And I have to say it was a huge disappointment.

Mate of mine is a big Ford fan and the ST was always the car he'd aspired to own, much like the Meg 225 was to me as a Renault fan.

So booked a test drive in an ST2 which I put myself down for a well just to see how it compared to the Megane.

Well initial impression is that it looked quite average (was black) and the interior again wasn't all that special. Recaros were nice but the trim was normal and no leather in it either.
Plust points were that it had a lot of space and felt pretty solid, comfy enough to be a passenger in the back too.

Then for my drive in it. First impression is that there's plenty of space for the driver and the seats were very hugging. Not that comfy but definitely sporty. The gear change and clutch was the usual Ford vague affari I've noticed on all the ones I've driven but steering was spot on and the steering wheel a good size. Sadly a lot of the features you get as standard on the 225s, like leather, keyless ignition are expensive options. Even the most interesting colour, ASBO orange, is nearly £700 where all the other metalics are £350!!!

Biggest downside though is the performance really wasn't all that. There was no push in 1st and 2nd gear, didn't pin you back like the 225 or even 182 does. 3rd and 4th felt as it should do with plenty of torque but still didn't make up for the lack of punch from 1st and 2nd. :(

After the salesmen confidently saying 'If you test drive one, you WILL want to buy one!' he clearly hasn't driven the competition. Even my mate was dissapointed and didn't come away wanting one and is now re-evaluating his next choice of motor.

After a bit of reading up on Performance Ford, it turns out the torque limiters on the ST really hinder the performance. They tested its 0-60 and it couldn't hit anywhere near the quoted time. With a re-map it will hit the claimed 6.5 seconds but from what I've experienced, its just dissapointingly average.

Bearing in mind I'm driving a phase I 225 and mine feels a lot quicker, just as well build and surprisingly more interesting on the inside (orange belts/stitching). It just reassured me what good cars the RenaultSport models are.

Not sure what other peoples views are on these cars but it looks like my friend mate be steering toward the RenaultSport side of things instead of Ford.

Good review!!!

When I came to buying my Megane I was looking at both the ST and the 225. Needless to say the 225 won outright. I liked interior of the Focus especially the black headliner. It did what a sports car should do but I kept feeling that there was something missing.

However, I preferred the Renault outright, it's just in a different class altogether. The interior may not be as good, but the performance, handling and entertainment of the Renault is much better.

The interior on the ST was nicely made but was fiarly uninspiring. For its performance flaws, an awesome interior would have made up some points but it fell slightly.

My Meg has the orange touches inside which even my made commented were a nicer tough than the coloured inserts on the seats. Otherwise the Megane and Focus interior are equally average considering its the 'top of the range'!!

My mates point was that for a £20k car (from a dealer) its a bit of a cheek that you need to replace the intercooler and re-map it to get it performing as it claims it does. (According to performance Ford magazine).

In my mind the two hatches that took my fancy out of this category were the Meg 225 and Focus ST but it looks like they're not as close as they should be.


P.S. - Ash : know what you mean about the roof lining but did you actually touch it?? It felt like it was made of car and that there was about an inch gap between the roof lining and the roof of the car???

I don't think I did touch the lining but it was about a year ago now

i took one for a spin and i quite liked it :)

i took one for a spin and i quite liked it :)

I didn't actually dislike it at all, I even said to my mate that its a very good car. But for what its hyped up to be, which is effectively one of the top hot hatches in its class, it didn't live up to it.

It just instilled in me, how good my 225 is though haha.

probaly the best bit about it is the engine, i thought it sounded awesome :)
qutie liked the gauges on the dash aswell

Those gauges are definitely a nice tough, something that would set the Meg off very nicely.
The seats were also very nice as well. Engine did indeed sound nice, just sadly didn't fire you into the sunset like it should.

i thought the engine pulled quite nicely till the saleswoman found he middle pedal lol.
would like to have a go in remapped one

Thing is Danny, did you feel it pull as hard in 1st and 2nd as your Megane???

Coz thats what I was expecting and it just didn't. As mentioned my mate was reading up on it in Performance Ford and they explained that the torque limiter in 1st and 2nd hinders its performance causing it to not hit its quoted figures!!

was sitting traffic most of the time, well it is london after all :)
thought it may have more of a smoother delivery?