They are great cars! We are doing a video on Ben's ST very soon on roads we know, so we can really appreciate it! Thank you for watching & commenting! - Drew
Lovely comparison of these two great cars. ST170 has very much gone through the bottom of its price curve now and are becoming quite rare as many were being scrapped for very minor MOT failures. Lovely to see one in top condition as they can be very sensitive to proper maintenance particularly with regard to inlet manifold runner controls, timing issues etc, basically all the little tweeks Cosworth did to them to get it to rev higher etc. Definitely got to wring the neck of it as you say :)) ST170 is all about your favourite twisty back road at legal speeds using high revs. It’s not a 0-60 car as the gear ratios aren’t really set up for it and they do get compared unfavourably to cars of a similar age with more power. For my driving style personally, it’s spot on. Back road driver, loads of revs, loads of going through the gearbox, loads of brake feel and feedback, perfect handling and all at legal speeds.
Apologies for the delay! I think you've hit the nail on the head there! As with many Mk1 Focus' people scrapped them as soon as the big bills came rolling in. This is turn making them desirable. You clearly speak from experience so thank you for commenting! Ben said the same: he TOLD us to really abuse it to get the most out of it, and is really encouraging us to take it out on roads we are familiar with. I am determined to take it out on some good roads I know as everybody keeps saying how capable the cars are! Thank you so much for commenting and giving your info/experiences, we love hearing from other people who have owned/driven the cars that we feature! - Drew
Completely agree I absolutely love mine it’s safe , comfortable, looks great I think compared to modern day styling , and the fun you can have in it on the back roads is astonishing. Almost the perfect car for the gap it’s made to fill , people keep comparing them to high performance cars and I say if that’s what you want and it’s all about figures go buy an rs! I’ll stick with my st 👍
The thorn in the ST170's side was the EP3 Civic Type R. 30bhp more. Far better Engine/gearbox and handling. Cheaper to buy. Most importantly the Honda was in a different league in terms of reliability. ST170's are a rare find these days. The EP3 Civics are plentiful. I supercharged my EP3 Type R. It never skipped a beat. I had a standard Mk8 Fiesta 1.6 TDCI and I was the most unreliable car I've ever owned.
Have a 2003 Focus SVT, which shares a lot with the ST170. Has the leather Recaro interior and many suspension upgrades from non SVT. Bought it in 2013. It's been really fun, durable and reliable. It was quite inexpensive in 2013. I could get more money for it now, but not enough to get something I want more.
We have always had a soft spot for the Mk1s, and always felt they never get the love they deserve! I would love to experience a modified Mk1 RS after experiencing a completely standard one! Thank you for watching! - Drew
had the 4 door hatch st170 in grey. when i got it it had uprated coilovers. wasnt that comfy to drive in london. but country roads was great. you could get the back wheel up in corners.
I think some 170s were faster than others. My 5 door was quicker than my brothers 3 door. Mine had a stainless exhaust and a k&n filter. Plus I removed the resonator box. Made it sound much better.
Thank you Lee! They do have a certain charm, Ben really wants us to do a video on just the ST170 on roads we know so we can really appreciate it. - Drew
High octane fuel costs more, but I haven't found mine to be expensive to own. Just had a problem with the thermostat housing but replaced it with a cast aluminum one. Replaced. Springs and shocks, but I wish I changed only shocks. Around 30 mpg at 75 mph cruise.
Those oil gauges were dummy gauges made to look good , I believe the oil temp gauge just ran off the coolant temp and the oil pressure gauge just went up with the rev counter! Pretty cool having them though but just a gimic unfortunately
Its silly to think that a 2 litre Turbo Focus RS had too much power 22 years ago. It was equipped with a "special " diff to handle 212bhp. 229 lb ft of torque. Today such outputs power a small 1.6 hot hatch. How times change.
SVT170 has absurdly tall gearing. From factory it should have been 15 shorter IMHO. Gear spacing is perfect though. The stock gearing would be perfect for a 300hp track only car, but leaving a light in 1st which goes up to 42mph leaves a bit to be desired and it feels very soft lower in the Rev range. The gearing is way too tall to be going under 30mph in 1st, floor it, and accelerate with anything resembling haste. That is nuts to me on a street car in the city to not even have gearing low enough to briskly accelerate until 30mph in 1st nonetheless.
ST170 not a bad car but massively underpowered compared to it's competitors at the time. Those were the days when then Civic Type R was King and the Ford didn't even come close. Future ST's huge improvement.
