Discussion
Anyone had the chance to test drive the ST?
I went to the dealer today to look at the new ST, they had 2 in on in Tango orange and one in performance blue, perf blue looks nicer less in ur face.
the perf blue was a ST3 spec, but this particular model didn't have elec seats but the yet the seats where leather -so not sure if the final spec is clear on each of the models.
NST
I went to the dealer today to look at the new ST, they had 2 in on in Tango orange and one in performance blue, perf blue looks nicer less in ur face.
the perf blue was a ST3 spec, but this particular model didn't have elec seats but the yet the seats where leather -so not sure if the final spec is clear on each of the models.
NST
I drove one a couple of weeks ago. It's a very accomplished car and the only area I could really criticise it for was it's softish handling balance and lack of agility. It has masses of grip though and I have no doubt of it's performance on track, but to me, it didn't have quite the feel of my old Focus 2.0 Zetec. In every other area, it is a hugely competant car with awesome brakes, low levels of torque steer, a great interior & superb seats, a lovely engine note with bags of torque, sharp steering, good build quality and a high level of refinement. Just make sure that you order the car with tyre weld rather than the spacesaver wheel or you will have a boot of 282 litres instead of 385.
I noticed no paint quality issues on the Orange ST-2 I test drove.
Value wise, this car is pretty exceptional, especially when you start adding up the options list on cars such as the Golf GTI. Also, I imagine that the engine will respond extremely well to tuning for those of us that want more power through our front wheels.
>> Edited by JezF on Wednesday 23 November 11:12
I noticed no paint quality issues on the Orange ST-2 I test drove.
Value wise, this car is pretty exceptional, especially when you start adding up the options list on cars such as the Golf GTI. Also, I imagine that the engine will respond extremely well to tuning for those of us that want more power through our front wheels.
>> Edited by JezF on Wednesday 23 November 11:12
JezF said:
Just make sure that you order the car with tyre weld rather than the spacesaver wheel or you will have a boot of 282 litres instead of 385.
>> Edited by JezF on Wednesday 23 November 11:12
I had a look at the ST this weekend at my local dealer and noticed how small the boot was. Does the boot floor get properly repositioned if you order without the spare? I was told the reason for the boot difference was the size of the exhausts below. I can see how losing the spare will free up space, but if the boot is not retrimmed properly it won't be very useful.
Paul.
JezF said:What do you reckon the boot would be like if I order with the standard spacesaver wheel, but then leave it in the garage? Would if likely fit neatly back into place?
...Just make sure that you order the car with tyre weld rather than the spacesaver wheel or you will have a boot of 282 litres instead of 385.
Most of the time tyre-weld would be fine, but it'd be nice to have a proper spare around for if more serious damage occurs.
Tripps said:
...Just make sure that you order the car with tyre weld rather than the spacesaver wheel or you will have a boot of 282 litres instead of 385.
Most of the time tyre-weld would be fine, but it'd be nice to have a proper spare around for if more serious damage occurs.
I dont think it will on all the ford cars that I have had when the spare is in the boot it sits in a well made from metal with a bolt in it to allow you to tie the wheel down, so unless you can remove the well which may be welded in I dont think it is possible but not totally sure.
dezza87 said:All our Fords so far have had the same, full size spares in those though. But I can't imagine Ford claiming extra luggage space by carpeting the tyre well and using that as the boot though.
I dont think it will on all the ford cars that I have had when the spare is in the boot it sits in a well made from metal with a bolt in it to allow you to tie the wheel down, so unless you can remove the well which may be welded in I dont think it is possible but not totally sure.
As I recall in the Mondeo there was 2" foam below the carpet though ensure it was taller than the spare, I guess with a space-saver this would be needed and thus give some extra space (not that the Mondeo really needed it)
Will have to see if any demo cars are at my local dealers and have a look.
JezF said:Excellent, what colour and spec have you got?
I am told that you can remove the spacesaver and foam (or similar bits) to get the normal sized boot. I'll report back in a couple of days as mine arrives tomorrow and I found out too late about the choice of spacesaver or tyre weld.
Got a test drive on Friday and the dealer has a 3 door ST3 and 5 door ST2 (the spec I'd be going for), so may well have a deposit down, will have to see
What sort of waiting times do they have at the moment do you know?
>> Edited by Tripps on Wednesday 7th December 07:45
JezF said:
I am told that you can remove the spacesaver and foam (or similar bits) to get the normal sized boot. I'll report back in a couple of days as mine arrives tomorrow and I found out too late about the choice of spacesaver or tyre weld.
