Ford Focus ST

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Ki3r

Original Poster:

7,806 posts

158 months

Tuesday 30th December 2014
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Evening PH.

I made a massive mistake earlier in the year and ended up selling my BMW 528 and buying a 1.2 Vauxhall Corsa. I hated it from day one, but I was doing 400 miles a week and it was silly to keep the 528.

My milage is now a lot less (around 400 a month), and once the icy weather has passed plan on riding my pushbike into work (two miles to one, 13 to another).

I was a passenger in a 57 (I think?) Focus ST and fell in love. It was a police vehicle with 140k+ on the clock but still felt fantastic.

What are they like day to day? Running costs and repairs? Or am I going to dislike it in a few months time?

I've not driven one yet, so going to have a look at a few garages and see if I can get a test drive in the new year. Sadly I'm not allowed to drive the Police one!

Podie

46,630 posts

274 months

Tuesday 30th December 2014
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Had mine a year, and although lightly modified I've had no issues. Replaced a few bits, as you would with any 5 year old car (brakes - c£300, battery - c£65).

Pootling about the trip computer says 24mpg, but it'll do 30 on a motorway run, and a lot, lot less if you provoke it.

Supercell

110 posts

131 months

Tuesday 30th December 2014
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I was also a passenger in the focus ST and it won me over with its 5 pot warble so now I want one! It is thirsty, approx 25-28mpg but there are no real wallet emptying problems. It's a focus with a tried and tested Volvo engine, so in that respect it should be as reliable as any of its competition.

It's very comfy for a hot hatch, with a forgiving ride, excellent Recaro seats and a large boot.

Main weak points are drive-shafts, the clutch if you remap it, and the oil diaphragm can fail, but I read of a lot more horror stories from other manufacturers.

theshrew

6,008 posts

183 months

Wednesday 31st December 2014
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Had mine nearly 3 years and apart from brakes etc the only issue I had is the air conditioning condenser had a hole in it and the fecking exhaust heat shield rattling and rubbish reception on the radio ( need to sort that )

As you will expect it's not great on fuel. It's not the same build quality as a VW but it's pretty good tbh far far better than Fords I've had in the past.

2 things I'm not so keen on are I wish you had a little more feel when driving it but I have that issue with all modern ish cars the newer they are the less feel you seem to get.
The biggest problem for me is it eats tyres due to the camber that's on it.

thebigmacmoomin

2,796 posts

168 months

Wednesday 31st December 2014
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My first one was a 2007 ST3 in Sea Grey, bought in May '09 & sold in Dec '13. Never needed any parts other than a service & new tyres. Was prety much a standard car, did have a Dreamscience remap (no clutch issues either) & lowered on Eibach springs but not for all the time I owned it.

Now on my second, a 2010 ST3 in Performance Blue with sat-nav & reversing camera and loads of other kit. Staying standard with this one.

The MPG is poor but that is the only downside to the car.

Edited by thebigmacmoomin on Wednesday 31st December 12:11

Podie

46,630 posts

274 months

Wednesday 31st December 2014
quotequote all
theshrew said:
It's not the same build quality as a VW but it's pretty good tbh far far better than Fords I've had in the past.
Actually, I don't feel the build of my 2008 Focus ST3 is as good as the 2005 Mondeo ST220 I had.

thebigmacmoomin

2,796 posts

168 months

Wednesday 31st December 2014
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Podie said:
theshrew said:
It's not the same build quality as a VW but it's pretty good tbh far far better than Fords I've had in the past.
Actually, I don't feel the build of my 2008 Focus ST3 is as good as the 2005 Mondeo ST220 I had.
No rattles of ill fitting parts on either of mine or dads 138k mile '06 ST TDCi Mondeo.

Podie

46,630 posts

274 months

Wednesday 31st December 2014
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thebigmacmoomin said:
Podie said:
theshrew said:
It's not the same build quality as a VW but it's pretty good tbh far far better than Fords I've had in the past.
Actually, I don't feel the build of my 2008 Focus ST3 is as good as the 2005 Mondeo ST220 I had.
No rattles of ill fitting parts on either of mine or dads 138k mile '06 ST TDCi Mondeo.
No rattles here, but the Focus just doesn't feel as solid.

DukeDickson

4,721 posts

212 months

Thursday 1st January 2015
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Not perfect, but get a decent one & treat it well and it is a pretty tough thing, even if it lacks some rubber paint and finesse. Reasonable simplicity sees to that, a couple of issues notwithstanding (e.g. oil diaphragm).

Mine's now getting near 158k and while tatty, which is my fault really, it has been reasonably solid mechanically and interior wise. Never actually let me down either (though close with the diaphragm).
IIRC, I did post a decent view of running cost a while back, over more than 100k. Even the fuel thing might not be too bad, depending on where and how you drive. Only about 10% greater than previous Civic R, which may or may not be worthwhile, depending on your viewpoint. 30 was mentioned on a run - 38 is possible at m-way limit and I've seen over 38 in a mix of 70 and roadworks (joys of the M6 frown ).


All in all, can't really complain and it owes me nothing, even if it craps out tomorrow, PITA though that would be.

Edited by DukeDickson on Thursday 1st January 04:37


Edited by DukeDickson on Thursday 1st January 04:37

Funk

26,254 posts

208 months

Thursday 1st January 2015
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Have a look at my profile for fuel costs that'll make you wince. And that's before the rate at which it eats tyres.

Good fun but a great way of turning petrol into noise. Desperately lethargic as standard, a remap at the very least is required.

Overall reliability was good. Oil diaphragm went on mine and was done under warranty, drive shafts on most should've been done by now. The seats tend to rock themselves loose over time and the clutch gave up at 55k (fair enough, it was remapped).

