Discussion
Hi all, been driving for just over a year and a half now, and having recently acquired a more PH worthy car I felt it was worth its own readers cars thread.
My first car was this 2004 Fiesta 1.4 Zetec, it was a good little car to start out with too; handled pretty well and while it was not fast by any means it wasn't underpowered either. Bought last January with 84k on for £1795 from an indy dealer and sold a week ago for £1350 privately with just over 90k miles. Couple of pics below:
I'm currently studying Automotive Engineering at the University of Sussex, just about to go into my second year there. Having spent most of this summer working near full time in retail I decided I didn't want to endure that misery and have nothing to show for it! So as well as saving up some funds for Uni next year I also used a little man maths to justify changing my car. I wasn't looking for anything too specific, just sub 2k and fun to drive without being too steep to insure.
Went to look at a few cars before settling on the ST170, a couple of E36 318is which looked promising until I discovered that on one the owner had not bothered servicing it for the last 3 years and it needed a reasonable amount of work done, and the other which had clearly been owned by somebody who had tried to run it on a shoestring. Had I had a larger budget I may have considered one as a bit of a project but the prospect for big bills put me off both. Also had a look at a 2005 Ibiza FR, which was an alright car, but closer inspection revealed it had most likely been ragged by a previous owner, and it was a bit plain to drive. Having said that it was very fast, almost certainly been mapped which would've hurt my insurance a lot.
Anyway, on to the car in the title. It is one of the earlier ST170's (made from 2002-2004 I believe) and is in good condition for its age. 4 previous keepers, the last of whom had it for 7 years and 88k miles in 13 years is good as well. The car has a few scratches and marks here and there but is in mechanically sound condition and the previous owner had it serviced a the same garage for the last 7 years with the cambelt, clutch and flywheel all changed a couple of years ago. Cost me £1850 from a private seller and I have had the wheels refurbished and 4 new Kumho's fitted (even as a tight arsed student, I'm not having ditchfinders on it) since. Picked it up last Thursday.
It is completely standard aside from the aftermarket head unit, speakers on the parcel shelf and gigantic subwoofer in the boot. Not really my cup of tea, however I have to admit it all sounds pretty good so it is growing on me. And it seems only fitting that a 19 year old with a hot hatch (ok pedants, warm hatch!) should have some massive speakers in the back...
Aside from needing a new lambda sensor straight away (regarded as consumables on ST170's I hear) as the engine light came on the second time I drove it (talk about bad luck...) it has so far been fantastic. Pretty brisk in a straight line pulling strongly after 5k; and its also surprisingly torquey in the mid range considering it has a highish specific output. Ride is firm but comfortable and very well controlled and the handling is excellent, and a big step up from the already decent Fiesta. The only thing that lets the side down a little is the gearbox, and while not as bad as many people say it is a little notchy and the ratios are pretty weird. 1st and 2nd are very long and then all of the ratios from 3rd to 6th are quite close together. So it will do ~45 in 1st, ~70 in 2nd but still be spinning at 3000rpm at 70 in 6th! Refinement is also impressive for a car of its age as is the level of standard equipment. Finally I think the first gen Focus and the ST170 in particular has aged very well, it certainly doesn't look like a 13 year old car in my eyes.
Anyway enough talking here are some pics from its first wash earlier, with the old man's Golf R in the background, which incidentally would be £250 cheaper for me to insure over a year than the Focus...
Thank you for reading!
My first car was this 2004 Fiesta 1.4 Zetec, it was a good little car to start out with too; handled pretty well and while it was not fast by any means it wasn't underpowered either. Bought last January with 84k on for £1795 from an indy dealer and sold a week ago for £1350 privately with just over 90k miles. Couple of pics below:
I'm currently studying Automotive Engineering at the University of Sussex, just about to go into my second year there. Having spent most of this summer working near full time in retail I decided I didn't want to endure that misery and have nothing to show for it! So as well as saving up some funds for Uni next year I also used a little man maths to justify changing my car. I wasn't looking for anything too specific, just sub 2k and fun to drive without being too steep to insure.
Went to look at a few cars before settling on the ST170, a couple of E36 318is which looked promising until I discovered that on one the owner had not bothered servicing it for the last 3 years and it needed a reasonable amount of work done, and the other which had clearly been owned by somebody who had tried to run it on a shoestring. Had I had a larger budget I may have considered one as a bit of a project but the prospect for big bills put me off both. Also had a look at a 2005 Ibiza FR, which was an alright car, but closer inspection revealed it had most likely been ragged by a previous owner, and it was a bit plain to drive. Having said that it was very fast, almost certainly been mapped which would've hurt my insurance a lot.
