# Integra DC5 Type-R v Focus ST



## Modmedia (Jul 25, 2008)

I've narrowed my two cars down to this. Simple question, which would you pick and why?

I've driven both for half an hour each and like them both. Driven a STi Impreza, Golf GTI & R32, Clio 197 & FN2/EP3 Type-R.

I've stopped considering the above for various reasons, STi Impreza insurance is really high, the rest aren't as bad but I've either not liked them (Clio 197) or been left underwhelmed (FN2 Type-R, although interior is awesome)

Sorry if this is a mess I've typed it quickly on my iPhone on my break on work!

Cheers!


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## DevilsAdvocate1 (Feb 21, 2009)

Personally I'd take the Focus.

Boost > VTEC


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## gally (May 25, 2008)

There is a motoring section aswell mate, might want to move it over so more people can help?

I'm a massive Ford fan but they are 2 totally different cars. Infact they couldn't be any further apart in the hot hatch category.

The ST is comfortable, quick, quiet (ish) so a mcuh more grown up hatchback.

The DC5 is a simple FWD immense handling hot hatch, much rawer than the ST and again without boost, it needs worked to provide it's power compared with the ST.

So do you do a lot of miles ect...? The DC5 might not be the best car to much the motorway miles. Then again the fuel on the ST can sometimes be that bad (my friend has seen low teens around town) that you wouldn't want to take it everywhere.

The DC5 for me is the winner only because that's what I look for in a car. I'm not a turbo fan and the fuel bill scares me in the ST.

I oftened wondered if I bought an ST would I cry inside everytime I passed an FRS. Geat allround cars though. Just too grown up from my pov.


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## RD55 DUN (Dec 30, 2008)

Tough decision mate, but as said the 2 are completely different.

I would say the DC5 is by far a nicer looking car, more raw and you have to give it a good kicking to drive it properly – which it is designed for.

With the ST you have the turbo so is much easier to drive, I test drove one and it was averaging 23mpg which scared me.

I would go with the DC5 as I like my cars like that and it is also pretty rare and special, where as ST’s are fairly common.

On the other hand, I have an EK9, and a lot of people switch to the DC5 as a modern alternative, and are usually kinda disappointed and come back to the ek9.

:car:


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## davies20 (Feb 22, 2009)

I'd go DC5 - Not as common, plus the engines are pure enginering genius.


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

Focus is thirsty the DC5 needs the revs to get going.


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## gally (May 25, 2008)

Grizzle said:


> Focus is thirsty the DC5 needs the revs to get going.


Are you just copying my posts? :lol: :devil:


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## Turkleton (Apr 18, 2010)

Integra purely for the fact that you barely see any 

They're both pretty awesome cars, my brother has an ST and I love the 5 pot growl, but I also love a nice high revving Vtec beast


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## johnnyc (Nov 18, 2008)

having only driven the st i would say get the dc5. 
i thought the st lacked that excitement and it did not really feel that fast. 
also the interior in the st was abit bland. On the plus side seats are nice and snuggy but not as snuggy as the dc5 seats. And as already mentioned the st drinks alot.
DC5 would be my choice and i believe they will hold there value better.


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## davZS (Jul 3, 2009)

I've got a facelift ST and they are not bad on fuel as people make them out to be, my mate has a DC5 it is a nice car, but it has had a lot of work to meet the power of the ST. I get 25 round town and get 30mpg on a run if I drive with a heavy right foot(really heavy) I still get 19 round town so they are not to bad, the ST is a very nice daily driver I love mine such a nice ride and if you get board of the power you can gain a lot from spending very little ie. Dreamsceince handset £625 to remap the car from 225 up 280 from one tune you can even change maps if you buy the handset, add other mods and you can get anything upto 300+. if you are wanting the car for day to day living I would say the ST but if you want a toy and have a second car go DC5.

Just my thoughts. Dav :thumb:

Oh 5 pot growl mmmmmmmmmmm :argie:


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## hoikey (Mar 9, 2011)

teg. Honda engines pwn ford all day long.


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## Turkleton (Apr 18, 2010)

hoikey said:


> teg. Honda engines pwn ford all day long.


Well that's good then because the ST engine is a Volvo engine :speechles


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## hoikey (Mar 9, 2011)

who ever makes it it doesnt matter. Honda are the best engines in the world.


