Focus RS vs BMW E39 M5

panthro said:
How so? His Focus gets 20mpg at best, goes through tyres at a stupidly fast rate, a new clutch (the clutch itself, not fitted) cost £500 and brake pads and discs cost a fortune too.
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You can spend nearly £1000 on a set of four tyres for an M without blinking, most parts are horrifically expensive.

It offers supercar performance but it comes with supercar running costs. You're looking at least double the cost of the focus, probably a minimum of £5k a year to keep an M5 in decent shape on the road in consumables and servicing costs alone.

I looked into it in far too much depth when I was toying with buying one.
 
Hang on, if he is looking at an Escot Cossie, get one of them instead. Awesome cars, for £15k you can get a carefully modded one which has been looked after with possibly the LUX pack. Id rather the cossie over an M5 anyday and yes, i do like M5's. a lot :) But for sheer driving fun, the Escort Cosworth is gonna be miles ahead.
 
The problem with Escort Cossies is that for £15k you get a 15 year old Ford Escort*. This means that aside from their awesomeness, it's a scabby old Escort with a scabby old Escort interior, scabby old Escort levels of rust protection, etc etc.....

* I am aware it's a Sierra floorpan with a bespoke bodyshell and the only part it shares with an Escort is the rear light clusters from a Cabrio but you get my point.
 
[TW]Fox said:
The problem with Escort Cossies is that for £15k you get a 15 year old Ford Escort*. This means that aside from their awesomeness, it's a scabby old Escort with a scabby old Escort interior, scabby old Escort levels of rust protection, etc etc.....

* I am aware it's a Sierra floorpan with a bespoke bodyshell and the only part it shares with an Escort is the rear light clusters from a Cabrio but you get my point.
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no great sense of quality or ocassion

but then you do get an escort cossie, just walking up to it knowing how much of icon it is, gives it a sesne of ocassion.
 
MrLOL said:
no great sense of quality or ocassion

but then you do get an escort cossie, just walking up to it know how much of icon it is, gives it a sesne of ocassion.
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If you really feel that way, I'd strongly suggest not getting behind the wheel of one. It's going to be a disappointment, unless the cars been highly and well modified. As standard they weren't that quick, certainly not compared to todays cars.

http://www.rsownersclub.co.uk/car_info/esccos.htm
 
Escort Cosworths just look cheap and nasty nowadays.

And before any FANBOYS dig out pics - there's a world of difference between a digi pic and standing next to one IRL.

Wouldn't say no to the engine though :D
 
I used to think the 5 series was just a big barge untill i owned one, what a car to drive totally surprised whilst it doesnt handle like a hot hatch, it handles fantastically well, and not like a barge at all.

Now i own a hot focus, and i turn into a fanboy whenever i own any car, but even im not dumb enough to think a Focus will be a match for the M5.

Tbh the focus is not a small lightweigh car like the teg, they are quite bloated really, my MK2 isnt much lighter than my mondeo ST.
 
The_Dark_Side said:
in what way?
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In the 227bhp, 140mph vmax, 0-60 in about 5.7 seconds aided by 4WD kinda way...

Modified they can be very, very quick, but as standard, they aren't, especially when they are already moving and the 4wd becomes a handicap rather than an asset.

All IMO though of course :)
 
wohoo said:
Tbh the focus is not a small lightweigh car like the teg, they are quite bloated really, my MK2 isnt much lighter than my mondeo ST.
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True, however they are light weight compared to a M5

1280kg v 1720kg.
 
Dolph said:
In the 227bhp, 140mph vmax, 0-60 in about 5.7 seconds aided by 4WD kinda way...

Modified they can be very, very quick, but as standard, they aren't, especially when they are already moving and the 4wd becomes a handicap rather than an asset.

All IMO though of course :)
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well, i've seen the 60 dash figures anywhere between 5.4 and 5.7 depending on a few things.
which turbo the car had and the fact that pretty much every single YB lump puts out slightly more or less than the one that was made ten minutes before that lol.
as standard as i stated earlier the car is a less than complete package, the brakes for example are awful...those nasty sliding caliper affairs Ford loved so much, but then there is a reason for that to be fair.

to be honest, it's hard to find cars to compare them with as they only had 220bhp whereas all the current crop of similar vehicles have more.
i'm trying to think of a similar type of car with similar power output that's faster but my brain is letting me down.
 
It seems to be a common misconception that M-sport cars are poor at handling and just have big engines.....

Absurd.

The M-sport differential used in the M3's is by far the most responsive and informative one I've ever driven with, and I've driven subaru's, evo's, even a lotus elise didn't feel as fun. The M5 is just a bigger version of the M3. It is designed to perform, hence 'MOTORSPORT' who build the thing.

The Focus RS is a fantastic car, but it's going to get real boring real quick. It's slower than the escort cosworth and have you ever seen the interior of a focus RS? You'll be sick before you even throw it into a corner.....

M5 any day of the week, and that's not because I love BMW's, it's simply the better car, although as other people have stated, they are a million miles apart in terms of league. 5.0 V8 vs 2.0 Turbo, hot hatch vs family saloon(/supercar?)
 
Unmodified (cosmetically) Escort Cosworth:
syyskuu2005_1.jpg


1999 BMW M5: (£13950 on autotrader @ 96k miles)
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Not a lot in it looks wise, you pays your money and takes your choice. The build quality will be better on the BMW, but the track day fun factor will be greater in the Cossy, especially if its modded.

The size (especially wheelbase length) and weight of the M5 is going to count against it in the twisties, but will be equally far ahead on the motorway where the Cosworth will be twitchy and noisy. I'd expect fuel costs to be similarly poor on both. I also suspect running costs won't be as different as has been indicated above, both will be in the "horrific" catagory, the cosworth needing more regular care and attention compared to the BM's silly part costs. Also the Cosworth is more likely to be targetted by thieves and will be diificult to find an unmollested one at this point in its life.

Is your friend after a B-road rocket/track day special which he wants to mod, or is he after a motorway/A-road uber-wagon which will eat up the miles in relaxed comfort?

If it was me, I'd go for the Cosworth as I do little motorway travelling, and enjoy modding. Oh and also I don't smoke a pipe yet or am over 50 ;)
 
Not a lot looks wise? One's an Escort the other is a 5 Series :p

This is a £14k M5:

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As you can see, it's absolutely stunning. And nothing like a 1995 Ford Escort.
 
Why isnt he looking at an M3 ?

A good friend had the 535D msport and BMW tweaked to 350bhp, he now has a CSL. As good as the 5 series was the M3 walks all over it on pretty much any twisty road. He had a play in an M5 and and turn in was much better but it was still a big car and anything but nimble. Its a high powered cruiser before its a track car after all ;) As awesome a car the M5 is you are disconnected from the road in a way you are not in the M3 or CSL - you can feel the computers haul it round corners.

Mind as someone else said on corner exit and foot down the M5 pulls like a tardis, also hides its speed very well - you feel you are cruising at 60 when doing 140 :o Having said all of that i would have the M5 over an RS, just i would have an M3 over an M5 for outright day to day fun.
 
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