AUTOCAR

[avit]

ST is outselling the VXR by three to one, WHY !!!! when i test drove the ST the only thing i liked was the sound of the exhausts,otherwise a boring car that looks just like the standard focus. If you did buy a ST you would have to get it in orange just to get noticed,lol.
I think VXL should of adertised the VXR on tv to rival ST advert, what do you think?
I like to look at these figures and think that one in four have extremely good taste.
Paul.

[R20 VXR]

Paul,
I agree with your assessment of the ST... but leave the 1:4 ratio well alone I say

[ChinsVXR]

This is the letter Ive sent into Autocar on the subject

I read Jay Nagleys hot hatch column in this weeks Autocar with interest.
Why is the Focus or Golf GTI the car to have as sales are high and represent
a larger percentage of sales than the VXR or 225?
As someone that swapped my nice but dull MKV GTI for a VXR I wanted a
car that wasn't too hard core, (40 plus and I enjoy a comfortable and a relaxing
drive at my age), was exciting when I wanted it (never once took the GTI for a
blast, but often find myself doing this in the VXR), had a degree of exclusivity
(you can already see GTI's on every street corner and if the ST is selling so
well, in a couple of years it will be in every other parking space, with a 2000
limit on the VXR/year it will be a lot more exclusive). I have also noted that
CAP have just increased the Residual Value on the VXR by 7%. My VXR also
cost under 18k for the same spec as my over 22k GTI and in three years
it will have cost less to finance and the depreciation wont be as high in real
pound notes. Finally at least the VXR looks like a hot hatch where the GTI
and to an extent the ST are hard to spot.
Maybe VXR owners are not sheep unlike GTI and ST owners and don't follow
the crowd but are more discerning and like to travel in exclusivity whilst having
fun.

[beema45]

I agree Chins, the VXR looks by far the most attractive car. However after driving a BMW 3 series for the last seven years I can confirm it drives the same today 125,000 miles on the clock as the day I bought it. The German engineering is first class I have to say. But like you I am the other side of 40 even 50 and I just want to have a car that I can drive roughly if I want, or on the other hand one that I can poodle along with. My wife is afraid of speed, she doesn't drive hence poodling along. I might just give her a bit of a blast now and again. But I guess it will be mainly on my own when I really drive the car. Don't know about you, but I think you never lose that need for a bit of excitement as long as you are sensible, which I'm sure we both are. Watch this space!!

[Brooke D]

Hi Guys
I agree with what you're saying, i have always been a ford girl myself and hated VXL's, i've had an RS Turbo and Sierra Saph Cossie previously. I went and sat in the VXR 20 mins before i sat in the ST, oh dear, i took one look at the ST, sat inside for 3 seconds and walked straight on out of Ford and didnt look back!!!!! How can they be selling more of the ST???

[the vxr mothership]

Ford are outselling ourselves , Golf and well everyone in this area.
From a marketing side they had all their demos registered, 2 promotions (sat nav and prodrive) and the tv ad. So a fair bit really.
We thought they were unrestricted on build , although they now appear to have long delays for some reason.
We however are restricted to build on Astra VXR to 2500 units +/- 100 units so the level of spend is proportional to number of Astras we sell (100,000).... so our spend is on the motoring press and our new VXR website that will launch this summer plus attending as many shows as possible to show the car to the customer.
The upside for VXR owners is a firming up of residual values and a nice rarity value.
HTH
Stu

[Aussie]

The upside for VXR owners is a firming up of residual values and a nice rarity value.
HTH
Stu

thats the part i like to hear

[thekirbyfake]

I went and sat in the VXR 20 mins before i sat in the ST, oh dear, i took one look at the ST, sat inside for 3 seconds and walked straight on out of Ford and didnt look back!!!!!

Some people test drive cars before making their mind up...
I think the main reasons the ST is selling so well are,
1) The fantastic reviews, many deserved, but some seem a bit exaggerated IMO. Autocar is currently creaming over it. Notice how many adverts Ford places with Autocar...
2) The lower headline starting price.
3) The discounts. I'm one of the VERY few people who've managed to get their mitts on an ST via an internet broker but there are LOTS of people working for Ford in UK with big discounts offered to employees.
4) NO 5 DOOR OPTION. What were Vx thinking? I, like many on company car schemes, have to have a 5 door car. I chose the ST for various other reasons but the 3 door only Astra never got a look in.
Which is a shame because I'd always wanted a car that's faster around a track when you've one hand tied behind your back

[jules]

I went and sat in the VXR 20 mins before i sat in the ST, oh dear, i took one look at the ST, sat inside for 3 seconds and walked straight on out of Ford and didnt look back!!!!!

Some people test drive cars before making their mind up...
I think the main reasons the ST is selling so well are,
1) The fantastic reviews, many deserved, but some seem a bit exaggerated IMO. Autocar is currently creaming over it. Notice how many adverts Ford places with Autocar...
2) The lower headline starting price.
3) The discounts. I'm one of the VERY few people who've managed to get their mitts on an ST via an internet broker but there are LOTS of people working for Ford in UK with big discounts offered to employees.
4) NO 5 DOOR OPTION. What were Vx thinking? I, like many on company car schemes, have to have a 5 door car. I chose the ST for various other reasons but the 3 door only Astra never got a look in.
Which is a shame because I'd always wanted a car that's faster around a track when you've one hand tied behind your back

5 door hot hatches look so boring Vx wanted different.
All so the first lap he used both hands. VXR won fair it is the faster car on the track.

[Comedy Si]

i think the ST is still a fair car..it's a decent price, goes 90% fast enough for 90% of the people and it's cheap to run...what more can 90% of people in that market want?
i'm sure too that the 5 door option sells quite a few machines over and above anyone that can offer only a 3 door..not that i'd ever consider a 5 door out of principle anyway...!!!! ; )
Si

[ChinsVXR]

I went and sat in the VXR 20 mins before i sat in the ST, oh dear, i took one look at the ST, sat inside for 3 seconds and walked straight on out of Ford and didnt look back!!!!!

Some people test drive cars before making their mind up...
I think the main reasons the ST is selling so well are,
1) The fantastic reviews, many deserved, but some seem a bit exaggerated IMO. Autocar is currently creaming over it. Notice how many adverts Ford places with Autocar...
2) The lower headline starting price.
3) The discounts. I'm one of the VERY few people who've managed to get their mitts on an ST via an internet broker but there are LOTS of people working for Ford in UK with big discounts offered to employees.
4) NO 5 DOOR OPTION. What were Vx thinking? I, like many on company car schemes, have to have a 5 door car. I chose the ST for various other reasons but the 3 door only Astra never got a look in.
Which is a shame because I'd always wanted a car that's faster around a track when you've one hand tied behind your back

Good post and agree with most of it. I dont have a thing against the ST and looked at getting one.
The discount employees were getting vs what I would get really helped put me off.
Been interesting to note that one ST owner called their car george best as it had a drink problem

[thekirbyfake]

Been interesting to note that one ST owner called their car george best as it had a drink problem

I get absolutely nowhere near Ford's quoted figures. In my old ST170 I used to get 2mpg more than the combined figure. Now I'm struggling to get it up to within 4mpg of the ST's combined figure.
Hoping it's down to a new engine and that it'll loosen up soon. Fingers crossed as at the moment fuel is costing my around £0.16/mile!
The car is covered by the AA in a number of guises...

[Comedy Si]

16p/mile ain'y bad right now, especially given the fuel price right now...can't bear to think about what my Evo used to cost me on p/mile... : ) lets jsut say glad i ain't got it now with oil 75$/bbl....!!!!!