The Civic does nothing at all for me. Tinny and awful inside, and you have to rev the cock of it the whole time. I love the 90s Type-Rs, but cars like that just can't cut it these days.

I really like the 197. I have a 172 Cup and it is an absolute riot. The 197 is meant to be a great car, but I don't think it would make as good a daily as the Focus. Like the Civic, it is going to need some abuse to move, which can get tiresome.

Out of that list, I would take the Focus ST.

Have you not considered a MK5 Golf GTI? The MK4 is a bit old-hat in that company. Whilst I like the Focus, it is a bit "chavvy" in some respects. The Golf is a bit more understated, and might be a bit more fuel efficient as it's a 2.0 rather than the 2.5 in the Focus.

As someone else said, a 330i or something would make a good compromise, though not the best value for money in the world