There are loads of cars in this '150 bhp' sector now.Seems to be taking off again.

Worst of the bunch has to be the Polo GTI.Nice looker.Nearly

There are loads of cars in this '150 bhp' sector now.Seems to be taking off again.

Worst of the bunch has to be the Polo GTI.Nice looker.Nearly

I like the Polo GTI shame about the price though :eek: But back on topic the Fiesta ST gets the from me as does the Focus ST. This is coming from someone who said he wouldn't buy a Ford after the nightmare my sis had with her KAk!!!

Given the circumstances (belting round a track) would the MPG really be any different?

I see the all important figures are missing from the 5th gear website.

Belting round the track, my MPG was 17, the 220bhp Octavia was 8mpg. And there was no difference in performance even though he had 40bhp more. Ask the Octy driver to confirm.

Also the Fiesta is a cracker and I'd have the stripes.

Belting round the track' date=' my MPG was 17, the 220bhp Octavia was 8mpg. And there was no difference in performance even though he had 40bhp more. Ask the Octy driver to confirm.

Also the Fiesta is a cracker and I'd have the stripes.[/quote']

8.4 mpg, if you don't mind And I only have 216 bhp, and smaller gonads. So there :P :P

Yes the Fiesta was quicker around THAT circuit.... In fact quicker than a Leon Cupra R amongst others,, Does it make it a quicker car in real life?

I think not... The Fiesta suited that circuit

Lack of TC helped it in the dry... What about damp or wet? on a public road

where lift off oversteer + normal driver = big crash.....

When are programmes like 5th Gear and Top Gear going to realise that

having cars oversteering in a cloud of tyre smoke, or expertly 'drifting'

Means absolutly NOTHING on the normal road... as usually there is a

HGV comming the other way....

An example of this was when one of the mags ran a story on the Audi S4 vs the BMW M3 in the wet!!... The M3 came out on top?!!! The pictures told a completely different story.. the M3 was completely sideways with the S4 pinned to the corner with no drama.. The S4 was faster and more stable,

but because it was not as much fun round the track they marked it down..

In real life the Audi would be far safer and quicker than a M3.. 90% weather

conditions vs 10% where the M3 might be quicker if in the hands of an experienced driver..

There a pros and cons to buying any car...

My Octy vRS is resonably priced, relatively refined and quick, 34MPG ( which is a facter unless you have won the Lottery ), average service costs.

with lots of niggles, bad lights, poor stereo etc....

The Fabia vRS is a cheap, car compared with the competition, well built, refined, 45+ MPG, cheap insurance, quick in real world driving, let downs

include lack of certain kit like climate, better brakes etc...

The Ford Fiesta is prob good to drive, goes well, etc etc, but the residuals

will be like most Fords a steep drop. Which is not really fair TBH as they are way above Vauxhall and Renault IMO.. Also the reliability is not as good as Skoda....

ta

Dazz

Lack of TC helped it in the dry... What about damp or wet? on a public road

where lift off oversteer + normal driver = big crash.....

TC wouldn't help in the situation that you describe. All it does it cut power if it senses the front wheels spinning. Even if the front wheels were spinning when you were cornering the last thing you want is the TC system lifting off for you.

Also the reliability is not as good as Skoda....

what do you base that on?

my octavia is te most unreliabel car i've owned apart from a 11 year old metro i owned a few years ago.

my focus was older than my octavia and had higher milage, the only thing to fail on the focus was 1 rear wheel bearing and a coil pack.

my skoda has had the clutch, gearbox, coil pack, drive shaft, drivers door catch, coolant bottle, coolant sensor, brake pedal sensor, esp sensor, heating motor and thats off the top of my head.

i also owned a 10 year old 950cc fiesta and all that went wrong on that was a tem sensor for the rear screen and a coil failed. all fixed under warrenty

you're right car mags/shows really need to focus on whats important, like how quick a car is from 31.273mph to 53.465mph in top gear with an incline of 5.76% rather than things like how well it goes round corners or how much fun it is to drive... life's too short and driving is generally too dull to choose a car with you head and not your heart, we need to be having more fun

as for the Fiesta being quicker on that particular track but not anywhere else, that type of thing doesn't stop certain people from harping on about how the Fabia vRS beat a MINI Cooper... :P

Andy everyone needs their moment ay!

I agree with you in the past I have bought cars that have been fun(ish) to drive, and each one of them has let me down. The fabia is the first one I've bought using my brain and so far it's panned out well. Only trouble is the heart is now modding it!

Personal + reliability surveys...

I drove a Ford Focus TDCI brand new.. for a week before the engine refused to start, due to a fault in the Engine....

VAG group cars generally are more reliable than the equiv Ford or Vauxhall...

Having said that there will always be exceptions..

DT...

what do you base that on?

my octavia is te most unreliabel car i've owned apart from a 11 year old metro i owned a few years ago.

my focus was older than my octavia and had higher milage' date=' the only thing to fail on the focus was 1 rear wheel bearing and a coil pack.

my skoda has had the clutch, gearbox, coil pack, drive shaft, drivers door catch, coolant bottle, coolant sensor, brake pedal sensor, esp sensor, heating motor and thats off the top of my head.

i also owned a 10 year old 950cc fiesta and all that went wrong on that was a tem sensor for the rear screen and a coil failed. all fixed under warrenty [/quote']

Personal + reliability surveys...

