nowhereboy

It's personal preference rather than fact really. Dan may find going slow and sideways fun, others may get more enjoyment out of being fast. I can appreciate each car for what it is, I enjoy the way a front wheel drive car handles, I equally enjoy the way a rear wheel drive car handles, they each have a unique experience, it's hard to compare the two because it's so different. I do miss the low slung seating position in the Z (sometimes) and at time's I miss rear wheel drive (especially midnight shopping in wet supermarket car parks ) but what my car lacks in those areas it more than makes up for it in others (straight line performance and power delivery/noise/drama).

Exactly the same as my opinion!

After a lot of experience in front wheel drive and rear wheel drive cars I think they can be just as fun as each other, just depends on the circumstances. On the track I'd take a rear wheel drive couple over a hot hatch any day, on the uk road's, I'm having WAY more fun in the focus ST than I ever did in the Z. In my opinion they both have positives and negatives, but to enjoy a rear wheel drive cars positives you pretty much need to be breaking the law and going sideways etc. Yes drifting is great fun, letting the back end step step out and controlling it is great fun but is it safe to do or legal on the roads? No.

I understand what OP is getting at here but as it's already been explained it's just a case of different strokes for different folks. I used to wonder why anyone would spend a lot of money on a standard and rather boring car when they could enjoy a sporty fun car for the same cost or less if bought used. The answer is simple really tho, not everyone is a petrol head. Some people just want reliability, comfort and a nice clean new car, not big thrills and BHP. Saying that I still cringe when I see some of my car insurance customers paying 20k + for a bog standard hatchback.

Heh, good idea.

We match on four of those cars

Do you still own the RS? I have really enjoyed the car so far, letting off the throttle and hearing all the pops, bangs and crackles is addictive haha! Heated windscreen in the mornings is an absolute god send in this weather too. I'll get a proper thread up with pics etc when I get the chance. Thanks for the PM, I'm booking the car in with dreamscience for the block mod/belts etc, just waiting till next month because apparently they normally put an offer on for xmas.

Ok go on then..... I guess it would be rude not to have a couple supercars on there. Skyline R34 GTR New Focus RS Big single turbo supra Evo 8 fq400 s2000 911 turbo S S15 for skids Agera S Ford GT (new one) Ariel Atom

:lol: Exactly. As most people on here know I never really got on with the 350Z, it's a solid car, sounds great, look's great and goes pretty well, I just always felt like something was missing and I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I guess it just lacked excitement for me due to the weight and linear power delivery. I did consider going down the FI route but once the rust started cropping it it just didn't seem worth it.

Am I the only person on here that has little interest in super cars? I guess this is going to sound weird but they just don't do it for me. Maybe it' because they are so unobtainable I don't even bother thinking about them but I'm unsure. Still think I'd rather drive around in a big single turbo supra than a Ferrari etc.

Same for me, I tried the second car route and it ended up being a huge pain in the backside. I also second what docwra said, better cars out there for weekend toys for sure.

Yea the ST is definitely a little council estate I do think the facelift one look's a bit more classy and less "chav" than the older style ones. It doesn't get the same attention on the road as the Z which is actually really nice, it's nice to just blend in with the traffic on the way to/from work without having every tom dick or harry trying to get a reaction from me. I lost a fair bit of money on the 350Z but I can live with that, I also gained about 3 thousand pounds worth of free mod's on the ST so win some lose some I guess. I wouldn't have sold the Z on here in it's current state as I know it needed a fair bit of work in the near future and it was also making a very concerning noise from the gear box. I'm at that stage where I just want to go out and drive for the sake of it, constantly asking the Mrs if she needs anything from the shops

Thanks lads. Ive got a new intercooler on route and im going to save for the block mod shortly for piece of mind, been reading a lot about cracked liners and thats not something I fancy much. On my phone at the minute so not sure this will work but heres a quick pic of the car https://postimg.org/image/thv0d107x/ I love it. Faster than the Z, makes all the right noises and now have all the creature comforts I could ever need, heated leather seats are the way forward! Fuel costs aside it really is the best of both worlds in terms of performance and daily driver. Ill post a proper thread on it when I get my pc set back up.

