RE: Revised Focus ST prices announced

[Waynester]

Finally..the front looks better. I didn't like the nose, front lights etc.. (Not a fan of the huge rear lights either), so it put me off the car before I even got to drive it.
I bought a new ST-3 back in 2006, but sold it after 4000 miles to buy a TVR (yeah..I know, burning money would have been the only quicker way to lose it). I looked into buying a new ST beginning of the year, but the aesthetics & design didn't do it for me. I also loved the 5 cylinder Volvo engine, plenty of power & character..and the noise was/is marvellous!
So I searched out another low mile Mk2 ST in Electric Orange. Love it. I have even uploaded the DS Performance+ map, and it turns the ST into a really great car. Perhaps the car as it should have left Ford in the first place.

Anyway, to much blah blah.. Point is, this looks much improved, so I may be interested again. On the other hand, will they be bringing out a new RS?

[Zad]

279 said:

Do these respond that badly to tuning?

£1250 for 25bhp is pathetic.

Not quite so simple really. 275bhp is what Ford wanted to release as the standard road car, unfortunately that pushes it over the emissions limit, which means higher owner taxation, and higher charges on Ford from the EU. Doing it this way allows the headline emissions value to stay the same, and also retains the full Ford warranty and same insurance. It is capable of considerably more power, but good luck getting it done whilst retaining full warranty and insurance.

It runs quite high compression for a turbo engine (9.3:1) but, as standard, the boost only runs at 0.65 bar, so there is a fair bit of headroom there. The 25bhp doesn't tell the whole story, it isn't just at peak revs but all the way up the power range:

[Podie]

Zad said:

279 said:

Do these respond that badly to tuning?

£1250 for 25bhp is pathetic.

Not quite so simple really. 275bhp is what Ford wanted to release as the standard road car, unfortunately that pushes it over the emissions limit, which means higher owner taxation, and higher charges on Ford from the EU. Doing it this way allows the headline emissions value to stay the same, and also retains the full Ford warranty and same insurance. It is capable of considerably more power, but good luck getting it done whilst retaining full warranty and insurance.

It runs quite high compression for a turbo engine (9.3:1) but, as standard, the boost only runs at 0.65 bar, so there is a fair bit of headroom there. The 25bhp doesn't tell the whole story, it isn't just at peak revs but all the way up the power range:

There is also the warranty unfriendly MR300 option as well.

[jonnM]

279 said:

Zad said:

Also, don't forget: http://www.mountune.com/index.php/services/perform...

275bhp, Ford Warranty intact, no extra on insurance. £1250.

Do these respond that badly to tuning?

£1250 for 25bhp is pathetic.

You get an extra 40 torques as well

[snoopy25]

Good looking car just wish i could afford one

[MrsMiggins]

Ecosseven said:

Broadspeed.

Cheers! Will have a look.

[PanzerCommander]

oobster said:

This isn't a dig at you GE but it is an absolute disgrace that they allowed one car to leave the factory like that, never mind the 100's/1000's that have left the factory looking like the bonnet isn't closed properly.

I have owned a MK3 Focus ST-3 since Sept. 2012, done a shade over 20K miles and I wouldn't recommend one to anyone. The reason: dealers. An absolute shambles, in my experience. They can't even get basic servicing right, and when you have an issue they don't care, lie to you, mis-diagnose, and fail to apologise when this is pointed out to them.

Isn't just me that had that exact (I did experience all of those things) same experience with the dealers then, I assume the first name of the dealer is the same as a certain plus size ladies clothing store?

If so I can honestly say I would not buy a car from them ever again, simply because of the servicing department was a joke. Shame as the ST that I had was a great car once the faults were fixed

[Hub]

Ecosseven said:

The best thing about the ST is the value for money. A brand new 250bhp hot hatch can be had for around £17.5k for an ST1 or £18.5k for an ST2 through internet car brokers.

Just had a look and that does seem very good value, especially for a new facelift model! Odd that the 2 year old second hand ones are pretty much the same price or more expensive!

[morgs_]

PanzerCommander said:

oobster said:

This isn't a dig at you GE but it is an absolute disgrace that they allowed one car to leave the factory like that, never mind the 100's/1000's that have left the factory looking like the bonnet isn't closed properly.

I have owned a MK3 Focus ST-3 since Sept. 2012, done a shade over 20K miles and I wouldn't recommend one to anyone. The reason: dealers. An absolute shambles, in my experience. They can't even get basic servicing right, and when you have an issue they don't care, lie to you, mis-diagnose, and fail to apologise when this is pointed out to them.

Isn't just me that had that exact (I did experience all of those things) same experience with the dealers then, I assume the first name of the dealer is the same as a certain plus size ladies clothing store?

