Which one and why....?

 

Fiesta, focus is older and costlier to maintain. Fiesta has a much better engine to tune n/a

 

comes down to budget and useage I would say as decent st170s are fetching strong money now

 

Baisically im keeping my rs2000 but fancy another toy. Budget is 2kish. Tempted buy the fiesta as my mate had one. It went well for wht it was. Been in an st170 too that went well and handled well too. I always liked the reliability and handling of the focus's too but prefer the fiesta looks wise. Also hear the 170's are thirsty but are cheaper to buy then the fiestas.

 

the 170 does know how to drink fuel thats for sure but has some great tuning potential nowadays and as you say are a good handling car, but as you have a toy common sense advice would be the fez

 

Fiesta is an ok car but we found it seemed a bit lacking in performance for a 2.0 in a smaller car and the fuel it drank.

Dare i say... Honda Civic Type R Ep3

 

forgot either, if you want a quick toy, get a e46 330ci bm, not a slow car and rwd fun to be had, economy on juice ain't that bad...ahem....

i'd go for the fiesta to be fair, just nippier, the st170 is a bit sluggish for the fuel it uses.

 

Not a bm fan at all. I have looked at type r's theres one local for Ł1700 but I think im too much of ford fan and cant see me owning anything else.

 

ST170 is choice. People say there slow but I don't think they are. Get a well specced one with the bass box in the boot and full recaro leather.

 

St170!! ignore the bad press, im impressed with mine. Goes well, not to bad on juice for a 'ST'.
I don't understand why they get slated. I honestly think that they have hit rock bottom price at the moment. They will only go up in price , the amount that are getting broken.

 

i have 2 st170s. a road and track car. so the choice is obvious from me. get the fiesta lol.
although i like my cars they have loads of common faults, are heavy on fuel and not that fast. if your handy at fixing little niggly things and must have a st170 then yes buy one. if you prefer the fiesta id say go for that. iv never owned a fiesta st though so no idea what they like.

 

If you can get a decent Fez ST for your budget then go for that everyday!

You could get a fully loaded, reasonable mileage ST170 for 2k but they have LOADS of common and expensive faults, are terrible on fuel economy and aren't much faster (in the real world) than the boggo 2.0 litre

I haven't owned a Fez ST but I have driven a few and, while they aren't THAT amazing out of the box, they are pretty entertaining and you have plenty of options to improve them power and handling wise - you can't get anything more out of the ST170 unless you want to go mad with ITB's or forced induction and most don't make the power they should as standard to begin with.

That said, the ST170 is pretty well screwed together and will be much more refined and comfortable over your time with it, but it will be an expensive trip and won't set your world on fire.

 

Hmmm very mixed reviews!

 

If you do go for a ST go for the highest spec one you can find with comfort & custom packs as they will hold their value and rise

 

Drive both and see which you prefer.

Then try a Civic and a Clio 182. I suspect you won't buy either Ford...

 

Fiesta, all day long! We owned an st170 for about 7 years, 1 previous owner at 15k, we sold it at 76k. It had every single one of the common issues except for the fuel pump but always had it in mind it was a matter of time. My mrs drove it and it's a very expensive car to own pound for pound against performance. Keep it in the revs and through the box it's lively but not record breaking.
Commuting 20miles round every day she would get max 24/26 mpg but could be as low as 19, I get 30 from my Barbarian! It needed a pair of tyres every year for the MOT as it wears the inside edge, the rest of the tyre would have loads left!
I enjoyed driving it for the 5% of the time you could actually use it properly but the rest of the time it had reached the point where the cost of repair and running was too much.

To be honest though. Take off the ford blinkers and drive a type r or consider a Clio 172/182?

 

If you are referring to the ST170 then they will never go up in value or ever be considered a desireable classic. Not fast enough, too expensive to run (insurance, tax, fuel) too many unique parts that commonly and regularly go wrong and are expensive to replace and they will always be massively overshadowed by the RS because of the humongous performance and desirability gap between those models. The Fiesta ST is the top performance version of its model so has a far better chance of becoming a future classic.

IMO

 

Neither as both are a bit naff and lack the grunt needed to be properly fun. Another vote here for an E46 330.

 

I'd say the fiesta has a better power to weight ratio and shorter gearing. So going with my head there, but my heart says the 170 as I like them for what they are and biased a bit driving a focus.

 

I defiantly would not have a clio I cant stand them. Yes the go well and handle well but they are not for me. I know two lads that have had one and both ended up breaking them due to electrical problems.


Think the fiesta gets the vote overall. I wanted a focus rs but cant afford one at the moment

 

Have owned 2 STs fella and I do disagree over values as they are actually on the up if its a decent example, bought one 2 months ago and only 3 days ago I was offered Ł3k for it which was a vast increase on what I paid, ok mines got the comfort & custom packs as well as all the options from the brochure and of coarse you cant campare it to the FRS other than the bodystyle and the fact the frs costs 4x what a decent ST will but thats obvious so why compare them

tbh all you others talking non fords have you forgotton this is a ford site I could not give a stuff about all the non fords being mentioned as I will only ever buy ford hence being on passionFORD

The fiesta is a decent everyday car

 

It does puzzle me when people say don't buy either buy a clio, beamer etc...