I work in insurance so thats not a problem thankfully. Ive just found out the car is running stock cooler as he sold it on prior to parting the car in. Going to try haggle them on the price now to free up money for new intercooler and remap. Otherwise im walking away from the deal. Will the car be safe to drive if go easy on it until cooler is fitted?

Nah dude I got the blue one. Pick it up monday. I thought it felt a bit perky on the test drive like haha! Ive booked it into a specalist to check it all over this week.

Tracked down the old owner. Turns out its running RS clutch and fly, 3inch turbo downpipe, full exhaust, bigger intercooler and cp 320 map. Its about 315bhp. All the mods have been done by a specalist. Not sure if im happy about this or not to be honest. Im thinking free mods really because its only something id have ended up wanting to do anyway. On the other side of things the garage said it was stock and im worried about reliability issues. Anyone know these motors? Is 300+ bhp safe for the motor?

Ill get some pics up soon. Going to take it to a specalist to make sure everything is in order as soon as I pick it up. First boosted car so dont really know what to look out for. Its only done 40k and has full ford history and looks brand new. Fingers crossed its a good n!

Thanks for the input lads. Its done. 350z goes tomorrow. Bought a 2010 focus st3.

Mine had the same problem. As above it was the battery.

Thanks fella. That's why the fiesta ST was considered originally, it's got boost, handles well, gets great MPG and by all accounts is very reliable. As a one stop shop it's not a bad car and there's always room for a little more power if needed. I've probably gave everyone the impression I'm looking for a cheap to run car judging by some of the replies I've had, that's not really the case, good MPG would be a bonus but it's not the end of the world if otherwise.

Yea that's quite shocking really

Are they really that bad on the fuel? I was expecting similar running costs to the Z......

Thanks for the input lads. I'm starting to be swayed away from the new car option after looking at the figures etc. You have persuaded me against the fiesta ST also. Been looking at the used market for most of the day today, as advised above I've looked at the golf GTI and the Sirroco but neither really float my boat. I really like the golf R but that's out of my price range. Been looking at The older shape focus ST's, in particular the facelift versions. Plenty of potential and a lovely sounding 5 cylinder turbo lump. This one in particular caught my eye http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201609288212756?maximum-mileage=60000&sort=price-asc&year-to=2016&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=New&model=FOCUS&price-from=7000&postcode=ne126sz&price-to=15000&make=FORD&advertising-location=at_cars&keywords=st&radius=1500&year-from=2008&page=14 Ticks all of the boxes really, practical, pretty fast, more modern and most importantly BOOST! I know these cars have potential to be very quick with a small amount of work too, I've been embarrassed by slightly tuned ones on more than one occasion in the Z. I'll stop driving you all mad shortly and plan on going to view one this weekend so we'll see how it goes.

Budget of 10k used or buying a 370 new...one impossible and the other is going with quite a high repayment schedule. I'm not really interested in a 370 to be honest, I just feel like it's more of the same. Plus for the money it would cost me on PCP I'd almost be in Focus RS territory. If I could persuade the Mrs the RS is a good idea I'd be onto a winner but I don't see that happening anytime soon

In a nutshell yes! Seems a bit pointless putting money into an old car that's starting to rust and clock up high - ish miles. It's not going to get any newer and I'll only end up swapping it for something else another couple of years down the line anyway. BRZ wouldn't be a bad choice, ticks most of the boxes. I just have an itch for boost as I've never owned a turbo car before which is why the BRZ isn't higher up the list of options. I've tried the two car thing before and to be honest I just found it more hassle than what it was worth. Due to the lack of NCB it cost more than the Z to insure, I got unlucky with reliability issues and ended up getting rid of it. I guess I'm looking for a good compromise between comfort, performance, reliability and practicality. Something I can do the commute in comfortably but something that will come alive when I want it to (hence looking at hot hatches) I'm not to bothered about fuel consumption but I'd not want anything worse than the Z and as I said, it has to be turbo. Toying between PCP (waits for flaming off everyone) on a brand new motor as I can get a pretty good deal on new ST's from my mate at ford, or buying used. If I go used budget will be about 10k. I've always been in love with evo's, skylines etc and while I'd still enjoy a car like that I'm after something a little more grown up, modern and refined.