How is the mk4 ST compared to the mk3.5? The mk4 looks ace.
There does seem to be a distinct lack of following for these cars on OCUK
I've had mine for almost 2 months now and I absolutely love it. It's my first hot hatch after years of large saloons/hatchbacks and it's a breath of fresh air.
From what the prices seem to be doing on Autotrader, I think I paid a pretty good price.
Other than Ford's inability to still build a rattle free interior, I'm really pleased with it.
I'd say the Mk3.5 seats feel a bit more premium than those in the Mk4, however not having to deal with disadvantages of full leather on the main area you sit has been much better at both ends of the temperature scale.
They've managed to engineer out the heavy front end feeling I felt the Mk3.5 had. It doesn't quite have the pivoting around a pole the Fiesta ST has, but it feels much more balanced and less nose heavy. The adaptive dampers give it quite a road hugging feel, but it's also nice having the jekyll and hyde ability to the car, which is why I switched from the Fiesta ST, I couldn't quite ever turn the car off enough to chill out on the commute home when I wasn't in the mood.
The e-diff is probably the biggest difference, much more manageable and controlled power delivery.
The 2.3 lump is a nice engine too, it's got the same sort of lazy almost diesel drivability of the 2.0 which I missed when I had the Fiesta in between. It's just a longer stroke of the 2.0 so it's bound to be similar, but the twin scroll turbo has definitely improved the response and it's noticeably "ready" quicker after gear changes. Much smoother than the 3 pot Fiesta ST, although that does also mean the sound isn't as good, but the Mk4 is better sounding from the factory than the Mk3.5 imo, I had a mountune exhaust on my MK3.5, but don't feel the same need on the Mk4.... yet anyway