Yawn.........

Its very easy for a slower car to pass or seem faster than a faster car on a straight if the slower one is traveling faster at the beginging of the straight or exits the corner before the straight faster,the speed only shows further up the road thus giving illusion of the car being faster.

I dont think it bugs them, but if they are trying vigorously to get past in mildly fast cars and they struggle against a lowly Fabia it is natural for them (not you obviously oh divine one) to be a bit miffed.

I would be a bit miffed if a 'ch@vvy beat-up shed' kept me behind actually...

Please, change the habit of a lifetime and try, just try to be positive...

But the whole point in the OP's post was that the ST didn't have to try. It breeeeezed past. Please look beyond the end of your nose, and lose the rose tinted view that the Fabia vRS is the fastest car on the road. It isn't. It's been proven once again that it isn't, yet people are still trying to make up stories to show how it was a fluke, that the other person got a flying start, that they only just struggled past, etc..

Just live with it!

If you want to race people on the road and win, get a faster car!

But the whole point in the OP's post was that the ST didn't have to try. It breeeeezed past. Please look beyond the end of your nose, and lose the rose tinted view that the Fabia vRS is the fastest car on the road. It isn't. It's been proven once again that it isn't, yet people are still trying to make up stories to show how it was a fluke, that the other person got a flying start, that they only just struggled past, etc..

Just live with it!

If you want to race people on the road and win, get a faster car!

... What gets me, is the fact, that a Fabia lost to a much faster car. And everyone blames the driver for being crap. :confused:

Ah, did you have the ASR left on? Apparently it knocks off 4-5 seconds too 100 mph.

ANY driver can drive in a straight line, on a motorway, even at 1xx mph. There was no magic here, no smoke and mirrors, just acceleration, and more of it on one part than the other. End of...

On the OP, the ST is obviously significantly modified. To go past someone quickly, you need a big difference in power. As an example, I was chasing a turbo'd Mk 3 MR2 this summer. He was running around 200-220bhp and I was running around 157bhp. Even with the extra torque of the turbo, the difference was not that great on the straights. He was getting away, but only gently. This went on over quite some distance. His car is currently having a tuned 3.0L V6 fitted which should be a bit spectacular.

So if the vRS was running at around 170bhp, the ST must have been running a lot more to really storm past. Cannot see how a turbo or supercharger could fit (the ST has very little room under the bonnet for even a Rotrex) so most probably a breathing paths cam and valve job with electronics to suit.

As for which is the better car, the Fiesta handles OK, the Fabia handles less OK. If you want a sweet handling Fiesta, get the 1.6 petrol Zetec S. The ST is nose heavy harsh and noisy and not the best buy for the money if fast is what you want. Personally, I would take the vRS over the ST even if I were not using it for driving instruction, purely because it suits my needs better.

Chris

Whats wrong with Fiesta STs? At the moment they are a good warm hatch for the money. I can get a brand new one for only £10400 with discounts, thats less than my VRS was!!

Reading Fast Ford magazine, I think Puma racing do some corking engine modifications, expect over 200BHP if you have a few grand to spare.

More than a match for a Fabia!!

Using only a Milltek Sport cat-back system, 4-2-1 Manifold, Sports Cat Link Pipe and an induction kit, our Ford Specialist Pumaspeed gained a massive 21bhp - bringing the 150bhp standard Fiesta ST to 171bhp!

Ford Fiesta ST150

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Engine type : Non-Turbo Petrol

Engine size : 1999 cm3

Cylinders : 4

Original bhp : 150

Original nm : 190

BHP increase : 10

NM gain : 13

Lb/Ft gain : 10

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Using only a Milltek Sport cat-back system, 4-2-1 Manifold, Sports Cat Link Pipe and an induction kit, our Ford Specialist Pumaspeed gained a massive 21bhp - bringing the 150bhp standard Fiesta ST to 171bhp!

Since when are Pumaspeed Ford Specialists? I wouldn't call anyone a Specialist if they can't fix the cars they damage. :thumbdwn:

Easy answer to this.

