fordsportjay

iTrader: (6)

i have never driven one,but am thinking about maybe buying one next year.people who own them/have owned them-your comments please.

are they useable evry day/do they just feel like a newer rs turbo/tuneability/reliability/running costs,etc etc

thanks
jay

The DIVA

iTrader: (3)

Very useable and they handle Awesome !!!!!

neilm

Dont bother...

Buy the new ST.... more power, all round better car...

fordsportjay

iTrader: (6)

really?

Jay,

iTrader: (4)

mega exspensive to get decent power there to overated imo

S1

I love my FRS even after nearly two years of ownership. Spend a grand on a few mods and it transforms them.

Fords claim that the ST is about 10 seconds faster around the ring than the RS. Can't remember who it was but someone has driven both around the 'Ring said that the ST was nowhere near the RS. He reckoned that to do it in the time Ford claimed it would need a proper diff in, a slipper or ATB. He said when he tried to get the power down it would start to wheelspin and then the elctronics kicked in and stifled it.

ST and RS are two different beasts. RS has no gizmos as such, just air-con. ST has all the toys and is more civilized, a better daily driver for the average punter but it depends what you're after. Test drive both back to back and see the difference.

Rick

RS is quicker than ST. Round Top Gear Track, and Brunters Track

RichardPON

Not at all - 350bhp can be had out of them without even lifting the head.

With that much power, it was all over my stage 3 saff, and handled about three times better!

rssteve

i thought about getting both of these start of the year and after taking an rs out and being test driven in the st i prefered the rs much more. how anyone can say the st is quicker i don't no it might have more power but certain don't weight the same. mines running approx 285 bhp and certainly goes well.

kl-mortiss

sold mine last month and bought a escort cosworth great every day cars good handling nice inside but i think they do lack bulls out styling like the older cars . and prices they our starting to drop.

rssteve

not dropping as quick as an ST, and they certaining look more stylish than the ST. This time of year is bad to sell anyway wait til the summer and prices will be up again especially with the amount of them being written off lately.

kl-mortiss

yes they do look alot better than the ST,

Dog

The new ST is too civilised for my liking, okay so possibly more suited as a daily driver thanks to all the electronic toys and luxuries.

I have my RS and I love it, its one of the best handling cars I've driven and even after nearly two years of ownership it still makes me smile everytime taking it out for a good thrash up some B roads.

As for the claims that the new ST is faster?........... Afraid not

Rich

plynchy

I drove the ST the day before I wemt to view my RS. I bought the RS.

ST is a really nice car to drive, comfy, quiet, piles on the speed without you realising and very refined, if that (and chronic depreciation) is your thing then buy one.

The RS has a rock hard ride, is very noisy and needs grabbing by the scruff of it's neck to get the best from it, the handling is superb, and with a few simple mods (about Ł700-1k) it will go like fuck, mine does. Very entertaining car to drive, almost as much fun as the Boxster I had previously. Excellent daily driver, although economy isn't it's strong point

Horses for courses mate. But I know which is better suited to an enthusiast.

GAFFA

Get the RS mate you wount be disappointed Every time a take mine out it makes me smile , Plus their a limited amount ,

fordsportjay

iTrader: (6)

so its mostly positive then......

Stu @ M Developments

iTrader: (12)

The best handling Rs out there Jay. Period.


Also teh least likely to snap.

NathR

I've had mine for two years an still absolutely love it, as for the vs ST debate...I drove a fuck off Orange ASBO and after about 5miles I knew I still owned the best car by a long shot.

fordsportjay

iTrader: (6)

would i like it more than my 535i sport though????thats my dilemma or would i prefer an m5???

rsdrew

nearly swapped my FRS for an ST tried it....no...didnt tick all the right boxes like the RS

plynchy

M5.

discodenkelly

We had a Focus RS in at work ages ago, nice car, I had a drive about in it, hard as nails ride, if you give it death it tended to torque steer like fook but then again it was a auction car so could have been a bad example. I like em more than the ST TBH. However an M5 is a totally different animal. Probably the only BMW I would consider owning

AndyRST

Been using my FRS everyday for the last 6 months now and great car

very very easy to get on with everyday but when you want it can handle a track day no problems. Usually you find you cant have one without spoiling the other but this really is a good all rounder.

bit heavy on fuel tho, average 28-30mpg but upto 36mpg motorway and a 23-25 mpg around town.