If so I can honestly say I would not buy a car from them ever again, simply because of the servicing department was a joke. Shame as the ST that I had was a great car once the faults were fixed

You guys should move down South

[Kolbenkopp]

jonnM said:

You get an extra 40 torques as well

Not sure if this is correct, but I *think* they also have to design less headroom into the injectors these days. Also due to emissions/effiency. Perhaps someone can confirm. That would require an injector swap before more boost can be added.

[J4CKO]

Anyone got any links to good deals for buying a new one or leasing, I clicked on a few that said Focus ST-2 £189 a month, Evans Halshaw it was, then it says its like £350 for a personal lease, errr ?

I think its easy to end up getting caught up in the Golf R thing, I know the Golf is quicker and "posher" but the Focus still seems to be a pretty decent hot hatch, probably more comparable with the Golf GTI than the Golf R, but its weird, the deals on the Golf R make you think that the Focus/Golf GTI should be cheaper, they arent, they are more expensive !

Was driving the 125 3 pot Focus at the weekend, not bad, would probably be acceptable with twice the power !

A friend of mine has one with a few mods and has said he will take me for a spin, apparently its very rapid, he posted the dyno plot, 300 odd bhp and it said 430 ish lb/ft, which doesnt sound possible to me, would expect 300 or so, not 430, but it did say it on the plot, he says he gets 25 mpg normally and then 38 on the motorway, says they should be run on SUL, is that correct for a standard one ?

[2blackhats]

The ST3 sounds expensive to me. It's close to the rumoured starting price for the 2.3 Mustang when it comes out next year. Yes I know they're different sorts of cars, but if I had a choice, I'd buy the one with Dobbin on the grille every time.

[oobster]

PanzerCommander said:

oobster said:

This isn't a dig at you GE but it is an absolute disgrace that they allowed one car to leave the factory like that, never mind the 100's/1000's that have left the factory looking like the bonnet isn't closed properly.

I have owned a MK3 Focus ST-3 since Sept. 2012, done a shade over 20K miles and I wouldn't recommend one to anyone. The reason: dealers. An absolute shambles, in my experience. They can't even get basic servicing right, and when you have an issue they don't care, lie to you, mis-diagnose, and fail to apologise when this is pointed out to them.

Isn't just me that had that exact (I did experience all of those things) same experience with the dealers then, I assume the first name of the dealer is the same as a certain plus size ladies clothing store?

If so I can honestly say I would not buy a car from them ever again, simply because of the servicing department was a joke. Shame as the ST that I had was a great car once the faults were fixed

You are indeed correct that the dealer's first name is the same as a ladies plus-sized clothing store.

[thebigmacmoomin]

279 said:

Do these respond that badly to tuning?

£1250 for 25bhp is pathetic.

I can only speak for the Mk2 ST, but when I remapped mine & then took it off for part-exing, I thought I still had my handbrake on. Its totally a better drive. Mine was just a Dreamscience remap for £400.

[PanzerCommander]

oobster said:

You are indeed correct that the dealer's first name is the same as a ladies plus-sized clothing store.

Thought it might.

thebigmacmoomin said:

279 said:

Do these respond that badly to tuning?

£1250 for 25bhp is pathetic.

I can only speak for the Mk2 ST, but when I remapped mine & then took it off for part-exing, I thought I still had my handbrake on. Its totally a better drive. Mine was just a Dreamscience remap for £400.

If its the Mountune upgrade its not just a re-map, you also get an intercooler (you did on the Mk2 ST's) and an air filter as well and that price includes fitting all of it, as a general service item the filter I would imagine will be easy, and through experience in using a hand held tuner to update the PCM with a new tune on my Mustang re-flashing it is childs play. Though I imagine the intercooler will be a pig to get at and will require a few hours labour to fit.

Don't forget the mountune package maintains the warranty too, unlike any other third party tune.

[Ecosseven]

The first facelift cars are being delivered to their new owners this month. Initial reviews in the car mags focus (no pun intended!) on the diesel version but seem positive. The main changes seem to be slightly firmer suspension, less torque steer, and sharper turn-in. I would still go for the petrol - great performance for the money.

I like the look of the new front end but not sure about the back.

[oobster]

But the RS version is going to be announced by Ford in less than 2 weeks, a difficult choice for anyone (like myself) considering a change in the coming months - go for the facelifted ST or what 9-12 months and get the RS version.

Edit: Or the new Mazda MX-5 due on our shores this year, or the new Civic Type-R, or the Mustang.

Oh - a short note for anyone considering purchasing the facelifted ST: On the pre-facelift privacy glass was standard on the ST-3. When Ford produced the brochures for the facelift they said privacy glass was still standard on the ST-3 but it appears they forgot to tell the European factory. New owners have been turning up at dealers to pick up their ST-3's expecting them to have privacy glass and are now being told that privacy is only an option when the 'style pack' is selected, and cars with the style pack aren't going to be built until March 2015.

Edited by oobster on Saturday 24th January 11:20