MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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Anyone ever had one? Anything else I should consider? Looking for a fun 5 door with good performance with advertising "key me".
The fuel consumption will rape your wallet, however they are fairly rapid hot hatches.
Dare I say Octavia VRS?
I predict that the word "surf" will be mentioned within 20 posts 😆
A collegue had one, a pretty hard ride by all accounts.
I'd rather have the looks and sod the power as mpg and fuel prices!
New focus out soon too should knock the price down a bit more.
They are pretty rapid and easy to live with day-to-day. A mate had one and I considered one too, in the end I went for a Leon FR as it was less conspicuous and a bit better on fuel, better looking in 5 door as well.
If you get one avoid orange, my mate had an orange one and it did seem to attract scrotes with keys
i had one. really good car, think the reviews which called it more like a mini grand tourer than a hot hatch were right. Practical car, good performance and torquey engine (i've never driven a petrol car that pulls so hard from such low revs - comparable to turbo diesel), decent handling but also pretty refined as well. Can cruise on the motorway for hours and not feel uncomfortable unlike a few hot hatches i've had in the past! Fuel consumption is pretty bad though like ziggy says.
Mmmm....okay, what else to consider? Any "left-field" ideas?
Fiat Panda and extra go-faster stripes?
TBH if you buy a hot hatch you should expect a fairly firm ride, I had a CTR, that was definately firm but bearable. To rectify my comment above most hot hatches eat fuel, I used to get down to 12 mpg to give you some idea.
It's a very good & fast car.
I work on Ford developments indirectly & think the 5dr ST (if you can live with the fuel economy) generally a great vehicle.
Plenty of torque, pleasant engine noise & a lovely driving position (the seats help)
A golf gti 🙂 not left field but an amazing car.
still would have a focus rs in lime green though 👿
I've been looking at them but have also decided on a leon FR - cheaper to insure and run
Leon or... Megane?
I test-drove an ST, its a lovely engine and sounds great, I thought it felt slightly soft and front-heavy but I was still tempted.
Meganes drive really well but depreciate very quickly.
Civics are a real marmite car, worth driving one to see if you get on with it.
Golf is the one I went for, I thought it was the best all-rounder but they are quite common.
We had one, great engine but wife used it around town and averaged low low 20's mpg then at the weekend I would drive it longer runs but enthusiastically and still get low 20's. Great Fun, great noise, lovely engine but it did drink fuel!!!
Mazda 3 MPS?
0-60 in 6 seconds
155mph
http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evocarreviews/204243/mazda_3_mps.html
Impreza or Evo but I'm sure up above you mentioned 5 door and I wouldn't touch a 5 door preza with anyones long stick!!
they sound lovely, would prefer an RS tho 🙂
The Mazda is a proper Q-car , but horrendous on fuel, road tax and insurance!
Had a go at a short autotest in an RS...it was mental 🙂 Unbelievable grip and on my fourth go, I couldn't spin the wheel fast enough to get through the last cone on the slalom and it was no where near the limits of its grip 🙂
I used to have a 3 door ST3 (white with blue stripes 😆 ) great fun car, LOADS of grip for a front wheel drive sports car, none of the usual turbo lag you would attribute to that type of car, great handling due to the control blade suspension but very thirsty. P***ed all over the Honda Civic Type R i had before it but was a few years ago so maybe the lagging behind newer cars?? Great to pootle around in too, really easy to drive. I'd have one again.
Well they are going to be ditching the T5 and replacing it with a 2.0l engine. Probably because Ford no longer own Volvo I guess.
I have a 3dr ST and it is a hoot to drive and what everyone else has said is true. It's torquey as hell, sounds great, heated windscreen, but has poor fuel economy. Cruising at 70mph will gets me about 33mpg and think 20mpg for around town driving. Probably the most surprising thing is how civilised and easy to drive it is at lower speeds. I regret not getting the 5dr but do remember that they are only 4 seaters, there's no middle seatbelt in the back, at least there isn't in mine.
Pluses - sound brilliant (like a uR Audi Quattro), definitely rapid but the engine needs working, handling superb (although older ST170 was a wee bit better), pretty well equipped.
Minuses - REALLY cr4p on fuel for the bhp, but plasticky inside, many owners seem to think they have a 911 Turbo.
And yes I have driven both versions of the ST - was tempted to buy an ST3 but the service from Ford was so poor, that I ditched the idea.
Golf GTi a bit predictable but much better on fuel and a bit more solid inside. Similar great handling.
Left field:
Go German and get a V8 for that kinda money?
Buy one then nip to Red Dot for a little bit of engine fettling 8)
Great practical family cars/or hot hatch(depending on mood or kids if kids are in the car), very tunable, hold there value well, tax is around £225 but overall costly to run due to low MPG, over on the st owners club the average MPG is low 20's mixed driving.
