If the 308 GTI is as good compared to the Focus ST as my 208 GTI is to the Fiesta ST then it’s worth a look.

I found the Fiesta better to drive, but not by much – the 208 is still very engaging, not light and vague like the mk2 Fabia VRS I had before it. But the 208 is such a better place to be – higher spec, the dash doesn’t look like the buttons were placed there by someone doing a big sneeze and it’s generally a better car to live with.

It’s a big if though, and the 308 ain’t a looker. It will, however, have depreciated a lot already so you’ll be able to get a newer, lower mileage one for less than the ST, which does come at a bit of a premium.

Could you get a Volvo V40 T5 in your price range?

I’ve not driven one of the newer GTIs so can’t comment, the do share a lot of parts with the VRs though.

Ok then, I can’t be bothered even to read his reply, I’m not one for internet arguments these days.

He’s a silent menace.

Loud exhausts save lives!

Focus ST fall into this bracket and I’ve always quite liked the look of them.  Wife’s Fiesta is a great wee car so I know Ford’s are pretty solid in general.

Does anyone have any real world experience of the Focus ST?

Have driven 2nd & 3rd gen STs. Can only comment on the driving experience because I’m not interested in gadgets and doo-dahs. Ford have done a great job of building a bigger more powerful Fiesta ST but in doing so they’ve made less fun to drive. On paper it ticks all the boxes but the size of thing and the way it responds to driver input means that it lacks the seat-of-the-pants feel that the Fiesta has. By the same token the Fiesta feels at the end of its development cycle whereas the Focus feels quite refined and could do more – hence the RS.

With both cars it’s all about the moments. 10 seconds at full chat will teleport you anywhere you want to go on the road, much to the irritation of drivers of lesser vehicles who simply have no idea what your car is capable of. Be prepared to be antagonised

I briefly looked at the estate version when we bought our current car but they just wouldn’t suit our use, boot isn’t big enough

Given carte blanche I’d choose the Golf R estate instead though, I really like those

@Jamesfts…….Knocking on the door of 300BHP ??

I take it you have remapped it then.

I think they’re about 250bhp on just a stage 1 map, I’m about on the limit of what you can do on the standard turbo – few other bits have been fettled.

Oh and by the way you blasted me for “not taking care or quality in things” or words to that effect years ago when you took challenge to my spelling and grammar within forum posts,

Link it or it didn’t happen, Kryton.

You’ve been on a grudge match for some things I’m supposed to have said or done on Bike Magic (but didn’t) for years, Kryton. Link it or it’s a lie

10 seconds at full chat will teleport you anywhere you want to go on the road, much to the irritation of drivers of lesser vehicles who simply have no idea what your car is capable of

They know exactly what the car is capable of and are irritated by you making dangerous and illegal use of it on a public road. 10 seconds at full chat would put you far enough over the limit for an immediate ban round here. Selfish, anti-social, dangerous.

Had a 2.5 litre Impreza STI for over 7 years until recently. Sold it and bought a 65 plate ST3… diesel, a couple of months back. Yes it’s not as fast as the petrol but even that would have been slower than the Impreza, I’m under the impression everything else is the same as the petrol one though. I get 43 mpg and it’s only £20 a year to tax (Impreza was £48 a month!!) I think it’s a great car. 185hp which isn’t bad, and the heated leather seats and wheel are great.

I’ve never really driven like a knob, got 0 points and have 2 small kids, I don’t think you can go fast anywhere anymore anyway. This will more than do me for now. I rate it.

A mate has a 2013(i think) st estate.

he says its comfy to drive, plenty of power, averages 31mpg, and takes a fs bike in the back no problem.

seriously considering one for myself, although that’s not surprising, as all us coach drivers are total yobs. And proud of it.

^^the last bit was a joke, in case anyone is ‘hard of thinking’

I dreamt mine got stolen last night, must be this thread as I read the updates since my last post right before going to bed.

Not quite sure why the majority of threads such as these always get people jumping on moaning about speed / driving dangerously etc etc. Fast (er) cars do not kill people, idiots driving fast cars do – but then again, idiots driving old and knackered or just normal cars probably kill far more.

Either way, I like acceleration, cornering grip, good brakes, good handling and drivability in a car, so this invariably means a ‘hotter’ model of any particular car.

Does this mean I’m a lout that can’t drive and is going to crash instantly, of course it does 😀

As above, the ST3 has some nice extras. I love the heated steering wheel and heated screen. Also got mine with the reversing camera which isn’t needed at all but it was there so why not.

One thing to bear in mind is that on 2016 models at least (mine), they come with artificial engine noise played through the speakers. On earlier models it was a pipe from the engine into the bulkhead that could be blanked, but the newer ones are electronic and you can’t turn it off.