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## Th3Doctor (Feb 2, 2010)

Did you try the LSD equipped FN2 Championship Edition/M200? (Finally got the JDM LSD it should of had from the start) Easily out handles the ST all day long. VTEC howl over the Volvo engined Ford all day long - The FN2 had some bad press about the exclusion of the (heavy un required on a front drive 200bhp hot hatch) IRS. Even tho fast Renault's have had torsion beam since the year dot.

Top gear magazine made it their hot hatch of the year a while ago back in 07 and EVO really rate the CW with LSD

http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/car..._championship_white_typer_v_civic_type_r.html

+ the focus not having an LSD and no bucket sets is a deal breaker in my book. Makes me laugh how ford only managed to get 225 with 5 cylinders and a turbo and Honda got 210 (All FN2S make more on the rollers than the stated 198) and only have 4 cylinders and no turbo.


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## gargreen7 (Apr 12, 2009)

DC5 everytime


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## davZS (Jul 3, 2009)

Th3Doctor said:


> + the focus not having an LSD and no bucket sets is a deal breaker in my book. Makes me laugh how ford only managed to get 225 with 5 cylinders and a turbo and Honda got 210 (All FN2S make more on the rollers than the stated 198) and only have 4 cylinders and no turbo.


300+bhp with torque figures to equally match are easily obtainable with the ST, yes I agree the Honda does handle better then the focus but in day to day driving you will not see much of a difference on the track or driving the car very hard yes you will see the difference but day to day I think not, (from my own experience, I own a ST and driven a DC5) as for the seats I think the seats in the focus are fantastic they give good hold and comfort(ST-3 leather recaros) the DC5 bucket seats give fantastic hold and support but in my opinion no good for long trips.

BTW, I did see you are talking about the civic type r . I'm just comparing the two cars the original poster mentioned.

But at the end of the day this is just my opinion :thumb:


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## Turkleton (Apr 18, 2010)

Th3Doctor said:


> Did you try the LSD equipped FN2 Championship Edition/M200? (Finally got the JDM LSD it should of had from the start) Easily out handles the ST all day long. VTEC howl over the Volvo engined Ford all day long - The FN2 had some bad press about the exclusion of the (heavy un required on a front drive 200bhp hot hatch) IRS. Even tho fast Renault's have had torsion beam since the year dot.
> 
> Top gear magazine made it their hot hatch of the year a while ago back in 07 and EVO really rate the CW with LSD
> 
> ...


Everytime 'ST' is mentioned, this comes out. :wall::wall::wall:
It's 225PS for a reason


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## cbred (May 9, 2011)

Got to say ST for me as i,ve had mine 11/2 now and still love it . running cost aint that bad really. Facelift 58 plate in Silver.

honda was test drove before i bought the ST and could not live with that rear vision blockage and the thrash of the engine. Depends what you like , so test drive both and see which suits you best.


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## Th3Doctor (Feb 2, 2010)

Turkleton said:


> Everytime 'ST' is mentioned, this comes out. :wall::wall::wall:
> It's 225PS for a reason


And that is??


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## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

go for the T5 5 pot ford....maybe i am abit biased it will be thirsty and plus you get tub whistle  270PS is pretty easy out of the T5 (heck even the late c30's iirc were set around there)


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## Turkleton (Apr 18, 2010)

Th3Doctor said:


> And that is??


It's bang on the borderline of road tax bands, it'd be £405+ if it had any more power as standard.
So they can flog their Mountune packages to many
Some form of restrictions from Volvo but I'm unsure on that one
Minimal wear on the engine so it minimizes wear and tear for them to get warranty work etc.

As said before, the engines can see 300+ very easily


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## Bero (Mar 9, 2008)

Personally i would take the DC5...i've never driven one (i have driven a ST). The ST is very cizilised and 'nice' with a huge amount of torque...but not 'fun'. I had a VVTLI toyota and it was great fun! I tried the compressor version of the same engine but it bored me...so i would go got an NA engine out of that two....although an STi it a very capable car (what i currently have) for cross country blasts and feels a lot quicker/old school with barrels of boost coming at once other than the progressive boost on the ST.



hoikey said:


> who ever makes it it doesnt matter. Honda are the best engines in the world.


lol - best in the world at what?? A 4 pot honda engine is NOT the best engine in the world at ANYTHING. Good undoubetly...best? not a chance!


