Bmw 130i or focus st facelift
Discussion
love my 130 tis a great car.Soupie69uk said:
I would choose a 130i over the ST. Another option is the Megane sport 250?
Now we're talking, although if only orange ST's are in budget he won't be able to get a good 250 cup. But a very low mileage R26 would be comfortably in budget although I may be slightly baisedFrimley111R said:
Badge aside the ST is better all round and when you come to sell I can see more people wanting the ST that a 3.0 petrol hatch.
imo the 130i will be better on the juice be more reliable have better build quality and holds it value better not to mention better to drive. 130i IMO is a future Classic in the making
Frimley111R said:
Badge aside the ST is better all round and when you come to sell I can see more people wanting the ST that a 3.0 petrol hatch.
Really?Much more common, slower, less economical... Plus in the future it'll be just another turbo car like all the rest, vs. one of the best n/a engines ever.
The thing about the 130 is that it is pretty much the end of an era.
Impact protection has seen off most straight six engines in favour of shorter 4s or V formats. But the real change is that emmission regs have seen off big engines in small cars in favour of forced induction on smaller units.
We won't ever see a mainstream, large cc, inline 6 hatchback again. This is it. It will be a driving experience lost to modern cars.
As someone has mentioned, the ST is just a turbo'd FWD car. As a driving experience this format has plenty of good options and will be around for years.
Neither are lookers but then as the owner it makes more sense to sit in the sriver's seat and look outwards than stand outside in the Tescos carpark and knock one out over a generic utility vehicle with a body kit and higher capacity engine.
Impact protection has seen off most straight six engines in favour of shorter 4s or V formats. But the real change is that emmission regs have seen off big engines in small cars in favour of forced induction on smaller units.
We won't ever see a mainstream, large cc, inline 6 hatchback again. This is it. It will be a driving experience lost to modern cars.
As someone has mentioned, the ST is just a turbo'd FWD car. As a driving experience this format has plenty of good options and will be around for years.
Neither are lookers but then as the owner it makes more sense to sit in the sriver's seat and look outwards than stand outside in the Tescos carpark and knock one out over a generic utility vehicle with a body kit and higher capacity engine.
My mate has a Focus St-2, facelift in grey and it has the Mountune MP260 upgrade.
He was stuck between these 2 cars and after 4 months does not regret choosing the Focus one bit. With the Mountune upgrade it is a fair bit quicker than the 130i, they generally dyno at around 280-290bhp, and it has a stupid amount of torque for a hot hatch.
Interior doesn't feel all that expensive on the Ford but that is because they aren't really. What they are is a quick, spacious family hatch that sounds excellent.
He was stuck between these 2 cars and after 4 months does not regret choosing the Focus one bit. With the Mountune upgrade it is a fair bit quicker than the 130i, they generally dyno at around 280-290bhp, and it has a stupid amount of torque for a hot hatch.
Interior doesn't feel all that expensive on the Ford but that is because they aren't really. What they are is a quick, spacious family hatch that sounds excellent.
I've owned both (as well as an R26 and a MK5 R32) and strangely have to say i actually preferred the ST over the 130i. Although the driving position is a bit high the 5 cylinder engine makes the car, especially with a remap, i also found the Recaros to be the comfiest seats i've sat in. I found that the BMW had overly heavy feeling steering and didn't quite live up to what i expected it to be for reasons i could never really pin point, even after getting rid of the run flats etc, maybe i just had a tired one. The interior, whilst classic BMW felt very dated, though mine was a 55plate so i think that was improved slightly with the newer ones. Neither look particularly amazing but my grey 130i was especially dull to look at, which is good or bad depending on how you look at it. On the whole though although i'm sounding a bit down on the BMW i thought both were really good cars. Both are good choices with great engines which ever one you end up choosing.
130i everyday of the week - I drove MkV GTi, R32, Focus ST and a few others when I was looking to replace an M3 a few years ago but the BMW was head and shoulders above them all.