No... ST170 isnt competetor for Type R.. but RS can be. ST200/ST170/ST220 of his time has a sporty solution for someone who need to be fast but not too much for killing yourself on traffic road :D Miss them bcs today modern hot-hatch has all around 300HP+ and thats too much. Basic service cost a lot more ,engine dont will last, eat tires, brakes..
Currently a St170 owner and love it 😀
They are great cars! We are doing a video on Ben's ST very soon on roads we know, so we can really appreciate it!
Thank you for watching & commenting!
- Drew
Excellent choice my friend 😄👍
Me too. Love it!
Lovely comparison of these two great cars. ST170 has very much gone through the bottom of its price curve now and are becoming quite rare as many were being scrapped for very minor MOT failures. Lovely to see one in top condition as they can be very sensitive to proper maintenance particularly with regard to inlet manifold runner controls, timing issues etc, basically all the little tweeks Cosworth did to them to get it to rev higher etc. Definitely got to wring the neck of it as you say :)) ST170 is all about your favourite twisty back road at legal speeds using high revs. It’s not a 0-60 car as the gear ratios aren’t really set up for it and they do get compared unfavourably to cars of a similar age with more power. For my driving style personally, it’s spot on. Back road driver, loads of revs, loads of going through the gearbox, loads of brake feel and feedback, perfect handling and all at legal speeds.
Apologies for the delay!
I think you've hit the nail on the head there! As with many Mk1 Focus' people scrapped them as soon as the big bills came rolling in. This is turn making them desirable.
You clearly speak from experience so thank you for commenting! Ben said the same: he TOLD us to really abuse it to get the most out of it, and is really encouraging us to take it out on roads we are familiar with.
I am determined to take it out on some good roads I know as everybody keeps saying how capable the cars are!
Thank you so much for commenting and giving your info/experiences, we love hearing from other people who have owned/driven the cars that we feature!
- Drew
Completely agree I absolutely love mine it’s safe , comfortable, looks great I think compared to modern day styling , and the fun you can have in it on the back roads is astonishing. Almost the perfect car for the gap it’s made to fill , people keep comparing them to high performance cars and I say if that’s what you want and it’s all about figures go buy an rs! I’ll stick with my st 👍
The thorn in the ST170's side was the EP3 Civic Type R. 30bhp more. Far better Engine/gearbox and handling. Cheaper to buy. Most importantly the Honda was in a different league in terms of reliability. ST170's are a rare find these days. The EP3 Civics are plentiful. I supercharged my EP3 Type R. It never skipped a beat. I had a standard Mk8 Fiesta 1.6 TDCI and I was the most unreliable car I've ever owned.
I do like that st170 but that mk1 rs is amazing
The ST170 as the daily, the RS as the weekend car 👌😂 life sorted!
- Drew
Have a 2003 Focus SVT, which shares a lot with the ST170. Has the leather Recaro interior and many suspension upgrades from non SVT. Bought it in 2013. It's been really fun, durable and reliable. It was quite inexpensive in 2013. I could get more money for it now, but not enough to get something I want more.
Good to see the Mk1’s hit the channel. Should get you in a modified Mk1 RS soon!
We have always had a soft spot for the Mk1s, and always felt they never get the love they deserve!
I would love to experience a modified Mk1 RS after experiencing a completely standard one!
Thank you for watching!
- Drew
One big advantage towards ST170: it went as an estate. Bought one 3 years ago and I'm still astonished how universal that car is!
😮 wow, I can't believe I didn't know they came in an estate! I suddenly really want one!
Thank you for the info! 👌
- Drew
had the 4 door hatch st170 in grey. when i got it it had uprated coilovers. wasnt that comfy to drive in london. but country roads was great. you could get the back wheel up in corners.
@POOLEYTONY1 very nice choice!
I'm hoping to take this ST170 out very soon & push it through some mountain roads.
Thank you for watching!
- Drew
My mate had an focus st170 drove it once or twice not for me but I can see the appeal with em
Ben has insisted we do a video with just the ST170 on roads we know to get a true feel for it, so fingers crossed 🤞
- Drew
I think some 170s were faster than others. My 5 door was quicker than my brothers 3 door. Mine had a stainless exhaust and a k&n filter. Plus I removed the resonator box. Made it sound much better.
RS has 10 year old tires. 😢 not good but loved the rest of the car
Cracking video :) love the Mk 1 ST 170 stunning car, love mine, just so expensive to run :(
Thank you Lee!
They do have a certain charm, Ben really wants us to do a video on just the ST170 on roads we know so we can really appreciate it.
