C2forWRX

i have wanted a scoob forever. looking to purchase in jan/feb. someone i know at ford is buzzing about the ST and topgear and fih gear say its the *****. why should i not buy it over the scoob?

scoobfan

You have a choice of 2 colours, Blue or Tango.
It's 2wd
It's a Ford

That's all i can think of so far

Rob

John57

I have always wanted a Scooby but was going to wait for the Focus ST to appear to see what it was like.

About a month ago I decided not to wait and to get what I have looked at on and off for years ..... as a result I went for a 10 month old WRX SL for £16K.....

What did it for me was mainly the fact it is a proven item, will still be slightly quicker than the ST as standard and most importantly had 4 wheel drive.

It will also hopefully be more reliable than a Ford !!! ..... oh, and yes, I have owned Fords and driven the Focus alot.

FWIW I don't regret my decision at all.

C2forWRX

yea if st was 4 wheel drive it would be a dificult decision.

magicdudey

Ford = Car, driving, staid!
Subaru = grin, grin, grin and that's before you even start her!

davyboy

I saw on Orange Focus today, and it looked fantastic.

I would go for the quicker car........and thats the ford

Did you see the car lift a wheel in the wet on top gear? Griptastic!

Daz34

There's nothing at all wrong with 2WD.
Generally I have found it to be more enjoyable & rewarding.

s70rjw

iTrader: (2)

I may have mis heard but 0-60 the Focus takes 6.5
Whats the 0-100 50/80 compared to the Scoob?

hedgehog

I have an 03 STi and it is not a great handling car and, therefore, not really a fun car to drive on many small roads that are great fun in a lot of other cars. If the WRX suffers from the same problems then I'd say if you want fun go for the Ford. On the other hand my Subaru is a sensible and fairly solid car with reasonable reliability, if a somewhat bland interior, so if these were key factors then the Subaru would probably pip the Ford to the post.

The one thing you have to consider is that if you have wanted a Subaru for ever then you might not be happy until you get one and that might also guide your decision. In the end it is going to be a personal decision based on factors that no one else will understand.

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Ford-
- Better residuals (can't believe I just said that)
- It's a Focus (sound car)
- It's quick and has a good engine
- It'll handle well
- It's relatively inexpensive

BUT

Scooby-

- Will be quicker point to point.
- Will be faster, certainly in the 0-60 sprint, don't have the data for the rest.
- Has a great engine and makes one the best noises on the road....with a decent backbox ;-)
- 2.5 engine just begging to be tuned, 350bhp 2.5 conversions are quite common on the 2.0.
- Will be more reliable than the Ford.
- May get less bad attention (can't believe I just said that) :-)

NS04

Bubba po

I'd have said it was simple. A ford is not a subaru. I wouldn't trust top gear for any kind of balanced evaluation. Clarkson and his gang look for an entertaining, often controversial angle on a car and that's not a basis on which to choose where to spend your money.

If you don't buy the scoob that you've always wanted, you'll always wonder "what if".

C2forWRX

I think ns04 sumd it up well. besides i have to buy what ive always wanted because if i get a cheaper alternative im never happy.

7 Foot

Call me an old traditionalist but I usually drive the cars before I make my mind up.

hades

Wash your mouth out. Everyone knows that the best thing to do is to ask a whole bunch of people you've never met to type their opinions up anonymously. Next you'll be saying they're different, one car might suit some people, the other might suit others and it really is a case of which is best for you, rather than one car being clearly much better than the other. .

FWIW, the Focus looks to me to be a nice car, with entertaining handling, a characterful exhaust note due to the 5 cylinder (i.e. better than a bland straight 4, even if people prefer a flat 4 burble), and I'd imagine cheaper to insure and service than a scoob as well as cheaper to buy. In many ways looks good value. However,it is still the same basic as an £11k basic spec 1.6 family hatchback - for some people this might be a problem.