I drove a Ford Focus TDCI brand new.. for a week before the engine refused to start' date=' due to a fault in the Engine....

VAG group cars generally are more reliable than the equiv Ford or Vauxhall...

Having said that there will always be exceptions..

DT...[/quote']

Is that problem as common as say the Coilpack issue? or the PD150 dead turbo problem?

I like VAG cars and do have a preference for them but to think nothing else can compare is a little blinkered.

TC wouldn't help in the situation that you describe. All it does it cut power if it senses the front wheels spinning. Even if the front wheels were spinning when you were cornering the last thing you want is the TC system lifting off for you.

Not my point!....

The TC hindered the Mistu where the Ford did not have this safety net

on the dry track in the hands of a racing driver..

So in real life + normal driver a car with ASR and ESP would be safer than a

car without... As it would prevent the oversteer issues...

DT

Worst of the bunch has to be the Polo GTI.Nice looker.Nearly

Not my point!....

The TC hindered the Mistu where the Ford did not have this safety net

on the dry track in the hands of a racing driver..

So in real life + normal driver a car with ASR and ESP would be safer than a

car without... As it would prevent the oversteer issues...

DT

ASR will NOT prevent oversteer it simply stops the front wheels spinning by cutting power, that is all it does. ESP will help but that's an option that most people don't spec. However a better handling car will be safer than a car with average handling and driver aids.

Is that problem as common as say the Coilpack issue? or the PD150 dead turbo problem?

I like VAG cars and do have a preference for them but to think nothing else can compare is a little blinkered.

I never said that..... As I said originally there are pros and cons to be considered when buying any make of car.....

My SWMBO has a 96 Mondeo which apart from service items, brakes, clutch

and servicing runs fine...

Great car..

But all manufacturers have issues and recalls.. Thats not the point I was

making, generally if I look for a car it has to meet certain criteria due to my personal requirements.. Reliability is one of them, and if you read the various owner surveys Skoda come out allways near the top...

My Skoda has had plenty of issues... Would I buy another yes prob,

DT

And a better driver will be safer than both.

Seeings as I'm on my soapbox today, I'm going to venture further and say Mr Average on a real road wouldn't be able to get the best from either car. It makes me laugh how everyone always compares laptimes etc when the vast majority of us wouldn't ever get near enough to the limit to see that second or two's difference.

The best performance mod is driver tuition and training, without which the rest is a waste of time.

Would people really want to "race" on a public road anyway, too many hazards and police.

I would have to say that no matter how technically good you are as a driver you will not beat a **** in his corsa who will overtake on blind corners or when other cars are coming or jump 10 cars in a row just to turn right 10 yards down the road.

It really doesn't matter if i'm a more proficient driver than mr **** when driving quickly because he will take more risks and ultimately if we are talking about racing on public roads "drive away from me" (or into a tree).

Forget the statistics which people quote.

Enjoy whatever car you own for what it is and be glad you can afford one in the 1st place. But if I had a choice I wouldn't choose my vRS again, i'd definately want something with more presensce (this is just IMO, please dont start a mas-debate about my car choice or attack me for saying I wouldnt buy another vRS).

Chris.

To be fair, I reckon the vRS probably has more presensce than pretty much any other small car - looks chunky and aggressive... and shallow it may be, that was actually one of the reasons I chose it!

I reckon Chris, you'll probably have to buy something bigger if you want anything that is more "imposing".

transit van

How has a mention of a fiesta on 5th gear got everyone all defensive?

At the end of the day the ford is marketed at folks who want poeple to look at them in thier mainstream hot hatch that every man and his dog now owns. Skoda man wants discreet, subtle, yet with a few hidden mods, devastating. Nobody looks, noboday cares, you have a skoda. Puff of smoke, smell of unbunt diesel, suddenly there is an interest. You dont get that with an st, poeple expect you to drive like a **** and want to race everybody.

How much is an ST? I genuinely dont know, but my car for example, admittedly in standard form, not up to the job, cost 11.8k. Remap/brakes/eibachs is all it needed to make it up to scratch.

I would have to say that no matter how technically good you are as a driver you will not beat a **** in his corsa who will overtake on blind corners or when other cars are coming or jump 10 cars in a row just to turn right 10 yards down the road.

It really doesn't matter if i'm a more proficient driver than mr **** when driving quickly because he will take more risks and ultimately if we are talking about racing on public roads "drive away from me" (or into a tree).

Amen, much too much of this around. I wouldn't care if it was just them dying, but they take people with them.

Enjoy a fast car on a track, whether or not your car corners on rails at 100mph shouldn't be a consideration when buying a car for the daily commute.

Sorry, in a bad mood today.

At the end of the day the ford is marketed at folks who want poeple to look at them in thier mainstream hot hatch that every man and his dog now owns.

Er there are plenty of vRS's on the road now.

Skoda man wants discreet, subtle, yet with a few hidden mods, devastating. Nobody looks, noboday cares, you have a skoda.

Judging by most of the posts on this forum now I would disagree

Puff of smoke, smell of unbunt diesel, suddenly there is an interest. You dont get that with an st, poeple expect you to drive like a **** and want to race

Dunno about this, with the ammount of my Furby slayed a Gallardo types.

That's my 2pence worth.

Octy owner??