Mercedes C320 vs Ford Focus ST

[kit17]

Hi guys, I had a bit of a race with a 07' plate Ford Focus ST today, I was in my 2001 W203 petrol C320. I thought he would have easily passed me as he would have more horsepower, less weight and a much more modern 2.5 five cylinder engine but to my surprise he was only just catching me up very very slowly! we both had to back off before getting to top speed but i was very impressed with how the merc can still hold its own after all these years!!

 

[kwakdonut]

erm I thought this was frowned upon - Admin??

 

[Smarties]

On a track....of course

 

[kwakdonut]

oh of course, silly me......

 

[BenzedUP]

Yeah my brother has a w203 C320 which is remaped pushing about 250bhp and it easily beats the ST off the lights with no problems.

Also a friend of mine has a supercharged c320 which has 344bhp and that eats st's all day long!

 

[James Rothwell]

A ST hung right onto my bumper on the M25 a few weeks ago, and when the inside lane cleared and I moved over and he shot past, god knows what he had done to it.

Oh just realised my mistake, it was a Focus RS not an ST.

 

[trainer]

I had a C320 before moving on to the C32. It was a great car and as you say it surprises a few people when you kick down as it looks to serene.

 

[st4]

erm I thought this was frowned upon - Admin??

Not by me it ain't!!!!

C320 is a 220bhp engine, a ST is about the same and there probably isn't that much in it weight wise either. The ST focus is quite a porker!

 

[kit17]

Hi guys, I had a bit of a race with a 07' plate Ford Focus ST today, I was in my 2001 W203 petrol C320. I thought he would have easily passed me as he would have more horsepower, less weight and a much more modern 2.5 five cylinder engine but to my surprise he was only just catching me up very very slowly! we both had to back off before getting to top speed but i was very impressed with how the merc can still hold its own after all these years!!

On a track....of course

Of Course on a track! I would never do this on the road that would be illegal

 

[kit17]

Yeah my brother has a w203 C320 which is remaped pushing about 250bhp and it easily beats the ST off the lights with no problems.

Also a friend of mine has a supercharged c320 which has 344bhp and that eats st's all day long!

Wow 250 bhp sounds good what chip did he get?

 

[flango]

Not by me it ain't!!!!

C320 is a 220bhp engine, a ST is about the same and there probably isn't that much in it weight wise either. The ST focus is quite a porker!

Problem with the ST is you can't get the power down, floor it and traction cuts in turn off the traction and it sits there spinning the wheels, not sure how Ford screwed this one up as its the same engine from the Volvo T5 which can get the power down and handles well, that said the C320 is a great drivers car and about the same in the Power department as an ST but the MB can get the power down unless its rainy or slippy.

PS Thanks for the e mail Steve will start a separate post for why I've been away now back in the UK and photographed the car, I'm amazed she walked away.

 

[kit17]

Problem with the ST is you can't get the power down, floor it and traction cuts in turn off the traction and it sits there spinning the wheels, not sure how Ford screwed this one up as its the same engine from the Volvo T5 which can get the power down and handles well, that said the C320 is a great drivers car and about the same in the Power department as an ST but the MB can get the power down unless its rainy or slippy.

We were both doing 40mph when I put the Hammer Down! so i guess wheel spin wouldnt of come in to it but a valid point! The C320 is a great car mines got the MB lowered suspension and AMG wheels which helps. The only thing I do find it can get a little out of shape if you arent smooth with the steering and brakes when pressing on although this is true of any car but less unforgiving than say my wifes RX8.

 

[flango]

Problem with the ST is you can't get the power down, floor it and traction cuts in turn off the traction and it sits there spinning the wheels, not sure how Ford screwed this one up as its the same engine from the Volvo T5 which can get the power down and handles well, that said the C320 is a great drivers car and about the same in the Power department as an ST but the MB can get the power down unless its rainy or slippy.

We were both doing 40mph when I put the Hammer Down! so i guess wheel spin wouldnt of come in to it but a valid point! The C320 is a great car mines got the MB lowered suspension and AMG wheels which helps. The only thing I do find it can get a little out of shape if you arent smooth with the steering and brakes when pressing on although this is true of any car but less unforgiving than say me wifes RX8.

Put the hammer down in 2nd in an ST and it just spins the wheels even on dry roads at 40 mph, in 3rd you can put the hammer down but pick up is obviously slower I did a lot of driving for Ford with the ST whilst they were developing the chassis, they basically tried to take the Volvo T5 engine put it in a Focus to create a faster car and it never worked. My pal has the development car I drove and it is now mapped to 365 bhp Standard is about 250 bhp and I'll tell you what it is undriveable would not like to think I had to drive it every day and torque steer is unbelieveable I'm amazed it goes round the corners.

Now the new RS thats another story, start from scratch and design the car not try and raid the parts bin of sister companies as they did with the ST.

 

[kit17]

Put the hammer down in 2nd in an ST and it just spins the wheels even on dry roads at 40 mph, in 3rd you can put the hammer down but pick up is obviously slower I did a lot of driving for Ford with the ST whilst they were developing the chassis, they basically tried to take the Volvo T5 engine put it in a Focus to create a faster car and it never worked. My pal has the development car I drove and it is now mapped to 365 bhp Standard is about 250 bhp and I'll tell you what it is undriveable would not like to think I had to drive it every day and torque steer is unbelieveable I'm amazed it goes round the corners.

Now the new RS thats another story, start from scratch and design the car not try and raid the parts bin of sister companies as they did with the ST.

Wow, I didnt know they were that bad wheel spin wise, I used to have a Escort Rs Turbo series 2, i had it chipped to a rolling road proven 192BHP. That was excatly the same with the torque steer and wheel spin but it didnt have any Traction Control and it was designed in the 80's so you kind of expect it

 

[Adam230K]

This doesn't surprise me at all. When I had the 230K I was infront of one from the lights upto ~90mph and he wasn't catching up, he was dead on my rear bumper because I got the jump.

good going!!

 

[GT3]

depends on the driver, an old lady in a porsche could lose V a guy in transit van

 

[chiefski26]

erm I thought this was frowned upon - Admin??


grow up man !

 

[Gridlock]

The Focus RS is one of my Golf's favourite snacks

 

[wemorgan]

The Focus RS is one of my Golf's favourite snacks

Drivers Republic used to highly rate the Mountune version of the Focus, taking it to 260bhp and 400Nm.
Focus ST260 Upgrade

Would that give you a fun challange on a 1/4 mile?

 

[Krobar]

I had no trouble dispatching an ST in my C350 the other day. What makes me laugh is the ST was bright orange and screamed racer, my C350SC just has a touch wider rear tyres the standard SC and otherwise looks the same. Never did like sheep in wolves clothing.