Anyway, on to the car in the title. It is one of the earlier ST170's (made from 2002-2004 I believe) and is in good condition for its age. 4 previous keepers, the last of whom had it for 7 years and 88k miles in 13 years is good as well. The car has a few scratches and marks here and there but is in mechanically sound condition and the previous owner had it serviced a the same garage for the last 7 years with the cambelt, clutch and flywheel all changed a couple of years ago. Cost me £1850 from a private seller and I have had the wheels refurbished and 4 new Kumho's fitted (even as a tight arsed student, I'm not having ditchfinders on it) since. Picked it up last Thursday.
It is completely standard aside from the aftermarket head unit, speakers on the parcel shelf and gigantic subwoofer in the boot. Not really my cup of tea, however I have to admit it all sounds pretty good so it is growing on me. And it seems only fitting that a 19 year old with a hot hatch (ok pedants, warm hatch!) should have some massive speakers in the back...
Aside from needing a new lambda sensor straight away (regarded as consumables on ST170's I hear) as the engine light came on the second time I drove it (talk about bad luck...) it has so far been fantastic. Pretty brisk in a straight line pulling strongly after 5k; and its also surprisingly torquey in the mid range considering it has a highish specific output. Ride is firm but comfortable and very well controlled and the handling is excellent, and a big step up from the already decent Fiesta. The only thing that lets the side down a little is the gearbox, and while not as bad as many people say it is a little notchy and the ratios are pretty weird. 1st and 2nd are very long and then all of the ratios from 3rd to 6th are quite close together. So it will do ~45 in 1st, ~70 in 2nd but still be spinning at 3000rpm at 70 in 6th! Refinement is also impressive for a car of its age as is the level of standard equipment. Finally I think the first gen Focus and the ST170 in particular has aged very well, it certainly doesn't look like a 13 year old car in my eyes.
Anyway enough talking here are some pics from its first wash earlier, with the old man's Golf R in the background, which incidentally would be £250 cheaper for me to insure over a year than the Focus...
Thank you for reading!
Edited by TheFinners on Tuesday 18th August 15:15
I've got a huge soft spot for ST170's after owning one for a couple of years. Not the quickest but a very smooth, revvy engine with a rifle bolt gear change (in mine at least) and sublime handling. I liked the understated looks and interior too.
Only thing that spoils your's OP in my opinion is the drum kit in the boot
but it's good to see one looking clean, most of them are abused and shagged now. 
Only thing that spoils your's OP in my opinion is the drum kit in the boot
but it's good to see one looking clean, most of them are abused and shagged now. Glad to see that they are looked upon pretty favourably! From what I have read so far they run better on premium unleaded, and also return better fuel economy helping to negate the increased price. Filled it up with some earlier so a curious if anyone on here found it to make any significant difference?
exgtt said:
Well worth considering an upgrade to a 5 speed box if you intend to keep the car. Does away with the silly ratios, the notchy feel and the DMF. The torque limiter in 1st and 2nd can also be mapped out.
I wasn't aware there was a torque limit on the ST170. It runs the same gearbox as the MINI Cooper S which develops more torque, so I don't think it's a problem. Are you sure you're not thinking of the RS?Also, it doesn't actually run particularly long ratios, it's just the fact that the power is developed very high up the rev range, coupled with a red line at 7200rpm. If it only revved to 6000 like most cars, you wouldn't think it had long ratios. Therefore another gearbox wouldn't necessarily resolve the issues, unless it had very short ratios, like the Civic Type R.
Nice little step up there OP, and a nice looking car to boot.
Don't worry about the sub etc. unless it starts to annoy you. I've had similar in a previous life and as long as it sounds good that's all I worried about. I just never went for the bone shaking type of sub myself as that all seems a bit counter productive!
Don't worry about the sub etc. unless it starts to annoy you. I've had similar in a previous life and as long as it sounds good that's all I worried about. I just never went for the bone shaking type of sub myself as that all seems a bit counter productive!
Nice car OP.
My dad had a Sea Grey '02 new for a couple of years until someone wrote it off. He's just bought another for tiny money and it seems a really nice car. Handling is great and it feels very refined for what it is.
FWIW, id remove the speakers in the parcel shelf and rewire in the OEM quarter speakers. They look unbelievably chavvy, and the subwoofer will be using the air they need to use to work properly anyway.
Had a 1.4 Fiesta myself too, before i got my ST150. Fantastic little cars IMO!
My dad had a Sea Grey '02 new for a couple of years until someone wrote it off. He's just bought another for tiny money and it seems a really nice car. Handling is great and it feels very refined for what it is.
FWIW, id remove the speakers in the parcel shelf and rewire in the OEM quarter speakers. They look unbelievably chavvy, and the subwoofer will be using the air they need to use to work properly anyway.
Had a 1.4 Fiesta myself too, before i got my ST150. Fantastic little cars IMO!
