This Week's Shootout: Vauxhall Astra VXR vs Ford Focus ST

It's time for one of our much talked-about head to head time trials, and we've got an exciting matchup for you today. The winner will not only receive a fantastic prize but also the chance to drive away in either a Vauxhall Astra VXR or a Ford Focus ST. These two hot hatches are sure to get your heart racing with their powerful engines and agile handling.

The Vauxhall Astra VXR is priced at £19,000 and boasts an impressive 240 horsepower. It's capable of reaching 0-16 mph in just 6 seconds and can achieve speeds of over 150 miles per hour. While it may be a bit pricey, the VXR's raw power and performance make it a thrilling ride.

On the other hand, the Ford Focus ST is priced at £17,500, making it significantly cheaper than its Vauxhall counterpart. However, it sacrifices some power for a slightly lower price point, with 225 horsepower under the hood. Despite this, the Focus ST still delivers an exhilarating driving experience and is considered one of the sweetest handling cars on the market.

We decided to put these two hot hatches through a rigorous test to determine not only which is quickest but also which is easiest to drive. The challenge was conducted with both hands and then again with just one hand, at 55.6 mph. We wanted to see how each car would behave in different conditions and whether its handling would be affected by the loss of traction.

The results were quite interesting, as it turned out that the Vauxhall Astra VXR has a slight edge over the Ford Focus ST. When driven with both hands, the Astra took the lead by 0.6 seconds. However, when we switched to one-handed driving, the focus still delivered an impressive performance and narrowed the gap to just 2 tenths of a second.

One person who is particularly fond of the Vauxhall Astra VXR is Nick Joe, who has had the chance to drive it on several occasions. He praised its lively nature and excessive parent torque, which can make it feel almost inevitable. However, this same attribute also results in some good old-fashioned turbo lag, which can be a bit unnerving for new drivers.

We designed our test to take into account these characteristics and to see how each car would behave under various conditions. The Ford Focus ST's bright orange color didn't seem to deter its potential owner, who is clearly smitten with this hot hatch. We can certainly understand why, as the Focus's five-cylinder engine provides a distinctive sound that is both thrilling and musical.

The chassis of the Ford Focus ST was described as responsive and playful by our tester. It's clear that this car has a lot to offer in terms of handling, and its low center of gravity makes it feel even more agile. We can imagine how exciting it must be to drive this car on twisty roads or during spirited racing events.

While the Ford Focus ST is undoubtedly an excellent driver, we couldn't help but notice that it's not as quick as the Vauxhall Astra VXR. However, its power advantage has decreased significantly when driven with one hand, and the gap between the two cars has widened to 3 tenths of a second.

In the end, the Vauxhall Astra VXR emerged victorious, winning by 0.6 seconds in both driving scenarios. We're excited to announce that this week's winner will receive a brand new Vauxhall Astra VXR as their prize. To be in with a chance of winning this fantastic car, all you need to do is answer the following question: what is a common way of referring to a sporty hatchback? The correct answer can be found at Five Dock TV/Fifth Gear.

The competition deadline is Monday, 1st May, and we'll remind you of the answer later in the show. You can enter via our recently expanded website or by calling the number mentioned earlier. Good luck, and we look forward to seeing which car will take home the coveted title this week!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enand now it's time for one of our much talked-about head to head time trials you've guessed it it's shootout time and to make things even more interesting we're going to be giving away this week's winner as our competition prize and you could be winning yourself one of the hottest hot hatches either a Vauxhall Astra VXR or a Ford Focus ST the VXR cost 19 grand 240 horsepower get to 16 around 6 seconds and we'll do more than 150 miles an hour the ST is cheaper at 17 and a half thousand pounds but is less powerful with 225 bhp it's not as quick as the Astra but it's one of the sweetest handling cars I've driven recently a car that's lively so much parent torque it's almost inevitable so it makes for a rather unnerving Drive once around another straight it lifts off and the parent self is it's good old-fashioned turbo lag it comes in great Nick Joe laps one morning I'm not that much pally woof there it is you like for its character first but wild now given that these powerful hot hatches are a bit of a handful we designed a test to see not just which is quickest but which is easiest to drive so the hot laps will be conducted one-handed fifty five point zero six is just two tenths slower than my two-handed time out the focus compared now I have to confess even in its a bright orange skin of a soft spot for this holy throat sheep five cylinder four voyage under the bonnet there's national roar as you come up through the red band underneath you is the chassis is so responsive playful even I can sort of playfulness but how playful will it be one-handed slide the focus is certainly an easier car to play with butter the radar complex the VXR power advantage has pushed ahead by two tenths by the happy and the gap was increased to three tenths in the end the Astra wins by point six of a second a similar result to driving two-handed and because it's this week's winner will now be offering you the chance to win a Vauxhall Astra VXR of your very own to be in with a chance of winning all you've got to do is answer this simple question what's a common way of referring to a sporty hatchback is it a hot hatch be hot saloon or see hot rod call Oh Dino 1293 Oh triple five to enter or Tex gear plus a B or C to eight one triple five lines close at midday on Monday the first of May will remind you of those numbers later in the show and don't forget you can enter the competition via our recently expanded website at Five Dock TV forward slash fifth gear youand now it's time for one of our much talked-about head to head time trials you've guessed it it's shootout time and to make things even more interesting we're going to be giving away this week's winner as our competition prize and you could be winning yourself one of the hottest hot hatches either a Vauxhall Astra VXR or a Ford Focus ST the VXR cost 19 grand 240 horsepower get to 16 around 6 seconds and we'll do more than 150 miles an hour the ST is cheaper at 17 and a half thousand pounds but is less powerful with 225 bhp it's not as quick as the Astra but it's one of the sweetest handling cars I've driven recently a car that's lively so much parent torque it's almost inevitable so it makes for a rather unnerving Drive once around another straight it lifts off and the parent self is it's good old-fashioned turbo lag it comes in great Nick Joe laps one morning I'm not that much pally woof there it is you like for its character first but wild now given that these powerful hot hatches are a bit of a handful we designed a test to see not just which is quickest but which is easiest to drive so the hot laps will be conducted one-handed fifty five point zero six is just two tenths slower than my two-handed time out the focus compared now I have to confess even in its a bright orange skin of a soft spot for this holy throat sheep five cylinder four voyage under the bonnet there's national roar as you come up through the red band underneath you is the chassis is so responsive playful even I can sort of playfulness but how playful will it be one-handed slide the focus is certainly an easier car to play with butter the radar complex the VXR power advantage has pushed ahead by two tenths by the happy and the gap was increased to three tenths in the end the Astra wins by point six of a second a similar result to driving two-handed and because it's this week's winner will now be offering you the chance to win a Vauxhall Astra VXR of your very own to be in with a chance of winning all you've got to do is answer this simple question what's a common way of referring to a sporty hatchback is it a hot hatch be hot saloon or see hot rod call Oh Dino 1293 Oh triple five to enter or Tex gear plus a B or C to eight one triple five lines close at midday on Monday the first of May will remind you of those numbers later in the show and don't forget you can enter the competition via our recently expanded website at Five Dock TV forward slash fifth gear you\n"