I'm believe that from 2006 onwards the ST comes as standard with a can of tyre weld and space saver won't even be an option.
The 2005 builds which (obviously) include the ones in the showrooms have a space saver. The boot floor is raised enough already with the twin exhaust so this shrinks the boot quite a bit. It also creates a flat loading (i.e. boot floor same height as the bumper) boot which, depending on your view, could be a good or a bad thing. For example, when you put your Sainsbury's shop down your bucket like boot it has less chance of sliding around.
Not sure whether you can convert a space saver boot into a regular boot (although you should be able to tell us by now!)
I had a good mooch around one the other week and the storage space under the boot floor around the space saver looks useful. This would be good for me because in my current ST170 I have the cargo net full of junk (electric pump, first aid kit, triangle, fire extinguisher etc) which would stow away nicely.
Mine is due in March so it'll probably only have the can of foam.
Right! The surround is simply polystyrene and easily removable. There is plenty of storage, so you need to decide whether a spacesaver is handy, or whether you want a bigger boor. I think I will probably leave it in most of the time, but remove when I am holidaying and need bigger capacity.
The option is now gone - it will be tyre weld only from now on it.
>> Edited by JezF on Thursday 8th December 13:37
The option is now gone - it will be tyre weld only from now on it.
>> Edited by JezF on Thursday 8th December 13:37
(copied from my post on www.bm3w.co.uk)
Well, I had a test drive in the Asbo today at Allen’s. It’s Hartwells which used to be in the centre of Swindon, however new franchise in the old massive yellow Renault warehouse / distribution centre in Western Swindon (was a James Bond set once and Prince Charles called it yet another carbuncle I think!)
Salesman and Sales Manger were doing their best with no computers or phones (a new build etc)! They knew what they were talking about and claimed a couple of interesting facts, ie the ST will be worth a percent more than a Golf GTi at the 3 year point and the comment that only 500 will be made in orange (I’m sure they will be limited early on but not to 500 overall). They admit that they will be a volume seller as they will have to be considering the size of that building!
Here is their demo, the guys were decent enough to let me out on their 50 mile old car which had only been delivered the day before.
The engine wasn’t tight and revved cleanly once warm. It pulled very well especially from very low down, with a nice thrump from the exhausts; very quiet at cruising speeds too (60-70 in 6th). The Recaro seats were comfortable although didn’t seem to hold particularly in place (driving was fine due to holding the steering wheel; I briefly passengered at the start for 4-5 miles and then it seemed ‘small’ in the front passenger side and not anchored into it).
We drove up towards Wanborough for those who know it (1st exit south from J16 of M4) with the ESP and ‘std steering’on. There is a couple of nice sharp bends in a 60 limit and on a constant throttle the ESP was ideal for an ‘everyday’ driver. The car held a slow-ish pace around the bend and then took off once the wheels were straight (roads were cold and greasy). The wheels are 18” and look like they should be on a Lambo. The tyres were Continental Sportcontacts
www.conti-online.com/generator/www/de/en/continental/automobile/themes/news/meldungen/pr_2005_11_11_ford_focus_st_oe_success_en.html
They look like this and must suffer around a track?
www.conti-online.com/generator/www/de/en/continental/automobile/themes/pcar/summer/conti_sport_contact_2/sportcontact2_en.html
The steering once turned to ‘sports’ seemed to become a little more weighted although you couldn’t tell what was going on with the tyres (ie with my pug 205 I can add a fraction more turn to the steering in a bend and ‘feel’ the grip from the yokohamas; the ST didn’t make what was happening at the front anywhere near as obvious). Once the ESP was turned off, the ST spun up the fronts easily in first, second and third after an apex (grip in a straight line was good, spinning up is limited to first really). After the apex, heavy throttle would start the understeer but it wasn’t too bad (for a 222 bhp front wheel driver). Then, at luck would have it, a Lancer evo (not sure which version but recent) with a couple of lads with mirror shades turned up behind us. My passenger didn’t mind so we took off along the B4005 (Wharf Rd from Wroughton back to J16), a road with long straights and a couple of nasty corners). After overtaking a tractor, a van, and a Range Rover just out of Wroughton, the Evo tried to keep up. It was close on acceleration (I probably had the ‘drop’
but he was much slower through the bends and on initial pickup after the bend. The grip was very good from the contis (a bit of a surprise, I’m not a huge fan of contis!), we caught up with a couple of other cars with a lot of oncoming traffic and he nearly went into the back of me. Brakes must be good too!!
Overall, I went for a jolly in a car that JC said was really good and what does he know!? I finished the thrash, very impressed with the Asbo. I like the colour, the blue isn’t too bad either but I prefer PY M3s so……..? It could be a good thing to be in until the new RS comes out too?