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## Th3Doctor (Feb 2, 2010)

This is why I think the LSD equipped type r is a good proposition for the op as is has some of the rawness that made the dc5 great and some of the comforts that make the st good. All good cars tho good luck on whatever you choose


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## davZS (Jul 3, 2009)

Th3Doctor said:


> This is why I think the LSD equipped type r is a good proposition for the op as is has some of the rawness that made the dc5 great and some of the comforts that make the st good. All good cars tho good luck on whatever you choose


Doc got to say you are right the LSD equipped type r is a good proposition :thumb: taking good things from both and getting a car that would be a good daily driver.

Although it's still missing the T5


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## hoikey (Mar 9, 2011)

Bero said:


> Personally i would take the DC5...i've never driven one (i have driven a ST). The ST is very cizilised and 'nice' with a huge amount of torque...but not 'fun'. I had a VVTLI toyota and it was great fun! I tried the compressor version of the same engine but it bored me...so i would go got an NA engine out of that two....although an STi it a very capable car (what i currently have) for cross country blasts and feels a lot quicker/old school with barrels of boost coming at once other than the progressive boost on the ST.
> 
> lol - best in the world at what?? A 4 pot honda engine is NOT the best engine in the world at ANYTHING. Good undoubetly...best? not a chance!


Hondas engine technology just leaves other companies behind.


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## bigmc (Mar 22, 2010)

hoikey said:


> Hondas engine technology just leaves other companies behind.


Is that why the type r is no more? Theey can't cope with EURO V legislation. I like the K20 and H22 motors but they're flat until you hit vtec which makes them a weekend/track car not a daily driver. I had a Corolla T-sport compressor and it had best of both worlds, supercharged grunt low down and still screamed to 9000rpm.


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## Th3Doctor (Feb 2, 2010)

bigmc said:


> Is that why the type r is no more? Theey can't cope with EURO V legislation. I like the K20 and H22 motors but they're flat until you hit vtec which makes them a weekend/track car not a daily driver. I had a Corolla T-sport compressor and it had best of both worlds, supercharged grunt low down and still screamed to 9000rpm.


They have stopped making the 5 pot in the st as well

And lol at the Toyota t sport it had one of the softest chassis and worst sounding engines in the know universe only made 215bhp with a supercharger bolted to it!!! Not even in the same league as hondas vtec - and they had to stop making that as well for emission legislation. Toyota can't make hot hatches - end of


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## David-R (Apr 18, 2011)

Having owned a variety of vtec's I can honestly say you'll have huge amounts of fun in the DC5, the K20 is a brilliant engine, rev's all day long, great handling character, quick for an NA car....and super, super, super reliable being a Honda! Although I've now had a couple of very quick turbo'd cars, I can still say I miss vtec so much that I would justify owning another Honda soon, purely for the fun factor, and of course as already mentioned, they're quite a rare sight on the road. Just my two pence worth


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## davZS (Jul 3, 2009)

Th3Doctor said:


> *They have stopped making the 5 pot in the st as well*
> 
> And lol at the Toyota t sport it had one of the softest chassis and worst sounding engines in the know universe only made 215bhp with a supercharger bolted to it!!! Not even in the same league as hondas vtec - and they had to stop making that as well for emission legislation. Toyota can't make hot hatches - end of


Yeah they have replaced it with a 2l ecoboost  but it is suppose to produce around 247bhp not sure on torque figures mind.

Still not happy about the 5 pot going


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## Th3Doctor (Feb 2, 2010)

davZS said:


> Yeah they have replaced it with a 2l ecoboost  but it is suppose to produce around 247bhp not sure on torque figures mind.
> 
> Still not happy about the 5 pot going


Will that be in the new st?


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## davZS (Jul 3, 2009)

Th3Doctor said:


> Will that be in the new st?


Apparently so mate, I'm not sure if there is officle word from ford but that is what is being said, but things may change.


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## dew1911 (Jun 9, 2009)

Yep, Ford have killed it buy using a 4 pot turbo. Volvo's T5 replacement is a 3.0 Turbo V6...


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## Mick (Jan 23, 2010)

another vote for the VTEC here.

having driven the DC5, and also owned an EP3 for 16 months, i can assuredly say you wont be dissapointed.

Also worth mentioning ive had my share of turbo'd motors, also driven the Focus ST, and its no slouch either, its both comfortable and capable. I just prefer the raw drive offered by the DC5, something i now find i look for in a car. as the ST is just not as engaging to drive spiritedly. it is more comfortable though, so it does really come down to what YOU look for in a car.


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