Mk5 Golf GTi vs Focus ST - Opinions

Your friend needs to test drive both cars on his usual road as only he can decide what car he prefers. I prefered the Golf GTI but I do think the ST is a good car with both being fun to drive but fun is subjective.
 
I'm guessing running costs/srvicing wise, the Focus is a bit thirstier but a bit cheaper to service, too? i know neither are frugal with fuel, but from what i've read, the Golfis a tad more wallet friendly, fuel wise?
 
You're not talking huge differences with fuel costs when it comes to cars like these, especially when driven 'enthusiastically'.
 
Coco said:
My tuppence;

Meggy R26 - Pick of the lot, looks smart, goes very well & offers the driver rewards.
Golf GTI - Also a very good car, not my choice as its a touch too 'normal', but very smart, chips well to.
Focus ST - Strong characterful engine but again too 'normal' & looks ridiculous in 'Asbo' orange, very mod friendly.
Astra VXR - just a straight line Monkey with chavvy looks.

.
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Meggy R26 - Good car but fall to bits by Thursday

Golf GTI - Great car but a bit boring to me, oh and I hate those wheels

Focus ST - would be my choice

Astra VXR - if I was 18 but maybe not now
 
danza said:
Did they stop for tea or something?!?
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And scones I'm led to believe.

Tiff Needle does a review of the Golf GTi versus the ST around Rockingham. Unfortunately both his timed laps with the bearded one and Johnny included sideways action etc. Golf ended up quicker by a second but was the ED30.

Unfortunately purely down bang for buck the ST for me wins hands down. As standard even the ST2 comes with a lot of standard kit over the bongo GTI :)
 
TimBrad said:
I'm guessing running costs/srvicing wise, the Focus is a bit thirstier but a bit cheaper to service, too? i know neither are frugal with fuel, but from what i've read, the Golfis a tad more wallet friendly, fuel wise?
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The_Abyss said:
You're not talking huge differences with fuel costs when it comes to cars like these, especially when driven 'enthusiastically'.
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The Golf is good on fuel my average sits at 34mpg in the summer and 32mpg in the winter. My friend had a ST and his was around 25-26mpg. On a run I can get into the low 40s the ST struggles to get in the 30s. That doesn't sound like a great difference but now with the increasing cost of petrol the Golf over 12k a year would be saving you about 1k in fuel.

Servicing is about the same for both my last service was £165 the next one is £195 due to additional filters being changed then it alternates between them. The STs were around £170-190 if I recall correctly.

If you look for a Golf you do need to get one with some extras Xenons are a must in my book not only are they superb but it changes the whole look of the front of the car. The ST does come with a good spec as standard but doesn't include climate control a must for me also (This may have changed in the face lifted ones I am not sure)
 
MikeHiow said:
I've said many times before, the ST can and will do mid 30s on a run.
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It is not easy to do though I did a 350 mile trip in the ST and it takes a gentle foot to keep it around 33mpg. One or two fast overtakes and it heads back down quickly. The same trip in the Golf would see low 40s I have even done high 30s with 3 bikes on the roof.
 
MikeHiow said:
Thats with 25bhp and with the far more compromised ride of the Astra. Its also fruitless pointing out times that have been made by different drivers, at different times, in different conditions, with varying levels of traffic etc.
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its not pointless

they just cant be used as an accurate comparison. I never used it to claim that theres no difference between them (as the lap time would suggest if you were to take it at face value) i was merely suggesting that the gap isnt as big as people would believe.

Feeling nicer doesnt equate to quicker lap times remember. But this whole "doesnt feel as good" thing has been taken to the extreme with people saying its a one trick pony and can only go in a straight line, which is just wrong.

Heres another one to throw into the mix.

Back to back testing by the same driver, the same day, by car magazine for their Performance Car of the year 2008 Feature

Astra Nurbugring 1:10.5
Focus Mountune 1:10.6

and heres the scan of the magazine

http://www.fastestlaps.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=278&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=45
 
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Coco said:
My tuppence;

Focus ST - Strong characterful engine but again too 'normal' & looks ridiculous in 'Asbo' orange, very mod friendly.
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2jcc2te.jpg


^^ Made me LOL :p

I think it looks great in orange anyway.
 
Dangerous Dave said:
It is not easy to do though I did a 350 mile trip in the ST and it takes a gentle foot to keep it around 33mpg. One or two fast overtakes and it heads back down quickly. The same trip in the Golf would see low 40s I have even done high 30s with 3 bikes on the roof.
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Perhaps your friend needs to fix his car or run it on the fuel it was designed to run on then.

