Golf GTI vs Ford Focus ST

[joemate]

Hey all,

Looking at both of these as a possible purchase when buying a car in a couple of months.

Mainly to be used as commuter car and at weekends with the family. no track days or races etc so just normal driving.

Any opinions on either?

Thanks,
J

[Rich135]

Hi Joe

I had exactly the same dilema and went for the ST for a variety of reasons: cheaper, faster, more power, great seats, excellent build quality (made in Germany) and I think it looks great.

I have always been a VW man, and have had about 4 GTi's over the years, and actually never liked fast Fords, but once I had driven the ST, that was it, I was hooked. It is an absolute blast for a hot hatch that shouldn't see you picking up too many speeding fines. I sold mine a few weeks ago as I am moving home, but loved my year with it and would have kept it longer if I had stayed.

If you want the Golf, you need the R to compete on speed, then you spend even more and have 4 wheel drive which I didn't want.

Cheers

Rich

[pad58]

ST, petrols cheap over where you are ,mind you Golf R is a good shout.

[joemate]

Thanks guys.

I am leaning towards the ST but trying to convince myself that I can handle a manual on the 'wrong' side as I've only ever driven manuals back in the UK so I'm not fully convinced I can do it over here... but still working on it!

I'm gonna test drive the ST to see how I cope with it. Price wise it's great and I've heard the seats are like marmite- love them or hate them so will need to give them a proper try before making the final decision.

The Golf R would be a great shout but its 50% more expensive than the ST which I can't justify. Even the GTI is between 17%-35% more expensive which is making me ummmm and aahhh about it but I do like the look of it and have only heard good things.

I'm planning on buying during Ramadan so have a couple of months to try before I buy.

[xjay1337]

GTI is a good all round car.
ST only does hooligan, and not very well (the older ST)

The Mk7 Golf vs the New ST, the Mk7 GTI gets it all day, every day.

[Tappers]

I owned a GTI for 3 years in the UK until I moved here and loved it. The automatic DSG gearbox is a masterpiece.

I've driven a Focus ST and it's also a great car but it's cheaper here because it only comes in manual. This is a downside as it may give you some difficulty when you come to sell it on and will undoubtedly prove frustrating when having to inch forward in the never ending traffic queues here.

You're unlikely to be disappointed with either but if it was my money .... I'd go for the GTI because it has no downsides.

[velocitas]

The manual on the wrong side is very easy to adapt too. Getting fifth is the only gear that ever feels a bit strange and the A pillar seems closer that you're used to because usually you'd have more space on your left side. That's fairly subjective but my own experiences from splitting my time between RHD and LHD countries regularly.

The only issue I've ever had is pulling out of a drive onto a quiet street with no traffic late at night and my brain defaulting to RHD but the first car you come across fixes that.