It's been reliable, cheap to run and I even love the way it looks. No plans to change any time soon despite it being well over 100k miles now.
Ditch the runs flats if you get one though.
It's been reliable, cheap to run and I even love the way it looks. No plans to change any time soon despite it being well over 100k miles now.
Ditch the runs flats if you get one though.
IainC101 said:
I've owned both (as well as an R26 and a MK5 R32) and strangely have to say i actually preferred the ST over the 130i. Although the driving position is a bit high the 5 cylinder engine makes the car, especially with a remap, i also found the Recaros to be the comfiest seats i've sat in. I found that the BMW had overly heavy feeling steering and didn't quite live up to what i expected it to be for reasons i could never really pin point, even after getting rid of the run flats etc, maybe i just had a tired one. The interior, whilst classic BMW felt very dated, though mine was a 55plate so i think that was improved slightly with the newer ones. Neither look particularly amazing but my grey 130i was especially dull to look at, which is good or bad depending on how you look at it. On the whole though although i'm sounding a bit down on the BMW i thought both were really good cars. Both are good choices with great engines which ever one you end up choosing.
Which was your favourite hatch out of them all?I have owned a MK5 R32, 2007 ST, and currently have an S3.
Test drove 130i - a nice drive, sound and RWD is a big factor
Interior was nothing special and was not to fussed on it externally either.
ST drove the best out of all four of these cars and in my opinion is the most reliable and reasonable in terms of maintainence. They also look really nice if you get a 3DR in a decent colour. Awesome car and for 9-10k you will get a low mile facelift ST2!
Test drove 130i - a nice drive, sound and RWD is a big factor
Interior was nothing special and was not to fussed on it externally either.ST drove the best out of all four of these cars and in my opinion is the most reliable and reasonable in terms of maintainence. They also look really nice if you get a 3DR in a decent colour. Awesome car and for 9-10k you will get a low mile facelift ST2!
I have a 120D and even that drives fantastically well. Size-wise, it's a wonderful car and feels very low-slung. By comparison, my wife's A class Merc stands 6 inches taller at the foot of the A-pillar.
The handling is great fun. The 120D won't powerslide unless it's wet, but it's possible to get the tail moving about in a similar way to a FWD car. I'd expect the 130i to be even better in this respect.
Having enjoyed exiting wet roundabouts onto dual carriageways with a touch of opposite lock on in the wet, I can only imagine how frustrating a FWD car would be in the same situation. Go for the 130i, it's much better.
The handling is great fun. The 120D won't powerslide unless it's wet, but it's possible to get the tail moving about in a similar way to a FWD car. I'd expect the 130i to be even better in this respect.
Having enjoyed exiting wet roundabouts onto dual carriageways with a touch of opposite lock on in the wet, I can only imagine how frustrating a FWD car would be in the same situation. Go for the 130i, it's much better.
Beer Man said:
Get a 130 and you'll look like a junior bog roll sales rep in a pig ugly car that bought the badge
Get an ST and you wont/ Get one in a subtle colour and you'll look more like an unmarked traffic plod
IMO the ST is a chavmobile. The 1 series is classy, and the best part about the 130i is that people think it's a 118d. I have one, and it's the first (decent) car I ever had which didn't get keyed at my old place, and it is much faster than the looks suggest. I prefer subtle to lairy any day of the week.Get an ST and you wont/ Get one in a subtle colour and you'll look more like an unmarked traffic plod
jonnytekkers said:
I am really unsure what to go for now haha
For a daily driver FWD really doesn't bother me and I went the I managed to find a well spec'd ST-3 with the Mountune MP260 pack for what I was prepared to spend, and it's what the Focus should have been from the factory (IMO)
I really think you need to try both and see what floats your both.
EFA - apparently it's a "chavmobile" not a Focus.
Edited by Podie on Wednesday 22 October 13:30
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