You can't drive for toffee.

1. You should be able to pi55 over one even tweeked as from your sig you should have a big advantage over it

2. WTF are you doing driving at those speeds on the roads? :thumbdwn:

People have been prosecuted as a result of such posts before.

Not smart.

How sanctimonious - like you've never raced or speeded in your life.....

Whats wrong with Fiesta STs? At the moment they are a good warm hatch for the money. I can get a brand new one for only £10400 with discounts, thats less than my VRS was!!

Reading Fast Ford magazine, I think Puma racing do some corking engine modifications, expect over 200BHP if you have a few grand to spare.

More than a match for a Fabia!!

Nothing wrong with it, not my cup of tea though. It is nose heavy, not as much as the Fabia though and is noisy and harsh when extended compared to the Fabia, so as a cruiser come warm hatch, the Fabia vRS suits my tastes better. The Fiesta is a better bet for having a blast, but as an everyday car or tool for a long journey it is less than optimal. The 1.6 Zetec is a nicer drive round the lanes IMO (and yes I do qualify for big discounts on Fiestas and have driven both "just in case").

What Ford have wisely done is to stay put in the market segment. All the competition have moved up a price bracket in the last year or so. There is nothing viable from PSA group, VW group or Mini in the same price / performance bracket. Toyota have the SRI (not driven it yet but will) and that is less driver focussed on the face of it.

Having said all that, the Fabia vRS no longer exists new either.

If buying new at the £13,800 list price, I personally would stick it out for a few more weeks and save the extra wonga for a Corsa VXR.

My experience of the ST vs Fabia situation is that a stock Fabia will be pretty much as quick as a stock Fiesta in a straight line, little in it with a bit of give and take as each car works through the gears. The Fabia is possibly a bit off the pace at lower speeds with the need for 3 gears to hit 60, but it's mid range flexibility and stomp see it doing well in the real world driving situation. On this basis, a remapped Fabia should be noticeably quicker than a stock ST, again in the straight line drag. Add corners and the Fiesta is well away into the distance. Add motorway, the Fabia is the more soothing place to be.

IMO these cars are not really competitors, so different are they. You pays your money and takes your choice. Pay £10400, though and the ST looks like a very good deal indeed.

Chris

Nothing wrong with it, not my cup of tea though. It is nose heavy, not as much as the Fabia though and is noisy and harsh when extended compared to the Fabia, so as a cruiser come warm hatch, the Fabia vRS suits my tastes better. The Fiesta is a better bet for having a blast, but as an everyday car or tool for a long journey it is less than optimal. The 1.6 Zetec is a nicer drive round the lanes IMO (and yes I do qualify for big discounts on Fiestas and have driven both "just in case").

What Ford have wisely done is to stay put in the market segment. All the competition have moved up a price bracket in the last year or so. There is nothing viable from PSA group, VW group or Mini in the same price / performance bracket. Toyota have the SRI (not driven it yet but will) and that is less driver focussed on the face of it.

Having said all that, the Fabia vRS no longer exists new either.

If buying new at the £13,800 list price, I personally would stick it out for a few more weeks and save the extra wonga for a Corsa VXR.

My experience of the ST vs Fabia situation is that a stock Fabia will be pretty much as quick as a stock Fiesta in a straight line, little in it with a bit of give and take as each car works through the gears. The Fabia is possibly a bit off the pace at lower speeds with the need for 3 gears to hit 60, but it's mid range flexibility and stomp see it doing well in the real world driving situation. On this basis, a remapped Fabia should be noticeably quicker than a stock ST, again in the straight line drag. Add corners and the Fiesta is well away into the distance. Add motorway, the Fabia is the more soothing place to be.

IMO these cars are not really competitors, so different are they. You pays your money and takes your choice. Pay £10400, though and the ST looks like a very good deal indeed.

Chris

Oh Yes... Totally agree with just about everything you said there!

I would still take the VRS though same as you, but them Fiestas are a bargain.

Looked at the VXR Corsa too but I can get a new ST3 Focus for £15600 so the VXR looks expensive.