Bone

I've been waiting for the reaction of the new Focus ST for a while now. With January nearing closer its causing quite a stir, rightly so. Ok so its FWD but its a good looking hatch, great exterior and interior is even better with options. Lets not forget how good a stand bottom of the range OLD focus is to drive and handles.

On top of that its 225bhp as standard from a 2.5T volvo duratec block. Tuning potential even if power maybe hard to get down like a remapped LCR.

For me as much as i love Scoobs i'd pick the FST.

sgcooby

Read a review, think it was in EVO, (cant remember as i read every mag out) and they said the ST has good low down torque which makes it feel quick like a diesel but doesnt scream upto the rev limit like a scoob so ultimately wont feel so entertaining. Generally cars like the ST that are tuned for low down torque are breatless above 4000 rpm. Plus in the same roadtest they couldnt get the ST to better 7.2 to 60 despite what the manufacturers claims were. Maybe it was 62 and not 60 but still not that great.

2wd is a big problem for me as roads are just as likely to be wet as they are dry and having 2wd cars before i know what its like coming out of a corner in the wet and flooring it. 2wd ok in dry but wouldnt even get close to a 4wd car in the wet.

Dont know how proud i would be saying i owned a ford either. A lot of people say scoobs have an image problem but i havent experienced it. Loads of people still ask if the scoobs mine and all ask how good is it and generally are interested in it. Cant see that happening with a ford.

Pride of ownership is a big deal to me but then everyone is different.

JohnD

iTrader: (5)

I have an STi with PPP, springs etc. and as a next car would certainly consider the ST Have to admit I would prefer it to the WRX, and as for those who say "It's a Ford" - wake up! Have you seen the latest generation Fords? They're every bit as well built as a Subaru and have better interiors. Did you see the engine test? Max. revs, non stop for a few weeks! I would love to see the Scoob unit doing this (behind a bullet-proof screen!)

JohnD

Gutmann pug

I would have a tango focus ST tomorrow over a WRX and would probably loose my STi for one too if the right deal was there.

IMHO a very competant car, always had a great chassis which rewards the driver and the ST is 9 seconds quicker round the ring than the RS was, that would do for me.

Dont even need to mention the reduction in insurance and fuel consumption.

May not give the same kick in the back but a damned good car all the same.

Gary.

chiark

There's no way of knowing what suits you better; if there was a perfect car, everyone would drive it

Take a test drive. The shove from the new 2.5 in the WRX should give a good feel of torque - they're both 2.5 four pots, after all. Both are excellent cars, both are semi-performance oriented, both with give a grin.

Once rolling, my money says the ST will probably be faster as there's less transmission loss.

Glad to see people parroting out the usual bull****. If you could be bothered, you could have checked that before reciting it as gospel... For colours, you have the choice of:
- Colorado red
- Diamond white
- Panther black (350)
- Moondust Silver (+350)
- Sea Grey (+350)
- Performance blue (+350) (also worth 5bhp, probably )
- Electric orange (+695)

Ford make good/great cars that are great value for money. Hell, Vauxhall are even doing it now! The WRX will be nothing special in comparison to an ST or VXR on a road... I reckon we'll see an influx of ST/VXR posts soon saying "mullered a scoob", followed by the usual informed debate

if the focus was all wheel drive and a little more subtle, I'd think about one... I'm not a fan of fwd any more, which being frank is a prejudice I should probably re-visit

mart360

dont you believe it...

I did a lot of work on certain areas of the old focus rs when it was comming up to launch.

vibration was a big problem....

unless this has been resolved on the new one, you will find some odd artifacts when you go for a drive..

Mart

Rabid

Having been stuck in a front driver for 18 months I'd never buy another. I have between 15-20K to spend on a new car which gives me the choice of VXR, Focus ST, Octavia VRS or even another Golf Gti. All are virtually useless to me, there's only one all weather choice, namely an Impreza.
I believe in the hands of the average driver a nearly new WRX with PPP for 16K would leave all of them for dust. Also before anyone starts going on about modified v standard the PPP is a dealer fit option, don't see any of the others offering that. Think of it as an upgraded standard model and the normal 'no point cmparing std with modified' arguments don't apply. Shame none of the other manufacturers offer such an upgrade, along with AWD of course.

billythekid

I would have the Focus ST over the current WRX any day. The current Impreza is getting on now, the focus is way ahead of it in all areas IMHO.