A lot of cars have this now but they are adjustable from off to silly. The ST (diesel anyway) was at silly all the time and sounded like a Subaru when accelerating hard. Hilarious the first time on your own. Not so much after a few months.

I got the dealer to turn mine off completely after telling them how to do it but have now the option to bypass the factory stereo completely for the sound system so am 100% sure no extra noises come through the speakers.

308gti is a nice motor I keep thinking about getting one but the maintenance costs like any of these fast hatches are abit eye watering. Discs and pads circa £1000 for starters.

Kryton:

Any car I choose to ask a question about next should do the trick.

C’mon chaps. Credit where credit is due. That was pretty good from 57 there…..

come with artificial engine noise played through the speakers. …..the newer ones are electronic

Right there that is up there with the wankeriest things I’ve ever heard of. Whoever thought of that should be euthenaised. And anyone who has ever asked for it should be euthenaised.

Actually scratch that. I guess it’s actually a good idea because it keeps the din in the car with the moron driving instead of pissing off the rest of the population.

I didn’t get the estate and I’ve not tried the seats down for bike space yet. What’s it like? What are the roof bar options?

The exhaust noise is a bit silly but I don’t mind it. Mine came with a bass box too, lol.

I was between a new ST3 and Golf GTI last year, went for the latter in the end.

1. The build quality and interior is superior.

2. The GTI suffers loads less from torque steer, so it can put it’s power down much better and piss off Edukator.

3. The Golf is either a quiet comfortable car or the total opposite with it’s driving modes, the ST is just as is.

4. You can fit a towbar (I have), the ST doesn’t even have fitment points for a roof rack so you clamp directly onto the paintwork, eugh.

5. The tech on the Golf is better, the Android auto works better the nav is better the LED dash is great and standard stuff like adaptive cruise control makes journeys so much less. The tech in the ST is quite poor, as others have said sync2 is pants but sync3 is only a little better.

Of course it comes down to money and the ST was slightly cheaper.

Edukator, I’ll get this off my chest then leave the personal stuff to history. I hadnt forgiven you for threatening  to send evidence of my posting content to my employer during my BikeMagic year’s, when it was also other things  alledged but not proven to be fair which I won’t air in public in fairness to you.  At least the former was true, and I found it very distasteful.   I don’t have the time or ability to link back to the now dead BikeMagic site so others can make heir own mind up whether I’m bullshitting or not I’m not bothered. I know what was said, and yes I will admit that I was a bit of **** during that time.

And let that be the end of it from me then, I suppose I’ve held the grudge longer than I should so I will drop it     and I’ll leave the past alone, but reserve the right as anybody can to respond with my own opinion to your posts should I care to, and you of course have the right to do the same.  Like I said, I care not to argue on the internet.

I chose to air this publically so there’s no accusation of behind the scenes goings on. I apologise to Edukator and everyone else for biting at him when perhaps I shouldn’t have. I will cease and move on with a clean(er) slate.

I come for the car chat, but stay for the drama.

I need to know whether a Tesla carries with it the same yob/thug cyclist worrying, child murdering wankerish and general asshole stigma or if it’s ok because it eats pollution and farts rainbows as it accelerates to ludicrous speeds in a fashion that would blow a Focus ST into the weeds.

Only if it’s orange.

Colleague of mine lives in a small village near Cambridge and had his Golf GTi keys nicked while they were having a BBQ in the back garden. Plod reckoned that they are one of the most frequently nicked cars by crims who want a getaway-type car, because they don’t really stand out from the crowd, but are quick enough to get the job done.

Fair enough, never worried about mine! Maybe I should start… 🤔

Just sold my ST3 TDCI. Couldn’t really fault it. If you go for diesels make sure it’s had the fuel pressure sensor recall done, egr valves have been known to give issues and some fail to Regen the dpf from time to time needing a static Regen to sort it out. Alloys are known to corrode and leak especially around the valves it fitted with the metal valve.

Someone above meantioned the sync 2 being bad then they haven’t tried sync 3 it’s far worse, looks cheap and has far more documented issues with locking up, crashing etc.

My sync 3 is fine – turn it onto night time setting to lose the bright blue background and replace it with permanent black. Looks just like a Beemer or VAG 😉

I saw a red Focus ST in the middle of Hayfield yesterday and it was wholly unremarkable. I wouldn’t even have noticed it were it not for this thread. In essence it was being sensibly driven, didn’t make loud noises and looked every inch the tarted-up family load-hauler it basically is. Like someone had bought some big alloys and fitted a funny little spoiler thing at the back to a standard Fiesta.

It’s not my sort of car, but it seemed pretty inoffensive to be honest. Even the driver looked like a normal human being. No utility cyclists were being mown down – at least at the time.

