real world focus st mpg
Discussion
Funk said:
A new R32 and 130i were outside my budget. The A3 was pretty similar to the Golf V6 4Mo I was getting rid of - a cruiser rather than a hot-hatch. I wanted something a bit more lively and charismatic. The 130i and R32 were closer to the £30k mark than the £20k mark.
R32 was somewhere in the 25-27 bracket new at the time IIRC and a lightly used BM was taking a certain degree of pasting & was probably less than that, even if list was high. However, the former was certainly more than I was prepared to spend at the time and the latter just didn't appear at the right time (something I regret - bar the looks they seem to be fine things - a chap I know is on his second and swears blind by them at that price/circumstance point). I'm very glad I didn't go down the Audi route.Still wish I'd had the courage/circumstances to buy something a bit more interesting though. A far too regular occurrence though
Edited by DukeDickson on Tuesday 28th August 23:34
I have an ST 06 plate.
It is currently running aftermarket IC, air filters, exhaust with decat. I reckon around the 290bhp. Mine is currently sat on 28.2mpg, I use it to commute 25miles each way sitting on A roads with a couple of towns in between.
That said I came from a diesel, and thought with the difference in fuel costs, petrol being cheaper, it wouldnt make that much of a difference...yes it does! Its costing me around £65 a week rather than £30. Its a lot more fun though and gives me far more opportunities to overtake so I guess it's safer.
It is currently running aftermarket IC, air filters, exhaust with decat. I reckon around the 290bhp. Mine is currently sat on 28.2mpg, I use it to commute 25miles each way sitting on A roads with a couple of towns in between.
That said I came from a diesel, and thought with the difference in fuel costs, petrol being cheaper, it wouldnt make that much of a difference...yes it does! Its costing me around £65 a week rather than £30. Its a lot more fun though and gives me far more opportunities to overtake so I guess it's safer.
I've had my 2006 Focus ST (Dreamscience) since new as my company car... then when I bought it back when my Focus RS MP350 arrived in 2010. Both cars do 13mile commutes which are a mixture of A-roads, fun B-roads, plenty of islands, a couple of dual carriageways and then Birmingham stop / start traffic. Unless driven like a granny, neither car gets above 22mpg.
With these cars, if you're stop / starting, or using the gears and accelerating, they're going to be in the low 20's. The only way to get above 25mpg is by wafting along in top gear and forgetting it's got a turbo.
With these cars, if you're stop / starting, or using the gears and accelerating, they're going to be in the low 20's. The only way to get above 25mpg is by wafting along in top gear and forgetting it's got a turbo.
356Speedster said:
I've had my 2006 Focus ST (Dreamscience) since new as my company car... then when I bought it back when my Focus RS MP350 arrived in 2010. Both cars do 13mile commutes which are a mixture of A-roads, fun B-roads, plenty of islands, a couple of dual carriageways and then Birmingham stop / start traffic. Unless driven like a granny, neither car gets above 22mpg.
With these cars, if you're stop / starting, or using the gears and accelerating, they're going to be in the low 20's. The only way to get above 25mpg is by wafting along in top gear and forgetting it's got a turbo.
Absolutely this.With these cars, if you're stop / starting, or using the gears and accelerating, they're going to be in the low 20's. The only way to get above 25mpg is by wafting along in top gear and forgetting it's got a turbo.
Funk said:
356Speedster said:
I've had my 2006 Focus ST (Dreamscience) since new as my company car... then when I bought it back when my Focus RS MP350 arrived in 2010. Both cars do 13mile commutes which are a mixture of A-roads, fun B-roads, plenty of islands, a couple of dual carriageways and then Birmingham stop / start traffic. Unless driven like a granny, neither car gets above 22mpg.
With these cars, if you're stop / starting, or using the gears and accelerating, they're going to be in the low 20's. The only way to get above 25mpg is by wafting along in top gear and forgetting it's got a turbo.
Absolutely this.With these cars, if you're stop / starting, or using the gears and accelerating, they're going to be in the low 20's. The only way to get above 25mpg is by wafting along in top gear and forgetting it's got a turbo.
However, maybe it is just me since I don't really go through consumables at a rate of knots either (and I remember that at least some people on the ST forum seemed to go through a set of tyres every 3 yards & presumably brakes etc as well).
DukeDickson said:
Not necessarily. You can make some good progress on the motorway and still get over 25 & the only time I got down to near 22mpg was on a 16 mile urban/v.busy motorway crawl. Thankfully the return leg was rather less busy, getting the average back up again.
However, maybe it is just me since I don't really go through consumables at a rate of knots either (and I remember that at least some people on the ST forum seemed to go through a set of tyres every 3 yards & presumably brakes etc as well).
Exactly my point... on an m-way, when you can cruise along in 6th gear you can get above 25mpg, otherwise, you won't. The RS is actually better than the ST and will do 28mpg @ a constant 85mph.However, maybe it is just me since I don't really go through consumables at a rate of knots either (and I remember that at least some people on the ST forum seemed to go through a set of tyres every 3 yards & presumably brakes etc as well).