Quick Update:
So far so good for the ST, had the engine light come back on briefly a few days after the sensor was changed but it went off the day after that, and I've done a good ~200 miles since then with no lights coming on. Seems to run a little bit smoother on super unleaded, and for the number of miles I do annually an extra £4-5 per tank really doesn't make all that much difference. Had a nice run down to my Uni house for next year which to just outside Brighton in the beautiful ex. 60's council estate of Moulsecoomb... (Ok it isn't too bad in all honesty!) Was tempted to take my car to uni but the insurance goes up my 2.5x if I change the post code (Home is B rated, Uni home is D rated). Here's a pic from above taken from my house mates' window.
Have to say I was surprised at how comfortably the ST170 cruises, 6th gear provides a nice compromise between top gear performance and reasonable refinement (70mph gps is exactly 3000rpm). It was also good fun actually using all of the rev range in when coming off the A27's many roundabouts
, although once you are above ~5k in 3rd it is points territory! No idea of fuel economy, since I keep forgetting to write down the mileage when I fill up, and while I'm driving it pretty sensibly on the whole it is probably still for the better that I don't know... 
The other thing I notice is being a young person in a sporty hatchback with parcel shelf speakers people tend to expect me to be a bit of a bellend, so I seem to get 'bullied' less by the 'must get past this slow car' types, despite not living up to the original stereotype. 
On a niggle related note there is a slight vibrating sound when pulling away, just past the bite point of the clutch however this seems to just be the heat shield on the cat being a little loose and vibrating. Also there seems to be a squealing sound <1400rpm when under load, suspect it may be the alternator belt although having googled the problem I can't find any results that match what I am noticing. Does this sound familiar to anyone?
So far so good for the ST, had the engine light come back on briefly a few days after the sensor was changed but it went off the day after that, and I've done a good ~200 miles since then with no lights coming on. Seems to run a little bit smoother on super unleaded, and for the number of miles I do annually an extra £4-5 per tank really doesn't make all that much difference. Had a nice run down to my Uni house for next year which to just outside Brighton in the beautiful ex. 60's council estate of Moulsecoomb... (Ok it isn't too bad in all honesty!) Was tempted to take my car to uni but the insurance goes up my 2.5x if I change the post code (Home is B rated, Uni home is D rated). Here's a pic from above taken from my house mates' window.
Have to say I was surprised at how comfortably the ST170 cruises, 6th gear provides a nice compromise between top gear performance and reasonable refinement (70mph gps is exactly 3000rpm). It was also good fun actually using all of the rev range in when coming off the A27's many roundabouts
, although once you are above ~5k in 3rd it is points territory! No idea of fuel economy, since I keep forgetting to write down the mileage when I fill up, and while I'm driving it pretty sensibly on the whole it is probably still for the better that I don't know... The other thing I notice is being a young person in a sporty hatchback with parcel shelf speakers people tend to expect me to be a bit of a bellend, so I seem to get 'bullied' less by the 'must get past this slow car' types, despite not living up to the original stereotype. On a niggle related note there is a slight vibrating sound when pulling away, just past the bite point of the clutch however this seems to just be the heat shield on the cat being a little loose and vibrating. Also there seems to be a squealing sound <1400rpm when under load, suspect it may be the alternator belt although having googled the problem I can't find any results that match what I am noticing. Does this sound familiar to anyone?
Edited by TheFinners on Tuesday 1st September 18:29
I recently bought one too, I was pleasantly surprised by it after reading the reviews on here. It's not quite as raw as a some of the competition. But it's a very capable car, that has aged very well IMO.
I paid just shy of £2k for mine, with 79k and part service history. Interior is immaculate and bar a scuff on the rear bumper, the bodywork is near perfect.
I paid just shy of £2k for mine, with 79k and part service history. Interior is immaculate and bar a scuff on the rear bumper, the bodywork is near perfect.
Looks good! Sounds like a reasonable price too. They do seem to get slated a lot on here, presumably primarily by those who haven't looked beyond the spec sheets.
I'm currently in the process of tidying up the paintwork a little, using a primer/paint/clearcoat touch up kit plus the ever useful T-Cut and Wax Polish. The paint is pretty good on the whole, there are just a few small chips and scratches that need some attention.
I'm currently in the process of tidying up the paintwork a little, using a primer/paint/clearcoat touch up kit plus the ever useful T-Cut and Wax Polish. The paint is pretty good on the whole, there are just a few small chips and scratches that need some attention.
I was looking for an ST170 as a practical replacement for my MX5, when I happened on my low mileage, one owner Fiesta Zetec S, which is a cracking car. But i've got a second child on the way so I may venture back towards the classifieds if I need the extra room.
Looks a very example OP.
Looks a very example OP.
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