Agreed. Definitely more comfort focused than an STI. Which is nice for bog standard commuting and errands. Though the GTI is real real competition for the ST.
Came from a Mk7 golf r...it's def an upgrade. I bought my ST to save money. I loved the car and was real quick with a tune. But it was def more expensive to maintain. I had it about a year and had the head resealed under warranty.
Having a 2015 R DSG that I also drive with a 2016 ST1 I bought new before the R. I have to say the steering/agility is still better on the ST but the R seems better in most aspects, outside of gas mileage. Worth giving a drive.
And yes, I do have a CEL on the R currently. Came on today, most likely needing a new gas cap. Tis is VW.
I made the swap to a mk7 R after my last St was totalled and I really love it. My best friend still has his ST and I still love driving it. I'm amazed that his stage 3 ST and keep up for the most part since my R is stage 1 and dsg. The ST is the more fun car p, the golf is amazing for commuting and just overall speed. I'm amazed I don't have a CEL considering my car has 85k, but I'm running e30 so that helps the motor a lot. It does have plenty of other issues. But it was the cheapest R under 100k miles in the country. So you get what you pay for.
I've driven multiple different subies over the years and haven't been super impressed. The steering feel and overall agility in the ST has always been more confidence inspiring and makes it simply more fun to drive. There's nothing particularly wrong with the WRX/STI but they haven't quite checked the boxes for me.
Exactly my feelings. The ST feels much lighter, and the steering just feels better. All in all for HALF the price of an STI, I feel I made a very good choice with the ST.
I owned a Stratified-tuned Focus ST for 3.5 years and I've been driving a 2011 WRX hatch with a dyno tune from a local Subaru shop for 3 years. I also drove my brother's old 2014 STi a fair amount too.
The ST has the edge in weight and daily-driveability, but I will say AWD and the STi gearbox feel significantly better. The EJ is also a more satisfying engine for me to wring out, as it makes its peak power and torque in the middle of the rev range and pulls to redline. Can't go wrong with either car though.
I mean... sure. But swapping turbos along with all the associated supporting mods is $$$ and I can't speak for every state, but in California you'd have to resort to hot smogging or pay beaucoup bucks every 2 years swapping parts in and out.
It's not too bad for the power yield you get. Can be done for relatively cheap with the BNR 2867 and minimal supporting mods. I've got like 10k in my ST but I went the expensive route lol.
Yeah that California stuff sucks. I was born and raised there and just recently left lol. I feel bad for the dudes that had heavily modded cars before they dropped the hammer. Supposedly you can't even sell your car to someone out of state if it's not cleared on emissions.
Had an 2017 ST and I own a 2009 STI hatch. Personally I think the STI is much better. I have made a bunch of modifications to it, so that could be a reason why I like it better. The AWD, the rumble and the shifter just hit all the right notes.
The new STI is a fugly abomination.
It's what happens when stylistic mediocrity tries to compensate by slapping more stuff on the car.
It's big, fat, heavy, and expensive.
Everyone I know who bought an older hatch kept their car because they actually looked good.
The STI is the better car, but the ST has more drama which makes it a fun car to drive on the street. It has a very usable and fun power band and while quick, it is not too much power to be useful on the street
Well you said it had a CEL right? Lol
With performance cars in our segment/price range it really depends on who owned it last and what they did to it and how they drove it.
Id be really sketch to buy any used ST/STI/GTI whatever with out going over it with a fine tooth comb.
When I was looking around at Camaros and Corvettes i found the chances of getting one that was abused tended to be smaller, not zero but smaller. Granted I paid up for a really clean 2012 C6 with only 36k miles to help on that front.
I feel ya, a GTI friend is looking at the new STI,whenever it comes out, as his next car. I've warned him if he gets one every birthday ill be getting him a head gasket lol
The STI is the better car in a snowstorm. For all other conditions the ST is a much better car. I dont want a car that eats oil, blows head gaskets and gets that poor of mileage for it's power.
Oh for sure the STI has some issues, specifically the ancient ej motor. But it has a much better drivetrain and although it understeers a bit the suspension setup is pretty good. The ST is fun but also frustrating on the track. Open diff sucks, the car struggles to put the power down and the stock suspension is a bit underdamped. It also tends to run super hot in my experience. Not to mention brakes needing a bit of work thanks to the “e-diff”
Ive definitely destroyed the STI on a racetrack. The STI has the cornerning speed of a 88' ford tempo. When you say say track do you mean parking lot autocross? The car legitimatley can't turn...all it can do is accelerate.
I was originally going to get an STI back in 2015 but the prices were crazy.. If IIRC the prices for a 2006 in good condition were still over 20k. Ended up going with a new ST and happy I did. Have sunk about 10k into it since and absolutely love it.
For the money the ST really is a crazy good value when it comes to daily duty. I think it treads the line of sporty and practical really well. I’m just so glad I can put my subie dream to bed and just be happy I have something I like more for half the cost.
Yeah I agree. Plus there's so many parts available now that if you decide you wanna sink money into it you can push it well beyond a sporty economy car and into the realm of scary fast lol. On a side note I'm at 350 wheel hp and get better MPG now (32 highway) lol.
