that was available with V6 lump or the TDCI

i couldnt beleive that i was driving a diesel, it was quite, responsive and the turbo kept it alive throught the rev range, couldnt compare much in performance to the enigines other then i could watch the fuel needle sinking as i floored the V6's pedal

logiclee

If you measure performance by the traffic light Grand Prix then a TDCi is not going to be your thing. Mid range grunt is astounding with the 30 second overboost. Real world stuff like powering out of bends, overtaking, motorway acceleration etc is excellent.

Evo said the TDCi will be quicker than the ST170 in 90% of on road driving and will be quicker point to point.

If you can stand a smaller car what about the Fabia vRS? PD130 diesel with 220lbft of torque, 6 speed box, 55mpg, group 9 insurance, £11990 new.
Jabba upgrade available 196bhp, 330lbft for £365-£425

Lee

jonmorris

Why is anyone comparing the ST170 to an Impreza? Not even Ford claim it's in the same league.

Before the RS arrived, I did see a lot of motoring mags putting the ST170 up against CT-R's and the like and found that rather odd. It was hardly surprising when they pointed out the ST was much slower.

However, the car is solid and refined (and, thankfully, now fixed following early problems - thank god the ST team had nothing to do with the RS development!). It has loads of creature comforts and the same excellent chassis present on ALL Focus models.

The insurance IS high though - one group below the RS? Bloody hell! Something isn't right there. I know the RS is a very low group but a car with around 170BHP doesn't need to be group 15. It even has a better alarm/immobiliser than the RS!!

Ford have the ability to make some pretty good warm hatches that bring smiles to the face, even if the needle isn't moving at the speed of light. Look at the Fiesta Zetec-S and the new SportKa. Both great fun to drive, cheap to run and offering a great driving experience. However, I'd laugh if anyone then tried to suggest that they would be quicker than an RS/CT-R/Impreza or Evo!

If anyone did want to buy any of the above Fords, don't buy new though. These cars will all suffer badly from depreciation so let someone else take the knock and pick up an ex-demo or something.

[Edited by jonmorris - 11/12/2003 1:10:42 AM]

Steve V8

The course car at last weekends rally was a Focus TDCi in rally spec. Certainly went well.

[Edited by Steve V8 - 11/12/2003 2:01:23 PM]