On a run up to North London and back, I can manage 33MPG without being careful and with many WOT three figure stints and overtakes (And thats with 275BHP!).

I've even managed 40MPG trying to drive economically on A and B-roads over here, so I'm certain its possible on the motorway.
 
MikeHiow said:
Perhaps your friend needs to fix his car or run it on the fuel it was designed to run on then.

On a run up to North London and back, I can manage 33MPG without being careful and with many WOT three figure stints and overtakes (And thats with 275BHP!).

I've even managed 40MPG trying to drive economically on A and B-roads over here, so I'm certain its possible on the motorway.
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It was being run on super unleaded fuel and also remapped with dreamscene with an uprated intercooler he got better fuel consumption with this than when it was standard. It may have been broken but then so must a lot of the STs on the ST forums that report similair MPG. The consumption was recorded by brimming the tank the trip computer was out by around 3mpg.
 
Must be those shoddy DS maps then ;)

Fwiw, my trip computer has never been more than about .2 MPG out in the 4 months I've had it.
 
peterattheboro said:
2jcc2te.jpg


^^ Made me LOL :p

I think it looks great in orange anyway.
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Haha! I appreciate the ironing board but its a touch different on a hatch, i'm not a fan of a Seat Leon & Audi S3 in it either, still give them a thumbs up though! :p

All righty then, evo longterm tests of the cars:

Renaultsport Megane R26.R (No R26 longtermer which is a shame)
Date acquired: January 2009
Total mileage: 15,034
Duration of test: 8 months
Average consumption: 28.4
Price new: £27,290
Depreciation: £10,790


VW Golf GTI
Dateacquired:September2005
Totalmileage:21,511
Mileagethismonth:1,862
Durationoftest:12months
Averageconsumption:30.7mpg
Servicingcosts:£154.38(service),£468(Windscreen)
Consumables:£16.99(oil),£565.60(tyres)
Extracosts:£1,665(satnavwithsix-discCDchanger),£1,025(xenonheadlightswithwinterpack),£445(18inMonzaIIwheels)
Pricenew:£23,130
Depreciation:£6,430


Ford Focus ST
Dateacquired:June2006
Totalmileage:2,835
Durationoftest:12months
Averageconsumption:24.5mpg
Servicingcosts:£305.52(twoservices)
Extracosts:£2863(bodykit,wheelsandtyres)
Pricenew:£22,167��£18,022basic,plus��ST2΢��trim(xenons,ESP,heatedscreen��£1000),ElectricOrangepaint(΂£695),Bluetooth(΂£250),satnav(΂£2000),parkassist(΂£200)
Depreciation:£7567


Vauxhall Astra VXR
Dateacquired:February2006
Totalmileage:37,214
Coststhismonth:£0
Durationoftest:15months
Averageconsumption:30.1mpg
Servicingcosts:£120
Consumables:£7.49(oil),£131(brakepadsandfluidbleed),£516(fourtyres)
Extracosts:£10(wheelswap),£10(aerial)
Pricenew:£20,995��£18,995basic,plus£750(xenons),£1250(satnav)
Depreciation:£8,545


While there is an error in the 'Total mileage' statistic for the Focus ST (it has passed through a couple of services & tyres) it does highlight how bad they are on fuel, case closed! ;)
 
MrLOL said:
its not pointless

they just cant be used as an accurate comparison. I never used it to claim that theres no difference between them (as the lap time would suggest if you were to take it at face value) i was merely suggesting that the gap isnt as big as people would believe.

Feeling nicer doesnt equate to quicker lap times remember. But this whole "doesnt feel as good" thing has been taken to the extreme with people saying its a one trick pony and can only go in a straight line, which is just wrong.

Heres another one to throw into the mix.

Back to back testing by the same driver, the same day, by car magazine for their Performance Car of the year 2008 Feature

Astra Nurbugring 1:10.5
Focus Mountune 1:10.6

and heres the scan of the magazine

http://www.fastestlaps.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=278&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=45
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same car same driver :p

 
i concur that mikehiow must be lying about his MPG figures or he resets it so it shows high figures and keeps resetting it every week :P

I have a focus ST and its never seen 30mpg unless I reset the trip on the motorway, my average MPG is about 25-26 and thats tracking it properly using fuelly. The ST is a much better car than the golf and vxr however you pay for it in fuel and tyres, both of which it loves to munch!
 
I'll not go into how biased she is

but for the momemnt, the fact the lap was only 0.6 seconds slower despite how much worse she made it seems says a lot.
 
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