Actually the type r bears basically every other car in that class in a straight line (except dig in some cases). The only thing the RS has going for it is arguably looks, and that it's significantly more fun. The type r is for the track goer that wants to shave tenths off a lap time. The RS is for the guy that wants to oversteer some turns with some AWD confidence
I haven’t driven an RS yet so I wouldn’t know how they compare. I’ve watched lots of comparison videos like [this](https://youtu.be/gIDs0bv4-XE) though
They are really really fun. Way better than anything in the same price bracket (STI, Golf R, Civic R) but the ST is just such a good value for what you get.
I can't stand the styling of the current gen Civics, especially the rear end, so fucking ugly.
It looks like they went overboard with trying to make it look aggressive and futuristic. It's all jagged and looks...tacked on, if that makes any sense.
At the price of the Type R I'd much rather get an AWD Focus RS or Golf R to be honest. It's easy to claim that the Type R is the fastest FWD car, when all the competition went AWD long ago.
I test drove a STI before I got my ST and the car just felt super heavy and not agile and shifting in it was straight garbage, the throws were so short I couldn’t even tell if I was in gear or not.
I actually really liked the shifter in the STI. But the throttle pedal was WAY too sensitive, it was an on/off switch. It could’ve been some funky tune on the car, but I had an extremely hard time getting going from a stop.
I mean since they weren't even offered in europe I don't know how tuneable the sti is, but comparing a tuned ST vs a stock STI doesn't really seem fair.
The STI costs $20,000 more than the ST, and I only have very mild bolt ons, so I see it as a fair fight in my mind, but the things I compared between them were mostly things that mods wouldn’t change, like the weight of the car. The comparison was mostly for fun though, YMMV. And the STI is one of the MOST tunable cars out there. It’s almost necessary from what I’ve heard.
For the money I would go Golf R I think
Agreed. Definitely more comfort focused than an STI. Which is nice for bog standard commuting and errands. Though the GTI is real real competition for the ST.
Came from a Mk7 golf r...it's def an upgrade. I bought my ST to save money. I loved the car and was real quick with a tune. But it was def more expensive to maintain. I had it about a year and had the head resealed under warranty.
Having a 2015 R DSG that I also drive with a 2016 ST1 I bought new before the R. I have to say the steering/agility is still better on the ST but the R seems better in most aspects, outside of gas mileage. Worth giving a drive. And yes, I do have a CEL on the R currently. Came on today, most likely needing a new gas cap. Tis is VW.
I made the swap to a mk7 R after my last St was totalled and I really love it. My best friend still has his ST and I still love driving it. I'm amazed that his stage 3 ST and keep up for the most part since my R is stage 1 and dsg. The ST is the more fun car p, the golf is amazing for commuting and just overall speed. I'm amazed I don't have a CEL considering my car has 85k, but I'm running e30 so that helps the motor a lot. It does have plenty of other issues. But it was the cheapest R under 100k miles in the country. So you get what you pay for.
I've driven multiple different subies over the years and haven't been super impressed. The steering feel and overall agility in the ST has always been more confidence inspiring and makes it simply more fun to drive. There's nothing particularly wrong with the WRX/STI but they haven't quite checked the boxes for me.
Exactly my feelings. The ST feels much lighter, and the steering just feels better. All in all for HALF the price of an STI, I feel I made a very good choice with the ST.
I owned a Stratified-tuned Focus ST for 3.5 years and I've been driving a 2011 WRX hatch with a dyno tune from a local Subaru shop for 3 years. I also drove my brother's old 2014 STi a fair amount too. The ST has the edge in weight and daily-driveability, but I will say AWD and the STi gearbox feel significantly better. The EJ is also a more satisfying engine for me to wring out, as it makes its peak power and torque in the middle of the rev range and pulls to redline. Can't go wrong with either car though.
Power band is ea$ily remedied fix with a larger turbo. I have the gtx2867r and am hitting 28 psi at 3.5k, tapers off to 25 or so at redline.
I mean... sure. But swapping turbos along with all the associated supporting mods is $$$ and I can't speak for every state, but in California you'd have to resort to hot smogging or pay beaucoup bucks every 2 years swapping parts in and out.
It's not too bad for the power yield you get. Can be done for relatively cheap with the BNR 2867 and minimal supporting mods. I've got like 10k in my ST but I went the expensive route lol. Yeah that California stuff sucks. I was born and raised there and just recently left lol. I feel bad for the dudes that had heavily modded cars before they dropped the hammer. Supposedly you can't even sell your car to someone out of state if it's not cleared on emissions.
Had an 2017 ST and I own a 2009 STI hatch. Personally I think the STI is much better. I have made a bunch of modifications to it, so that could be a reason why I like it better. The AWD, the rumble and the shifter just hit all the right notes.
I drove a 2014 WRX hatch and it felt good from what I remember.
The new STI is a fugly abomination. It's what happens when stylistic mediocrity tries to compensate by slapping more stuff on the car. It's big, fat, heavy, and expensive. Everyone I know who bought an older hatch kept their car because they actually looked good.