If you want a car that makes a nice noise, a VW VR6 with a slightly rortier than normal exhaust would be my tip. No need for added artificial soundtracks.

That orange focus in the crash is some level of shit driving. Complete bottle and lift in to that not at all sharp left hander. At least he didn’t kill the cyclist a couple of seconds before in the video.

Just to throw a spanner in the works, I followed a Nissan Note/Leaf thing yesterday – tailgated a van for a few miles hovering on the wrong side of the road then proceeded to overtake dangerously slowly in a really stupid place.

Should we be adding this to the list of “yob” cars to buy? I’ll be honest, I don’t really want one but it does tick the driven by nobheads box apparently.

It wasn’t orange or green, I’m so confused.

I’ve currently got a VRs estate (petrol), plenty of space, reliable, not a slouch but there isn’t anything special or even interesting about it .

The controls all feel a bit wooden/over assisted (possibly a VAG thing?), even with knocking on 300bhp its just a bit meh.

I have a vRS too (diesel though being a company car) and feel much the same – but equally I’m going to really miss it when it goes back next year because it’s so damn easy to live with. Pretty comfy, well spec’d, swallows bikes and family related junk easily, tech is easy to use. It’s a brilliant but very, very sensible everyday car.

I don’t know who you worked for back then or work for now, Kryton.

My wife recieved a threat to make fictitious claims to her employer  – a plausible threat in that the employer was named, and she didn’t even post on BM. Whilst I’m not bothered by petty nonsense dreamt up by idiots of the Net, Madame is, so I contacted David Arthur and had my account bozoed. If you wish to confirm contact David Arthur. You know my account was bozoed for a year or so anyhow – it came back to life during a forum update and I’ve left it there so there’s a complete public record of everything I ever posted if you can be bothered to wade through it, there really isn’t anything outrageous anywhere, I’ve always posted on the basis Big Brother is watching me.

Whilst there are good people on forums there are also some people with major issues in the real world. A small number of those broke BM. You might have found them big and clever when you rocked up but they were really just taking out their real world frustrations on the virtual world. The good news is at least some of them have now sorted their issues – divorce, career change, recovered from illness, new hot lover… . If they still post here under new pseudos they are so changed I don’t even recognise them. They got a life, maybe we should too 😉

The BM years were fun in that the Net was still something of a free for all, the times before some people realised that it’s easy to feed stuff into the Net but nigh on impossible to get it out again and that it might stick to you like glue.

On threads like these I’m people’s bad concicence, the sower of the seed of doubt, the mirror that reflects back something people perhaps don’t want to see, in this specific case that if you drive a Focus ST your fellow citizens will make a load of assumptions about you and that aren’t very flattering. STW members can take offence, or take heed; nobody is forced to drive a car a lot discerning people will assume is driven by a pitiful ****er on an ego trip. People and thier dogs, people and their cars… *shakes head slowly*.

in this specific case that if you drive a Focus ST edukator will make a load of assumptions about you and that aren’t very flattering.

Edukator will assume is driven by a pitiful ****er on an ego trip. People and thier dogs, people and their cars… *shakes head slowly*.

Fixed it for you

On threads like these I’m people’s bad concicence, the sower of the seed of doubt, the mirror that reflects back something people perhaps don’t want to see, in this specific case that if you drive a Focus ST your fellow citizens will make a load of assumptions about you and that aren’t very flattering.

You flatter yourself. Some people will make assumptions, but I’ll wager that far more will make assumptions when they see you on a bike, and they will certainly be less flattering. Should we not ride bikes because some people will assume you’re a “lycra lout” or whatever shit is de rigueur for insulting cyclists?

If you think you’re acting as people’s conscience and that’s why you get a rise then you’re deluded, simple.

Don’t bite. He’ll just suck you in and gum you to death with his custom-fitted troll dentures.

Owned a 2013 st3 after owning a few other older performance cars. Have to admit was a joy at first power everything nice interior, reliable (to a point) but fuel was dismal. Had a 2005 impreza wrx sti previous to the st had extensive tuning done running around 450bhp. The impreza was used daily to and from work and blasts at weekends and odd track day, the mpg was definitely better than the st which shocked me. The st was ok as a mild tuned car suppose i just got unlucky.

Had issues with the turbo which got replaced 3 times under fords warranty. Had issues with the ecu randomly having a fit. Brakes seized up twice and central locking became iffy.

Traded the st in against a rs last year with low miles and one owner. The joy lasted all of 4 days until i pressed the push button and a small pop from engine then nothing… Had a major fault which a lot of rs seem to suffer from so that got sent back.

Been looking at golf r estates and the lesser known seat leon cupra 300 estate for something more reliable and less common. The mrs hands down refuses to drive a ranger derranged unfortunately.