180bhp 300lb torque 50 plus MPG with group 9 insurance makes a remapped VRS the best bet.

I also agree with everthing Chris GB said:thumbup:

I was looking at the VXR'S got offered the Astra for £15350 and he offered me the corsa for 14k if i took the finance deal and with discount i get! Thought the Astra was a bargain:thumbup:

But the whole point in the OP's post was that the ST didn't have to try. It breeeeezed past. Please look beyond the end of your nose, and lose the rose tinted view that the Fabia vRS is the fastest car on the road. It isn't. It's been proven once again that it isn't, yet people are still trying to make up stories to show how it was a fluke, that the other person got a flying start, that they only just struggled past, etc..

Just live with it!

If you want to race people on the road and win, get a faster car!

:confused:

Re-read my post before you start dictating rubbish at me...

In no way do i think the Fabia is the fastest or best car in the world, but capable it is...

My comment was regarding other mild hot hatches with higher price tags.

The Fiesta is also less roomy inside IMO. My Fabia felt spacious after getting out of my TDCI hire car. Does anyone know what the ST weighs in at?

The vRS is a chubby thing and as a result it wouldn't take much less power to beat one in a straight line providing you have the weight advantage.

The one are where I've found the vRS does excel in on hills. Many petrol cars struggle to keep with me on a hill as the torque advantage makes a bigger impact here, especially in the huge lump that the PD engine delivers it in.

But yes, agreed, a vRS is not a fast car, only a warm one. The ST is a slightly warmer one, and then after that you're into Clio 197, Corsa VXR, Pug 207 GTi territory......then you're into CTR/ LCR/ Focus ST, Golf GTi territory....and so on.

After being in a mapped vRS (mine isn't) yes it felt quick but I bet it only brings it into the realms of what other cars can already do from the factory. TBH I think 170bhp should be standard on the things....130 bhp makes them brisk and lively but not fast.

Is this an appropriate juncture to mention again that my PD100 once flew past a Veyron and a Zonda like they were standing still?

well mine blitzed an evo,a 200sx,a scooby and a skyline in the same day,and they were all trying very hard:P

Was that because they WERE standing still, by any chance? :P

nope they were going for it,there was another fabia that did them too,ktp i think:D

the scooby was trying so hard he lost it completly,tho not because of me i might add

come on gary just tell them the truth, the other drivers sucked balls

Oh Yes... Totally agree with just about everything you said there!

I would still take the VRS though same as you, but them Fiestas are a bargain.

Looked at the VXR Corsa too but I can get a new ST3 Focus for £15600 so the VXR looks expensive.

180bhp 300lb torque 50 plus MPG with group 9 insurance makes a remapped VRS the best bet.

The Focus ST is very nose heavy. I was quite surprised at how similar to the Fabia vRS its overall balance is. It turns in quick initially then just seems to give up. I suspect the press were sucked in by the superficially sharp handling. Drive it a bit harder and it is obviously quite resistant to turning. Peachy engine though, unfortunately the source of all the front end weight. Built like a Volvo:rolleyes:

I know the press slated the Astra VXR for torque steer and generally being a bit lively, but I felt it to be a much more entertaining drive than the Focus ST and it would be my choice of the two. The Golf looks nice also (have not driven one), but I like the rawness of the Astra. Of course the Renault Megane has the jump on them all in driver fulfilment if Evo magazine are to be trusted.

As for the Corsa VXR, well if Skoda don't get their finger out with another warm derv burning hatch, I may well go loopy and have one for instruction. Given the deal offered from Vauxhall for instructors is often very very good. Good marketing point for my trade possibly.

Chris

PS the Fabia vRS gets more EVO stars than the Fiesta ST:P

I see chrispy mentioned a Clio 197, well my wife and I test drove one......... and she asked me to put my foot down!!!!!!!!! I already was, what a disapointing car that was in terms of normal driving. Excellent handling though, but not worth paying any extra for.

Nottyash

the thing with the clio is you need to keep your foot in to the redline in order to get it moving.