Things that go wrong :

AF map can have a 5000 rpm misfire
Seat base's sag
Std boost solenoid not hold boost
pink throttle gromet fitted to stop vibration in pedal.
bonnet skin can become unbonded.
Paint work suffers badly from stone chips
Paint finish never been brilliant from factory

Tuning :

Bluefin = 20+ bhp
Decat = 15+ bhp
Tublar manifold = 20+ bhp
Boost controller, hold the boost up

fit that lot for around Ł2k and it will make 285bhp

Kev.H

it was the st170 the st focus was 10 seconds quicker than not the rs round the ring

both are maxed at about 300 on standard turbo IMO. RS is more special and probably slightly harder to live with... people diss RS prices but IMO you get what you pay for Like and dislike bits on both but the FRS has the badge ST is a nothing badge IMO

RS is a cult classic ST is a best seller

KEVFRST

its gotta be the FRS for me.

AndyRST

Only 10 seconds The ST170 is a slow, understeery sack of shite on a track (i should know ) The new ST must be able to lap the ring more than 10 seconds faster then the old ST170

The new Focus ST is much easier to live with everyday use but you dont get that special feeling driving it, it just feels like a better than average everyday car.

rs nuts

iTrader: (4)

jay you know i love mine its the only car i keep hold off

your more than welcome too have a go in mine any time too make your mind up

as for the st i whould not bother at all my work mate has a new one modified it already and still can not keep up with mine

so my replie is get one pal you wont regret it

S1

All the reviews I've seen quote it as faster round the ring than the FRS not the ST170.
Bearing in mind the Ring is over 14 miles, thats only 1.4 seconds per mile, I would expect the ST to be much quicker per mile than that!

http://www.channel4.com/4car/di/ford/focus/1073/2

http://www.topspeed.com/cars/ford/fo...st-ar3427.html

cos im worth it

Looks wise the Focus RS knocks spots off the ST im my opinion, the ST looks to plastic on the front with that grey colour on the grill and that, my mate had a RS not long back and i thought it handled really well, always really liked them and would deff have one over the ST any day.

Dave Parker

correct

rssteve

you got your working out wrong. at 1,4 seocnds a mile that would be 19.6 seconds quicker. I'm sure ford stated it 10 seconds quicker than its predicessor and the mags pursumed they ment the RS.

look in performance ford at the time the dorf did that track in, it was only 1.6 seconds quicker than that ST170, and that track is 1.8 miles long.

Dave Parker

this is from the launch pack

S1

Doh!, Sorry, I meant to put it only gains a second every 1.4 miles. or something...

Ford had to make some sort of claim like this though, how would it look for a newer model to be slower than the model it effectively replaces.

NathR

Ask Mike R which is quicker round the Ring.

RichardPON

Who cares which one is quicker round the Ring?

What relevance has that got to which one is quicker on the M1, or even quicker on track, bearing in mind, the Nurburgring has little or nothing in common with nearly every UK circuit?

Alps Pacino

Po's are there a decent well capable car

The cons are there a far better cars out there for the money imo

AndyRST

Bit harsh Rich, Nath just saying that direct comparison at the ring the FRS should be the faster car.

The FRS feels raw to drive, the ST feels soft to drive, but they both do roughly the same job.

IMO the orange ST will get you a look from almost everyone as you drive past, the FRS will get you a look from the people that know what your driving.

RichardPON

Andy - you're missing the point. I prefer the FRS over the ST all day long.

I just hate people using Ring comparisons to measure a car's ability.

xr2i-carl

friends mate has one which blew headgasket early!!

has anyone else had any reliabilty prob with modifed ones?

are they a better buy than a astra vxr?

tonyk

The Focus RS is quicker round the Top Gear track than the ST by nearly 3 seconds. Stig tests the Ford Focus RS on the track against its main competition, the Subaru Impreza and the Honda Civic Type-R. The Impreza completes the track in 1:39 and the Civic finishes in 1:38.06. Surprisingly the Focus RS beats the competition out in a time of 1:33.8.

I test drove the RS and ST back to back and bought the RS which was a used car when I could easily have bought the new ST.

Info from Top Gear site and wikipedia.