anyone own a st 170?

rodenal · 29 Jun 2012 at 08:16

Bit small though if he's got a kid (The fiesta)? If you have a little more to spend then what about an octavia VRS or Leon Cupra? You'll need to pick carefully but I reckon £2k will get you a nice enough example of either.

Even something like a 2.0 petrol mondeo or maybe a 1.8 focus at around the £1400 would get you a newer car that feels like it has a useful amount of more go.

Janesy B · 29 Jun 2012 at 09:16

danza said:
I'd be quite amazed if the Fiesta ST was cheaper than the ST170, as around here it IS a chav wagon. There are loads with turbos/superchargers/massive exhausts and rally car mudflaps. On the other hand, there are hardly any 170s.

I can insure a MK1 Focus RS cheaper than I can insure an ST170, you can pick ST170s up for £1500 so every kind of knuckle dragger can afford one.

Shady89 said:
well in Nov i am so not 2 far away , btw i aint wanting one to do up lol.

I wouldn't dream of wasting my money doing a car up , just want something that looks nice and has some poke but is cheap to buy too :S

How much are you planning to spend on one?

Imy · 29 Jun 2012 at 10:27

Consider the 2.0l petrol Ghia as well if it's likely to be cheaper to maintain than the ST170. Insurance on it might be a lot cheaper too.

dazz25 · 29 Jun 2012 at 10:29

I used to own one. Handles really well but down on power for what it is. Never really felt quick. Reliability wise it was fine, only had to replace the thermostat and the usual consumables.

I swapped mine for a Clio 182 and have not regretted it for a second! The 182 is an all round better car. Handles better, faster and the fuel economy is not dreadful like the ST170! The ST170 is well known for drinking fuel but it's made worse by the poor performance.

widdyst · 29 Jun 2012 at 10:44

dazz25 said:
The 182 is an all round better car. Handles better, faster and the fuel economy is not dreadful like the ST170! The ST170 is well known for drinking fuel but it's made worse by the poor performance.

widdyst · 29 Jun 2012 at 10:48

I have to totally disagree with the first part of your comment there. I used to own an st170 and have been in a couple of little 182's.
The 182 is Definitely not an all round better car. It may be Faster But I think the handling is debatable which is best, But as an "all round" car the st170 surely is better. More Toys , More grown up feel Great on the motorway OK its not a Hot Hatch but a very good handling well appointed warm Hatch, That unfortunately needs more grunt

dazz25 · 29 Jun 2012 at 11:03

Don't get me wrong...I loved the ST170 I had but after swapping it for the 182 I realised how bad it was performance wise. The 182 is is well known for being one of the best handling FWD hatchbacks of it's time, the ST170 is close but it has nowhere near the ability that the 182 has.

Also the Clio has more toys as standard than the ST170. I had the climate pack on my Focus which gave me xenons, climate control and heated windscreen. These all come standard on the 182 bar the heated windscreen, which is the only thing I miss in the winter! It also has automatic lights, auto wipers, speed limiter etc.

I wouldn't say the build quality is miles apart, fair enough the Focus is better and the interior is a lot nicer but not by as much as people would think.

I agree that the ST170 is the better motorway car and the 6th gear makes a lot of difference. I travel on the motorway everyday to work and both cars are fine for my needs. If I was bothered about refinent/comfort etc on the motorway I wouldn't choose either of them.

Brookert · 29 Jun 2012 at 11:18

dazz25 said:
Don't get me wrong...I loved the ST170 I had but after swapping it for the 182 I realised how bad it was performance wise. The 182 is is well known for being one of the best handling FWD hatchbacks of it's time, the ST170 is close but it has nowhere near the ability that the 182 has.

I thought it was the focus mk1 one which had all the journalists raving about how its handling was superior to any other fwd hatchbacks?

Its all opinion at the end of the day.

rossk26 · 29 Jun 2012 at 11:28

Brookert said:
I thought it was the focus mk1 one which had all the journalists raving about how its handling was superior to any other fwd hatchbacks?

Its all opinion at the end of the day.

It's the most chuck-able car I've ever driven. Better handling than my current ST (however it does need alignment doing).

dazz25 · 29 Jun 2012 at 11:30

The MK1 Focus is is a great handling car in the world of hatchbacks but I don't think they would be comparing them to hot hatches.