Rabid

All areas except being able to use it whatever the weather, I agree.

sgcooby

If i had to buy a 2wd hot hatch i think i would buy the golf. Easily and cheaply chipped up to over 240bhp but even standard 197 is enough for only 2 wheels.

But then i dont think ill be in the market for a 2wd car.

stormy

ST vs WRX would have to be ST

However ST vs Spec C Spec all the way different league

As every one else has said test drive will say it all.

Run a Focus and Specie and I must say the Focus is a hoot to drive, costs nothing to run or insure I think the ST Looks fab and the residuals will be strong and fraid to say it the image is more 2005 than the Face lifted WRX IMHO.

Think the question should be more Golf GTI vs ST, magazine articles have already put the Astra VXR behind the GTI and ST.

Your choice Ill make my next decision between the 2007 Evo or Scooby

As for comments on Handling if your STI/WRX are not handling get them seen to something is wrong !!!!!!!!!

billythekid

I would not get hung up about 4x4 making the car "better". The only thing its going help with is traction. Grip is down to the car design. I did 30k miles in my WRX and I found that its raw pace was not really any better than any other 1400kg car with 230bhp as the handling is leaning towards U/S. Once the car is rolling the traction is going to become almost irrelevant on the roads. I very much doubt that you are going to be able to use all the avaliable extra traction in the wet on the public roads, and if you are then you need to have a think about how you are driving.

The ST 2.5 and WRX 2.5 both weigh 1400kg, both have 320Nm of torque and both have 225-230bhp. Other than the 0-30 time they are going to be very similar in straight line performance and the Focus will probably have it in the twisty sections but that has yet to be proven but I would expect the Focus shell to be much stiffer.

The VFM factor wins it for me, for the basic cost of the WRX i.e cloth seats and CD player you can have an ST with Leather Recaros, Xenons, ESP, sat nav and 6 CD changer.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

I'm tempted to take one for a test drive.

The clintcher for me is Clarkson saying that it will pull well from any gear at any revs. Scoobs just do not do that (well, maybe a sport, but that's about it). Although he could be exagerating, but I do know the Volvo unit has a very smooth and broad power range, where as the Scoobs engines are more peaky, which is typically like most Japanease engines.

Who knows, it could win me back onto Turbo petrol cars.


And anything handling-wise will have better high speed turn in and low speed cornering abilities than a scoob

Now if the Focus was RWD, I would have been banging on the dealers door for one

sgcooby

Ill agree the ST is a nice car but your comments about 4wd v's 2wd are way off. 4wd is far superior in the wet and as for thinking about how im driving well 4wd means you dont have to as much. 2wd however in the wet you do have to think about how you are driving and enevitably drive a lot slower. No one made any comments about grip in a wrx- st comparison and i dont dispute the st is good but probably not better than wrx but traction in the wet with only 2wd shouldnt even be compared to that of a 4wd car.
No competition.

Good arguments for both cars but ultimately down to personel taste. ST not my taste but im sure its bloody good.

MattW

Reading this, I would have thought no one could drive a 2wd car in the wet

Rabid

Agreed with SG Scooby, anyone who reckons AWD isn't an advantage is probably a townie. My current car is a remapped diesel Golf and it's virtually useless in the wet, it may as well be an SDI because it just can't get the power down. The Cupra R I had was the same, great in the dry but rubbish in the wet.
I'd like to buy an ST or Golf GTI over the Impreza but they don't offer all weather ability. I remember when I had my old scoob watching with amusement as other drivers slithered up the incline to our houses. I thought about offering them a tow up the hill but that would have been childish.
It aint about not being able to drive 2WD in the wet, it's about the utter domination of 4WD/AWd in marginal conditions, a massive consideration for me.