These threads come along regularly. People need to be realistic - it's a 2.5 turbo 5-pot, it's not going to be efficient and the only way it will be, is by cruising around in 6th gear on m-way / A-road runs... and if that's what folks want to buy the car to do, maybe the ST isn't exactly the best car for the job.
356Speedster said:
DukeDickson said:
Not necessarily. You can make some good progress on the motorway and still get over 25 & the only time I got down to near 22mpg was on a 16 mile urban/v.busy motorway crawl. Thankfully the return leg was rather less busy, getting the average back up again.
However, maybe it is just me since I don't really go through consumables at a rate of knots either (and I remember that at least some people on the ST forum seemed to go through a set of tyres every 3 yards & presumably brakes etc as well).
Exactly my point... on an m-way, when you can cruise along in 6th gear you can get above 25mpg, otherwise, you won't. The RS is actually better than the ST and will do 28mpg @ a constant 85mph.However, maybe it is just me since I don't really go through consumables at a rate of knots either (and I remember that at least some people on the ST forum seemed to go through a set of tyres every 3 yards & presumably brakes etc as well).
These threads come along regularly. People need to be realistic - it's a 2.5 turbo 5-pot, it's not going to be efficient and the only way it will be, is by cruising around in 6th gear on m-way / A-road runs... and if that's what folks want to buy the car to do, maybe the ST isn't exactly the best car for the job.
Also, in many cases, the shrieks of 20 and less have more to do with driving style and not knowing when to pedal hard and when not to than they do with a major issue. In my case, while I might do a decent amount of motorway miles, a decent proportion of those are often at pushbike pace. Chuck in the urban stuff and overall I probably have a reasonably representative mix, just a fair amount of it. I certainly don't hang around (in the right circumstances) and rarely get less than 25, yet others get considerably less - there has to be a reason why. Maybe I've just got a particularly healthy example of the breed
- not that it looks like it - could have been in a warzone. Thankfully the oily bits are still in rude health.Anyhow, mine has more or less run it's race now in my hands and time to see whether something else can offer as much, or more, for so little (relatively speaking).
Edited by DukeDickson on Wednesday 29th August 23:35
On the m-way 35 mpg is just about possible if you are very sensible. Only reason i sold mine was i moved abroad. Now im back in the UK and have a mortgage I'm pootling around in a fiesta deisel. I drive 180 miles twice a week and the car is parked up Mon-Fri. I'm so tempted to get another ST next year (that commute will drop after a year or so). I'm trying to think of a car that could match it that has better mpg (maybe golf gti or even 123d?), but nothing really springs to mind.
ben_h100 said:
On the m-way 35 mpg is just about possible if you are very sensible. Only reason i sold mine was i moved abroad. Now im back in the UK and have a mortgage I'm pootling around in a fiesta deisel. I drive 180 miles twice a week and the car is parked up Mon-Fri. I'm so tempted to get another ST next year (that commute will drop after a year or so). I'm trying to think of a car that could match it that has better mpg (maybe golf gti or even 123d?), but nothing really springs to mind.
I went from an ST to a 123d and loved it. Cracking little car. As quick as the ST, more chuckable, able to power oversteer in the wet and twice the mpg...Funk said:
I went from an ST to a 123d and loved it. Cracking little car. As quick as the ST, more chuckable, able to power oversteer in the wet and twice the mpg...
Looks like it will be one of these - good reviews, not bad looking, plenty available around £13k with less than 40k miles.ben_h100 said:
Funk said:
I went from an ST to a 123d and loved it. Cracking little car. As quick as the ST, more chuckable, able to power oversteer in the wet and twice the mpg...
Looks like it will be one of these - good reviews, not bad looking, plenty available around £13k with less than 40k miles.As a related aside - I remembered this for some reason and latest tank (usual mix of miles/conditions/driving produced:
over
Only thing is, the trip is a bit out. Only a bit, but actually the wrong way! It swallowed 44.65l, so almost 28.
That is reasonably normal over a mix of slow urban, m-way and a bit of full foot down at the right time. Most of the time it was more or less as fast as practical/possible. I suppose I could have gone a bit faster, but a fair degree of the time it would easily have involved a reasonable amount of driving like a tool. Why?
It will go downhill now that school holidays are over (which means commute = mostly all the way crawl actually/relatively in the morning, although the other way is better), but by about 10% , until perhaps the depths of winter hit.
I guess overall, back to my point (and that of others). It will never offer mega MPG, but it isn't quite as bad as usually portrayed. If you spend your life doing nothing but urban and cane it where it isn't appropriate (or have lots of opportunity to do so), then you get what you expect/deserve. Otherwise, with a more normal mix and a bit of intelligent adjustment to how you drive, it still won't be great, but won't be as bad as internet horror stories.