I know there are better faster more reliable cars out there for the money but im not asking what's best for my budget unless its a ford. I've always had fords im a ford fan through and through and unless an absolute bargain came up I cant see me ever owning anything else. Like you say this is passionford!

 

exactly mate half the fun in owning a ford is fixing it

 

Tell me about it

 

I'm ford mad tooooo.

 

Just because it's passionford it doesn't mean you can't own other makes I own three Fords but my daily is a Clio 172 Cup. Done over 10k in it in since October and it's been brilliant. In that time it needed a new injector which was Ł30.

I love a Ford, but it's a big world out there. What Ford could I have bought for the Ł1300 the Clio cost that would have even got close to it? If you're only buying it for a daily, I would strongly recommend looking around at other options, you might be surprised.

Driving a non-Ford doesn't make you the devil, especially if it's just an every day car, no matter what the die-hards on here tell you

 

Without wishing to be offensive I'd rather shit out of my eyes than drive a 172 as a daily doing that kind of mileage........they're hardly the best built of cars and the fuel will be costing a fortune

as a toy to track yes i can see the appeal, as a highish mileage daily, not a chance

 

says who, you is satan

 

I hope you bit his arm off

 

Oh yeah, I agree, it is a bit of a compromise for the type of driving that I do, but I was more suggesting that they're not as unreliable as some would have you believe. Saying that, the full fat versions aren't too bad, quite well equipped. Mine just came up at the right time and I'd always fancied one.

Wouldn't see any problem with one on a shorter commute. No worse on fuel than the options above, and a nice 182 would probably have more stuff and be a much more fun car.

Haha yes that's me

Ok, I will throw a Ford into the mix and suggest the ST220.

Bigger so more space, Recaro seats and climate as standard, auto lights etc if you buy a later one. They're every bit as good to drive as the Fiesta or Focus, but you get a nice V6 soundtrack to go with it.

 

Always preferred the st200 then the st220. Never been in one though so bit hard to hacve that as an option

 

worst car ive ever owned a cliosport never again endless electrical problems french cheap crap im happy now in my 10 plate tdci titanium to the op id go for the st fezza as i fancy one as a toy

 

I'd definitely recommend trying one. They're a very, very good car. Much nicer than the Fiesta/Focus in my view. Put 30k on mine in a year and it never missed a beat and was a really fun car to drive, you could really chuck it about and have fun in it.

You get good and bad examples of every car. My Clio has been fine. A friend bought one for Ł700 and beasts it round track days with no bother. Any older car is going to have issues. Lets not forget, the ST170 has a shopping list of common potential faults.

Yes the trim in the Clio isn't as nice as it is in a BMW, yes there's the odd rattle but all of that means that, with a full tank of fuel, my boggo 172 cup weighs a bit under 1050kg. You won't get more fun or performance for the money, parts cost next to nothing and they're not really any less reliable than any other 10 year old performance car.

The only point I was trying to make is that you shouldn't discount cars based on a badge. I remember a few years ago, my mates and I were buggering about with the usual suspects, XRs, RSs etc, guys spending Ł3k on an RST, Ł6k on a Saph and, in our blinkered little world that was great. Then another mate turned up with a Volvo 850 T-5 that he bought for about Ł1k. 225bhp, five pot warble, dual zone AC, leather, electric everything. Now I know a Volvo isn't everyone's cup of tea but it did wake me up to a world outside Ford. At that time the fastest Ford you'd buy for Ł1k was probably an Escort GTI or a V6 Mondeo, hardly much of a comparison to the 150mph Volvo.

I can fully understand buying something with your heart when it's your pride and joy that you're going to rub lovingly with a microfibre cloth every weekend but, for a daily, it's worth considering all the options. No point buying a worse car just because of a badge.

 

I 100% agree with massivewangers on this one.
But as your probably set in your ways with this decision I would take the St 170 over a fiesta as the fiesta revs too high in top gear if your doing much motorway stuff.

 

I like the ST 200 too. They must be getting rare now.

 

loved the st200 saloon however hatch does nothing for me

 

I had a st200 and loved it but this was nearly 10 years ago, I should think it's not as nice to drive now as I remember it being. It did go well though and with the k&n and blueflame cat back it was the best sounding car I've owned it sounded so nice. I think the focus and fiesta st are pretty similar, both heavy on fuel and not as quick as the competition. If it's what you really want then get one but I'm with the others that have said look at other stuff. I bought a stage 2 Octavia vrs last year for Ł1500 which was around 250bhp, nice to look at, no worse on fuel than my old 170 I'd say but pulled like fuck. Could of sold the parts off it for a grand I bet as everything was forge, miltek etc.
The 170 did handle really well and had good brakes, stick a rs engine in and I'd have one

 

I've had both,A 48k 2002 focus st And now a 55k 06 facelift fiesta st In my opinion focus is a far better built car and more comfortable to use everyday, fiesta it great cheap run around not as solid on the road as than focus an needs an exhaust and induction change to liven it up, both do about 31 mpg

 

Im not looking for a daily just another toy but the mrs will be on the insurance to so don't want anything too mad. Seriously considering a st200 now not really heard anything bad about them bar fuel but I expect that. Theres not many out there though so could be a waiting game!

 

I seriously suggest you drive a 220. They're much more common and just a massive step on from the 200.