I have been looking at them quite seriously over the past few months - quite rare to actually find a decent 5 door ST3....
M6TTF - Member
The Mazda is a proper Q-car , but horrendous on fuel, road tax and insurance!
The new facelifted one falls into the lower tax bracket which makes it a decent buy. I have been looking at them but i think i prefer the ST even though the MPS has more standard toys, LSD, Sat Nav.....etc
I had an ST3 3 door in performance blue and loved it.
I bought it when I tried to give up the motorbikes after seeing a bad bike crash.
I owned it for around 12 months and thought it was a fantastic car.
The best bits:
1) Good value for money either used or pre-reg
2) Very comfy for a sporty hatch, the leather seats were
fantastic.
3) Cheap to maintain and service
4) The engine sounds fantastic
5) Easy to drive at low speed
6) Good torquey engine that doesn't need to be rev'd
7) The build quality on mine was really good.
The bit's I didn't like:
1) The fuel economy was really bad, only averaging mid 20's and even at
one point dropping down to 8mpg around the mountain course on the
Isle Of Man
2) Compared to other hot hatches, it feels heavier epecially at the front
3) This feeling of weight isnlt helped by the fact that the suspension is
quite soft.
4) Possibly a bit of a 'chavvy' image.
In the end I sold it and bought a new Fireblade as it could never replace the bike.
If I was in the market for a car, I would definately consider one along with a Golf GTI which IMHO has a better image and I've heard is better on the fuel, although I've no personal experience of the Golf to be honest.
That 5 pot noise though is fantastic and the burble and pop on the overrun is lovely 8)
Oh and a chip/remap makes a massive difference 8)
Possibly the best advertisment for them is that we bought some to use as our unmarked traffic cars and despite being used everyday, they have been faultless. Everyone at work that drives them raves on about them and some folks have bought their own after being in the job cars.
How about a subaru legacy? not as in your face as an impreza and can get the same engine 😉
My friend has one and loves it. He had a golf r32 before and always bangs on about how much better the focus is. It's in Jaffa cake orange, claims a mirchilago owner once flashed him at a distance, as if signalling they had the same ride. Recon it's bullsh.
Audi S4?
Seems like the major sticking point is the economy 🙁
tyger - it is pretty darn poor.
New one has a four cylinder unit - not as fun I suspect but a lot better on fuel.
The ST unit is based on a fairly oldish Volvo engine and is both heavy and thirsty.
Something similar like an Astra VXR is Golf GTi will be much better on fuel. Even an Audi S3 (current shape) with a fair bit more power gets far better mpg.
If you're looking at a hot hatch then fuel economy shouldn't really be a factor IMO, get a diesel warm hatch if you want something to do lots of economical miles in.
FW - it's a factor to anyone. Filling up every 250 miles is a PITA even if you're minted.
Low 20s mpg for just over 200bhp is very poor when others get around 30 with similar/more power.
Funny thing is, I have a Mondeo estate w/same engine and power output, and it does 29mpg average (I understand the ST engine is mapped differently). There must be scope for improving the economy with a remap?
Lodious - Mondeos come with four or six cylinder engines only. The ST has a five cylinder 2.5 litre unit.
Fiat 500 Abarth?
Cupra - 240 bhp 5dr practical and reasonable on fuel
Surf-Mat , i'm afraid that you are mistaken....
http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evocarreviews/209169/ford_mondeo.html
Surf-Mat , i'm afraid that you are mistaken....
I am indeed - I was thinking of the pre 2007 ones - they were six pots.
..it's OK, I still think your awesome 😉
Budget?
..it's OK, I still think your awesome
Well that's the most important thing 😉 😆
Budget £6k plus px 07 Focus 22000 miles
What model Focus?
Probably budget of just over £12k then (unless it's a flashy model)?
I'd seek out a nice mk5 GTi.
Zetec Climate 1.6
Hmm - it'll be a lot easier to px a Ford for another Ford TBH.
Fairly standard model so probably about £6k for p/x. Low miles though which should help.
I agree filling up every 250 miles is a bit of a PITA and expensive, BUT if you have the right car its great fun between fill ups 8)
If economy is something your worried about i would consider a diesel but only one without a DPF as the modern diesels are very tunable, for instance a remapped/boxed 1.9CDTi astra will keep up with a standard astra VXR with a fraction of the running costs, but these engines do have issues(EGR, Inlet manifold etc) if you are unlucky but in general they are quite reliable.
Sod the running costs and buy the ST:lol:
Golf Edition 30!
[url= http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201039369152502/sort/priceasc/usedcars/model/golf/make/volkswagen/radius/1501/page/2/keywords/edition%2030/postcode/ol82ny?logcode=p ]Clicky[/url]
I've always considered a powerful diesel to be the best of both worlds. Pretty quick and also decent on fuel.