I enjoyed my time with mine but would I have another? Probably not, all things considered.

Edited by Funk on Thursday 1st January 05:44

DukeDickson

4,721 posts

212 months

Thursday 1st January 2015
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Funk said:
Have a look at my profile for fuel costs that'll make you wince. And that's before the rate at which it eats tyres.

Good fun but a great way of turning petrol into noise. Desperately lethargic as standard, a remap at the very least is required.

Overall reliability was good. Oil diaphragm went on mine and was done under warranty, drive shafts on most should've been done by now. The seats tend to rock themselves loose over time and the clutch gave up at 55k (fair enough, it was remapped).

I enjoyed my time with mine but would I have another? Probably not, all things considered.

Edited by Funk on Thursday 1st January 05:44
Which does reinforce the point about it is all around what you do to it, how you treat it, where you drive and how you drive. From there, the answer will be somewhere between reasonably good and bad.

I get 8-10 mpg more than you got, am still on original clutch and tyres last same length of time as they did on the less powerful & torque free Civic, give or take. However, mine's standard as I've never been one for the mod thing.

8cylinder

232 posts

141 months

Thursday 1st January 2015
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I've had my St since the summer and had nothing but good experiences with it.
It's a 06 plate st2 in Panther black,it's been one of the best cars I have owned,there pretty good standard performance wise,certainly enough to sit on the bumpers of type r,s and other hot hatches around that bhp mark.
I've fitted a 3 inch down pipe,3 inch decat,group A induction kit and upgraded the front brakes,goes really well now,,upgraded cooler is next on the list then a remap,hopefully get into the 300 bhp club.
Fuel economy for me has been BRILLIANT,I drive a 44 mile round trip everyday,mostly motorway driving,but quite often stop start when I get closer to the city,averaging between 70-80mph and I get 35-40mpg average,a good few times I've seen 41 mpg.
So in summary,practical,fairly quick,great mpg for a 2.5t and still looks great for a 5door hot hatch.
Can see me staying with ford for a while.

8cylinder

232 posts

141 months

Thursday 1st January 2015
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Here's mine and pic of said mpg.


Edited by 8cylinder on Thursday 1st January 21:20

Ron240

2,745 posts

118 months

Friday 2nd January 2015
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8cylinder said:
Fuel economy for me has been BRILLIANT,I drive a 44 mile round trip everyday,mostly motorway driving,but quite often stop start when I get closer to the city,averaging between 70-80mph and I get 35-40mpg average,a good few times I've seen 41 mpg.
That is quite literally phenomenal mpg under the circumstances you describe.
I can only just get as much as that from the more economical 2.0 Ecoboost driven with economy in mind at all times.
A 50 mile round trip i use as a benchmark - A road/Motorway and around 5 miles of urban at never higher than 70mph i average 37mpg.
For comparison the exact same journey in my previous Focus(Zetec S 182PS)i could get 52mpg.
It proves that the extra power has to be paid for in some way. frown


Edited by Ron240 on Friday 2nd January 10:16

blueST

4,378 posts

215 months

Friday 2nd January 2015
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I owned my 2006 one for 7 years from brand new and absolutely cherished it. Think it was almost up to 70k miles. Wish I'd not sold it. Superficially it's not as surprise and delight quality as a Golf or something, but it proved well screwed together and comfy. I had no serious problems, just usual service parts, except an alternator packing up at 4 years old.

I've no idea how the chap above got over 40mpg. If I was concentrating like a zen master on a quiet motorway at 70mph I might get get 34mpg, but any sort of enthusiasm or heavy traffic and it was under 30mpg all the time.

The key attraction is the engine. Torquey, smooth and a great sound and with a remap it's as fast as you need in that sort of car. It gives the car a character. It's a great for overtaking car and the acceleration gets addictive.

If you can find an unmolested one, go for it. If you don't do mega miles the fuel cost really isn't worth worrying about so don't let that put you off.

Funk

26,254 posts

208 months

Friday 2nd January 2015
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Yeah, the economy of the 2.5 is tragic, don't be lulled into thinking it can be made to be anywhere near what the poster above claimed.

I was on focusstoc.com from almost the beginning (joined late 2005, my car arrived Apr 06) and was site admin for three years so I know the cars pretty well up to the mk3. Once that engine was put out to pasture and replaced with the 2.0 it lost its USP I feel. However the economy is much better on the 2.0 than the 2.5.

Edited by Funk on Friday 2nd January 19:39

8cylinder

232 posts

141 months

Friday 2nd January 2015
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Pictures dont lie,i must have a good one,either that or i drive down a lot of hills.
If u buy one of these for fuel economy then your kidding yourself,u would be better buying a diesel with a horrendous engine note,however as in my instance fuel economy as above is very suprising,in a positive way.

Podie

46,630 posts

274 months

Friday 2nd January 2015
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8cylinder said:
Pictures dont lie,i must have a good one,either that or i drive down a lot of hills.
If u buy one of these for fuel economy then your kidding yourself,u would be better buying a diesel with a horrendous engine note,however as in my instance fuel economy as above is very suprising,in a positive way.
Pictures might not, but is the computer telling porkies?

Lumpyuk

126 posts

143 months

Friday 2nd January 2015
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Both Drive shafts and Oil diaphragm broke on mine. Still loved it and bought an RS in the end smile

blueST

4,378 posts

215 months

Friday 2nd January 2015
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Funk said:
I was on focusstoc.com from almost the beginning (joined late 2005, my car arrived Apr 06) and was site admin for the years so I know the cars pretty well up to the mk3
That was a really great forum, especially in the first couple of years. Unfortunately, the quality of the threads seemed to be directly proportional to the residual values of an ST. Too much for ICE and cruises when I left. I expect it picked up a bit when the new model came out.