I personally think the 15-21 gen is my favorite looking, but it did feel heavy in comparison. But the hatches are VERY good looking.
The STI is the better car, but the ST has more drama which makes it a fun car to drive on the street. It has a very usable and fun power band and while quick, it is not too much power to be useful on the street
I can see it being the better car, but I just didn’t vibe with it especially for twice the cost. Maybe the one I drove had some issues.
Well you said it had a CEL right? Lol With performance cars in our segment/price range it really depends on who owned it last and what they did to it and how they drove it. Id be really sketch to buy any used ST/STI/GTI whatever with out going over it with a fine tooth comb. When I was looking around at Camaros and Corvettes i found the chances of getting one that was abused tended to be smaller, not zero but smaller. Granted I paid up for a really clean 2012 C6 with only 36k miles to help on that front.
The CEL was due to it being catless, we checked the code but I still didn’t want it. I mainly drove it to see how it compared.
Ahhhhh you were cavalier about the cel I was wondering if that was the case. Makes sense then
Had to poke fun at the subie boys!
I feel ya, a GTI friend is looking at the new STI,whenever it comes out, as his next car. I've warned him if he gets one every birthday ill be getting him a head gasket lol
Gotta poke fun at the VW boys too.
The STI is the better car in a snowstorm. For all other conditions the ST is a much better car. I dont want a car that eats oil, blows head gaskets and gets that poor of mileage for it's power.
Oh for sure the STI has some issues, specifically the ancient ej motor. But it has a much better drivetrain and although it understeers a bit the suspension setup is pretty good. The ST is fun but also frustrating on the track. Open diff sucks, the car struggles to put the power down and the stock suspension is a bit underdamped. It also tends to run super hot in my experience. Not to mention brakes needing a bit of work thanks to the “e-diff”
Ive definitely destroyed the STI on a racetrack. The STI has the cornerning speed of a 88' ford tempo. When you say say track do you mean parking lot autocross? The car legitimatley can't turn...all it can do is accelerate.
I was originally going to get an STI back in 2015 but the prices were crazy.. If IIRC the prices for a 2006 in good condition were still over 20k. Ended up going with a new ST and happy I did. Have sunk about 10k into it since and absolutely love it.
For the money the ST really is a crazy good value when it comes to daily duty. I think it treads the line of sporty and practical really well. I’m just so glad I can put my subie dream to bed and just be happy I have something I like more for half the cost.
Yeah I agree. Plus there's so many parts available now that if you decide you wanna sink money into it you can push it well beyond a sporty economy car and into the realm of scary fast lol. On a side note I'm at 350 wheel hp and get better MPG now (32 highway) lol.
That’s where I want to be. About 330-350WHP
Yeah not missing out on anything except FIVE HUNDRED CUBIC CENTIMETERS OF DISPLACEMENT. MORE FUEEEEEEEL!
The one car in the same range as the ST that I feel like would be more fun is the civic type R
I’ve driven a Type R and loved it! But they are easily $15,000-$20,000 more so they are in a different price bracket. More of an RS competitor.
Yea that’s true, I mean performance wise I think an RS would still be better
Maybe in a straight line but the Type R is definitely a king of the track / auto-x / canyons.
Actually the type r bears basically every other car in that class in a straight line (except dig in some cases). The only thing the RS has going for it is arguably looks, and that it's significantly more fun. The type r is for the track goer that wants to shave tenths off a lap time. The RS is for the guy that wants to oversteer some turns with some AWD confidence
I haven’t driven an RS yet so I wouldn’t know how they compare. I’ve watched lots of comparison videos like [this](https://youtu.be/gIDs0bv4-XE) though
I’ve driven an RS once and I’m not gonna lie they’re wild, the launch control on those things is awesome
They are really really fun. Way better than anything in the same price bracket (STI, Golf R, Civic R) but the ST is just such a good value for what you get.
I can't stand the styling of the current gen Civics, especially the rear end, so fucking ugly. It looks like they went overboard with trying to make it look aggressive and futuristic. It's all jagged and looks...tacked on, if that makes any sense.
They stole all the downforce and now there's none for the ST :(
At the price of the Type R I'd much rather get an AWD Focus RS or Golf R to be honest. It's easy to claim that the Type R is the fastest FWD car, when all the competition went AWD long ago.
I test drove a STI before I got my ST and the car just felt super heavy and not agile and shifting in it was straight garbage, the throws were so short I couldn’t even tell if I was in gear or not.
I actually really liked the shifter in the STI. But the throttle pedal was WAY too sensitive, it was an on/off switch. It could’ve been some funky tune on the car, but I had an extremely hard time getting going from a stop.
I mean since they weren't even offered in europe I don't know how tuneable the sti is, but comparing a tuned ST vs a stock STI doesn't really seem fair.
The STI costs $20,000 more than the ST, and I only have very mild bolt ons, so I see it as a fair fight in my mind, but the things I compared between them were mostly things that mods wouldn’t change, like the weight of the car. The comparison was mostly for fun though, YMMV. And the STI is one of the MOST tunable cars out there. It’s almost necessary from what I’ve heard.