The Ford website under downloads offers an ST ringtone (and I have downloaded it; how sad is that!?!) as well as some photos, which I'll try and post.
The ST also had a MP3, DSP Sony stereo however never turned it on and it has a couple of seats in the back but didn’t look too closely. My daughters will squash in, I’m sure!
www.ford.co.uk/ie/foc_c307/foc_c307_experience/foc_st_microsite/-/-/-/-
Overall, thumbs up but do I order one or a clio trophy?............
Well, I had a test drive in the Asbo today at Allen’s. It’s Hartwells which used to be in the centre of Swindon, however new franchise in the old massive yellow Renault warehouse / distribution centre in Western Swindon (was a James Bond set once and Prince Charles called it yet another carbuncle I think!)
Salesman and Sales Manger were doing their best with no computers or phones (a new build etc)! They knew what they were talking about and claimed a couple of interesting facts, ie the ST will be worth a percent more than a Golf GTi at the 3 year point and the comment that only 500 will be made in orange (I’m sure they will be limited early on but not to 500 overall). They admit that they will be a volume seller as they will have to be considering the size of that building!
Here is their demo, the guys were decent enough to let me out on their 50 mile old car which had only been delivered the day before.
The engine wasn’t tight and revved cleanly once warm. It pulled very well especially from very low down, with a nice thrump from the exhausts; very quiet at cruising speeds too (60-70 in 6th). The Recaro seats were comfortable although didn’t seem to hold particularly in place (driving was fine due to holding the steering wheel; I briefly passengered at the start for 4-5 miles and then it seemed ‘small’ in the front passenger side and not anchored into it).
We drove up towards Wanborough for those who know it (1st exit south from J16 of M4) with the ESP and ‘std steering’on. There is a couple of nice sharp bends in a 60 limit and on a constant throttle the ESP was ideal for an ‘everyday’ driver. The car held a slow-ish pace around the bend and then took off once the wheels were straight (roads were cold and greasy). The wheels are 18” and look like they should be on a Lambo. The tyres were Continental Sportcontacts
www.conti-online.com/generator/www/de/en/continental/automobile/themes/news/meldungen/pr_2005_11_11_ford_focus_st_oe_success_en.html
They look like this and must suffer around a track?
www.conti-online.com/generator/www/de/en/continental/automobile/themes/pcar/summer/conti_sport_contact_2/sportcontact2_en.html
The steering once turned to ‘sports’ seemed to become a little more weighted although you couldn’t tell what was going on with the tyres (ie with my pug 205 I can add a fraction more turn to the steering in a bend and ‘feel’ the grip from the yokohamas; the ST didn’t make what was happening at the front anywhere near as obvious). Once the ESP was turned off, the ST spun up the fronts easily in first, second and third after an apex (grip in a straight line was good, spinning up is limited to first really). After the apex, heavy throttle would start the understeer but it wasn’t too bad (for a 222 bhp front wheel driver). Then, at luck would have it, a Lancer evo (not sure which version but recent) with a couple of lads with mirror shades turned up behind us. My passenger didn’t mind so we took off along the B4005 (Wharf Rd from Wroughton back to J16), a road with long straights and a couple of nasty corners). After overtaking a tractor, a van, and a Range Rover just out of Wroughton, the Evo tried to keep up. It was close on acceleration (I probably had the ‘drop’
but he was much slower through the bends and on initial pickup after the bend. The grip was very good from the contis (a bit of a surprise, I’m not a huge fan of contis!), we caught up with a couple of other cars with a lot of oncoming traffic and he nearly went into the back of me. Brakes must be good too!! Overall, I went for a jolly in a car that JC said was really good and what does he know!? I finished the thrash, very impressed with the Asbo. I like the colour, the blue isn’t too bad either but I prefer PY M3s so……..? It could be a good thing to be in until the new RS comes out too?
The Ford website under downloads offers an ST ringtone (and I have downloaded it; how sad is that!?!) as well as some photos, which I'll try and post.
The ST also had a MP3, DSP Sony stereo however never turned it on and it has a couple of seats in the back but didn’t look too closely. My daughters will squash in, I’m sure!
www.ford.co.uk/ie/foc_c307/foc_c307_experience/foc_st_microsite/-/-/-/-
Overall, thumbs up but do I order one or a clio trophy?............
It's
www.fordeumicrosites.com
although it tells you to text 'STringtone' to 83338.
I have the http:// url is sent to me but I think it will just send another ringtome to my phone??? Not sure.
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