- Drew
Yep, that's why I have regular 2.0 which is not the fastest but with good maintenance has more than enough power in city.
Why is it expensive to run? Dead reliable and parts are cheap. Mpg?
High octane fuel costs more, but I haven't found mine to be expensive to own. Just had a problem with the thermostat housing but replaced it with a cast aluminum one. Replaced. Springs and shocks, but I wish I changed only shocks. Around 30 mpg at 75 mph cruise.
Brilliant video Lads👍🏴
Much appreciated as always mate! 🙏
- Drew
@@accelerateyoutube 😁👍
I have a mk1 rs having some restoration work which will be completed by end of June your welcome to have a go in 😉
First of all, very good choice of car!
Wow, that's very kind of you!
Where are you based?
- Drew
The most hardcore and best is the focus rs mk2. So raw with the 5 cilinder Volvo engine. So much torque steer.
hello, can you send some parts of this car to Brazil?
Those oil gauges were dummy gauges made to look good , I believe the oil temp gauge just ran off the coolant temp and the oil pressure gauge just went up with the rev counter! Pretty cool having them though but just a gimic unfortunately
Hocus pocus, there is pizza on your Focus 👌😂
😂😂
Its silly to think that a 2 litre Turbo Focus RS had too much power 22 years ago. It was equipped with a "special " diff to handle 212bhp. 229 lb ft of torque. Today such outputs power a small 1.6 hot hatch. How times change.
Some st170s are faster than others. Had a lot o fun in mine. No licence now. 🤔
Uh oh! 😂 that's says a lot about the ST170 though! Lol
Thank you for watching!
- Drew
Absolutely. They need to be properly maintained, no eml light on and a perfect clutch
SVT170 has absurdly tall gearing. From factory it should have been 15 shorter IMHO. Gear spacing is perfect though. The stock gearing would be perfect for a 300hp track only car, but leaving a light in 1st which goes up to 42mph leaves a bit to be desired and it feels very soft lower in the Rev range. The gearing is way too tall to be going under 30mph in 1st, floor it, and accelerate with anything resembling haste. That is nuts to me on a street car in the city to not even have gearing low enough to briskly accelerate until 30mph in 1st nonetheless.
Great vid, 10 year old tyres! Jueeez get them changed asap
He is very aware they need changing! 😂 She had just come out of hibernation in fairness lol
Thank you for watching!
- Drew
Currently daily my focus svt.
We never got the SVT over here, what engine does the SVT run?
- Drew
@@accelerateyoutube 2.0 liter ztech 6 speed manual.
@@accelerateyoutube I have a few videos about it on my channel.
which dg weaver is this?
It is D G Weaver in Llandow, South Wales.
- Drew
@@accelerateyoutube thought it looked familiar
Hey there St170 owner in Australia, only 100 cars came here
Wow that is insane. Do you know how many are left in Australia?
Thanks
Ken
@@accelerateyoutube I own one, I have no idea lol. On carsale app not single one for sale
@@brucetseng170 wow, I thought they were getting rare over here, that is insane!
- Drew
My focus mk1 is a 1.6 it's a ST170 rep but I'm only 19
That's a cool car to be driving at 19! I think I was still in a Micra at 19! 😂
Thank you for watching!
- Drew
No engine bay shots???
ST170 not a bad car but massively underpowered compared to it's competitors at the time. Those were the days when then Civic Type R was King and the Ford didn't even come close. Future ST's huge improvement.
No... ST170 isnt competetor for Type R.. but RS can be. ST200/ST170/ST220 of his time has a sporty solution for someone who need to be fast but not too much for killing yourself on traffic road :D Miss them bcs today modern hot-hatch has all around 300HP+ and thats too much. Basic service cost a lot more ,engine dont will last, eat tires, brakes..
We always thought the EP3 was a competitor to the ST170, but you guys make a very good point!
The RS does seem like a more fair comparison.
your labour health ford love focus love❤
Should of drove the 170 first then rs mk1
Sadly but the Mk1 RS is not a homologation car.
That ain’t no replacement for an escort cosworth 😂
Unfortunately it was! 😂....maybe not in most people's eyes though! Lol
Thank you for watching!
- Drew
Vastly superior car to that old Sierra with an Escort body. Cossies drive like a bag of nails tbh.
What’s Mat’s instagram? He can hold this wood
That's a good question! I will try and get his details for you.
Thank you for watching!
- Drew
😉👍
🙏
@@accelerateyoutube 😉
Such a shame Ford put a lawn mower engine in the st170
MKI all day!