I'm not sure they could say that a MK1 Focus handles better than any hot hatch that was out at the same time.

kidloco · 29 Jun 2012 at 11:35

I would advise against buying a ST170. I owned one for 3 years and had quite a few issues. Parts are quite expensive compared to standard focus parts. Its also thirsty as hell, which I wouldn't mind if it was quick but it isnt.

Shame as other then that it handled OK and was pretty solid inside.

rossk26 · 29 Jun 2012 at 11:37

dazz25 said:
The MK1 Focus is is a great handling car in the world of hatchbacks but I don't think they would be comparing them to hot hatches.

I'm not sure they could say that a MK1 Focus handles better than any hot hatch that was out at the same time.

the MK1 Focus RS would have something to say about this!...

Janesy B · 29 Jun 2012 at 11:38

Brookert said:
I thought it was the focus mk1 one which had all the journalists raving about how its handling was superior to any other fwd hatchbacks?

The MK1 Focus did handle well, it was better than all of it's competitors (Astra, MK4 Golf, etc). An RS Cio 182 is a more accomplished car than an ST170 though, that's not to say it doesn't handle well.

widdyst · 29 Jun 2012 at 11:39

dazz25.....I take onboard your comments there and would agree that if op wants the quickest way of getting from a to b the Clio would win, If the op could drive both cars on the absolute limit whilst going from a to b. But le t's face it, he won't be driving like that 99% of the time. The roads these days just get worse and worse don't they.

dazz25 · 29 Jun 2012 at 12:00

rossk26 said:
the MK1 Focus RS would have something to say about this!...

I wasn't talking about a MK1 RS though. I was talking about a bog standard MK1 Focus which was a great handling car compared to other hatchbacks at the time but not compared to the hot hatches...which is where the RS would come in!

widdyst said:
dazz25.....I take onboard your comments there and would agree that if op wants the quickest way of getting from a to b the Clio would win, If the op could drive both cars on the absolute limit whilst going from a to b. But le t's face it, he won't be driving like that 99% of the time. The roads these days just get worse and worse don't they.

Totally agree, I wasn't recommending he gets a 182 I was mainly referring to other comments about them previous to mine.

It also doesn't sound like an ST170 is the ideal car for the OP. They just don't justify the amount they cost to run, especially as they're getting older now.

Bad_HatHarry · 29 Jun 2012 at 12:04

Heres mine that i bought a few months ago, i bought it to stop putting mileage on my impreza.
These things are so much fun, the chassis is fantastic, i go round roundabouts like i did in my mini when i was 18

When i was looking i could'nt believe how much you could pick these things up for now, this cost me £1800.
Ive done quite a bit of reading on them since owning and they have there faults apparently, but so far nothing, i gave it a full service myself when getting it and done the cambelt and water pump at the same time.
I have heard that the early ones before 2003 had some problems, but they revised them after that, mines a 2003.

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Rybo89 · 29 Jun 2012 at 12:08

The 182 would still be better than a mk1 focus rs on handling. I wasnt to impressed when i had a passenger ride in one. Awful interior to lol.

Anyway the Fiesta ST is perfectly fine for a family if you can afford one. I have a little one to and also 23 and my old ST was plenty big enough for everything we did. Granted now having a bigger Astra VXR the added space is a bonus but the ST had 2 kids bikes in the boot as well as food and other essentials when on a day out. Perfect all round car a Fiesta is.

Dogbreath · 29 Jun 2012 at 12:10

Howard said:
Oh and most modern cars have dual-mass flywheels

The ST170 isn't very modern though, it was made at a time when dual mass flywheels were relatively unusual on a petrol engine. The standard 2.0L Focus for example didn't have a dual mass flywheel.

[TW]Fox · 29 Jun 2012 at 12:16

Dogbreath said:
The ST170 isn't very modern though, it was made at a time when dual mass flywheels were relatively unusual on a petrol engine.

I wouldnt say it was - it's not an early 90's car or something is it? My car is the same sort of age and has a dual mass flywheel....

rossk26 · 29 Jun 2012 at 12:49

Rybo89 said:
The 182 would still be better than a mk1 focus rs on handling.

I would have to completely disagree with you on this one. The Focus RS has an exceptional chassis along with Quaife ATB Differential, much wider track tyres. It's renowned for it's handling. Hence why it's far quicker than most higher powered cars on track...