Final thing is (again, I suppose repeating myself) there are often swings & roundabouts with most equivalents. One sucks 10% more fuel, another isn't that reliable, another has high insurance, another has poor residuals etc. Sometimes you win, others you lose, but most of the time there isn't that much in it, it is more down to personal preferences.
DukeDickson said:
Personally I'd go 130i - Rather decent by all accounts and more fun once that commute has subsided. Then again, I wouldn't go diesel unless doing serious moon miles. At one time I did something not too dissimilar and wouldn't have countenanced a d even then.
As a related aside - I remembered this for some reason and latest tank (usual mix of miles/conditions/driving produced:
over
Only thing is, the trip is a bit out. Only a bit, but actually the wrong way! It swallowed 44.65l, so almost 28.
That is reasonably normal over a mix of slow urban, m-way and a bit of full foot down at the right time. Most of the time it was more or less as fast as practical/possible. I suppose I could have gone a bit faster, but a fair degree of the time it would easily have involved a reasonable amount of driving like a tool. Why?
It will go downhill now that school holidays are over (which means commute = mostly all the way crawl actually/relatively in the morning, although the other way is better), but by about 10% , until perhaps the depths of winter hit.
I guess overall, back to my point (and that of others). It will never offer mega MPG, but it isn't quite as bad as usually portrayed. If you spend your life doing nothing but urban and cane it where it isn't appropriate (or have lots of opportunity to do so), then you get what you expect/deserve. Otherwise, with a more normal mix and a bit of intelligent adjustment to how you drive, it still won't be great, but won't be as bad as internet horror stories.
Final thing is (again, I suppose repeating myself) there are often swings & roundabouts with most equivalents. One sucks 10% more fuel, another isn't that reliable, another has high insurance, another has poor residuals etc. Sometimes you win, others you lose, but most of the time there isn't that much in it, it is more down to personal preferences.
Hadn't considered the 130i - will do some digging. I've had two ST-3s, best car I have ever owned. Will resurrect the thread when I take the plunge :-)As a related aside - I remembered this for some reason and latest tank (usual mix of miles/conditions/driving produced:
over
Only thing is, the trip is a bit out. Only a bit, but actually the wrong way! It swallowed 44.65l, so almost 28.
That is reasonably normal over a mix of slow urban, m-way and a bit of full foot down at the right time. Most of the time it was more or less as fast as practical/possible. I suppose I could have gone a bit faster, but a fair degree of the time it would easily have involved a reasonable amount of driving like a tool. Why?
It will go downhill now that school holidays are over (which means commute = mostly all the way crawl actually/relatively in the morning, although the other way is better), but by about 10% , until perhaps the depths of winter hit.
I guess overall, back to my point (and that of others). It will never offer mega MPG, but it isn't quite as bad as usually portrayed. If you spend your life doing nothing but urban and cane it where it isn't appropriate (or have lots of opportunity to do so), then you get what you expect/deserve. Otherwise, with a more normal mix and a bit of intelligent adjustment to how you drive, it still won't be great, but won't be as bad as internet horror stories.
Final thing is (again, I suppose repeating myself) there are often swings & roundabouts with most equivalents. One sucks 10% more fuel, another isn't that reliable, another has high insurance, another has poor residuals etc. Sometimes you win, others you lose, but most of the time there isn't that much in it, it is more down to personal preferences.
ben_h100 said:
Hadn't considered the 130i - will do some digging. I've had two ST-3s, best car I have ever owned. Will resurrect the thread when I take the plunge :-)
Got anywhere on the 130 front? I wouldn't be averse to changing into one myself (fancy a return to N/A and would like a bit of RWD) but they're pretty rare old birds, especially with decent spec/mileage/condition.On the ST MPG front, I would seem to be rather blessed at the moment. Another week of usual mixed driving with the joys of busier roads has seen 29mpg
(all things being, of course, relative).Unfortunately, any gains on that front were killed by the front part of one of the sills making a break for freedom. The part is cheap but only comes in primer, so a ton down the swaneee (as well as tax/MOT this month) - Not what I want when looking to move the car on
.revjx said:
I average 27.5 mpg on my commute (14 miles each way, town & A-road driving). On a 200 mile trip I averaged 38 mpg.
If you don't rag it constantly, it's really not that bad.
It's posts like this that will result in me getting another ST :-) You must be driving around 65-70 mph and not using any boost for that?If you don't rag it constantly, it's really not that bad.
ben_h100 said:
It's posts like this that will result in me getting another ST :-) You must be driving around 65-70 mph and not using any boost for that?
The 38 mpg was on a drive to the Lake District from Somerset, I 'drove enthusiastically' for the first 80 miles or so, and then settled down at 70mph for most of the rest of it. In 6th gear, off boost, it's pretty good.My commute to work definitely isn't off boost though, it's quite fast roads and I don't drive slowly - I still get 27mpg. I just don't floor it constantly in every gear like a lot of ST drivers seem to.
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