Considering an ST...........................
Discussion
Hi Guys, don't normally post here, but we are looking at downsizing our family wagon of a Honda CTdi estate to a more 'practical' sized car. We have a 1 yr old fiesta runabout too, but my daughter will be having that at the end of the year when she passes her test. Soooo, we are looking at an ST for the reasons of.
a/ don't do huge mileage, so fuel economy ( which from what I read is not 'the best') is not as much an issue
b/ Like the RS but too much money to what I have to spend and is 3 door and I need 5 dr
c/ Can map it up to the midrange grunt of the RS and tinker easily with ( lowering springs, exhaust etc)
d/ Has some practicality of a run of the mill Ford ( have a less practical Lotus for when the kids are busy)
Now we are going to look at a red St3 in a Ford dealers on Saturday. Not the colour we want or enough doors. I want the wife to try before we tick or cross the box for car choice.
Is there anything that we need to look at , such as ST3 is a 4 seater and no 5th seatbelt etc, or just the usual accident damage and service history etc
The car we are hoping to get will be the later shape with the wrap around headlights and touchscreen dash etc.
Just looking for advice from owners or any recommended places to buy one.
Cheers in advance...................
a/ don't do huge mileage, so fuel economy ( which from what I read is not 'the best') is not as much an issue
b/ Like the RS but too much money to what I have to spend and is 3 door and I need 5 dr
c/ Can map it up to the midrange grunt of the RS and tinker easily with ( lowering springs, exhaust etc)
d/ Has some practicality of a run of the mill Ford ( have a less practical Lotus for when the kids are busy)
Now we are going to look at a red St3 in a Ford dealers on Saturday. Not the colour we want or enough doors. I want the wife to try before we tick or cross the box for car choice.
Is there anything that we need to look at , such as ST3 is a 4 seater and no 5th seatbelt etc, or just the usual accident damage and service history etc
The car we are hoping to get will be the later shape with the wrap around headlights and touchscreen dash etc.
Just looking for advice from owners or any recommended places to buy one.
Cheers in advance...................
www.focusstoc.com
Best resource for ST-specific info on the net. Oh, and take your time finding the right car; there's loads of them out there and the choice should be huge.
Other than tyres and fuel, it's cheap to run. Not a lot goes wrong. Cheap to remap for an easy 250-260bhp and naughty levels of torque. Most will probably have seen a remap at some stage, although they're removable with a handset.
Service intervals are 12,500 miles (not 18,000) so check this has been adhered to. The facelift versions were '08 onward and will still have a higher residual. The touchscreen stereo is, apparently, useless and infuriating. You're better off fitting something custom that does what you want. Yes, the ST-3 is 4-seater only (sculpted rear seats). ST-2 is 5-seat but lacking leather. However, I preferred it as I liked the colour contrast in the cabin.
Best resource for ST-specific info on the net. Oh, and take your time finding the right car; there's loads of them out there and the choice should be huge.
Other than tyres and fuel, it's cheap to run. Not a lot goes wrong. Cheap to remap for an easy 250-260bhp and naughty levels of torque. Most will probably have seen a remap at some stage, although they're removable with a handset.
Service intervals are 12,500 miles (not 18,000) so check this has been adhered to. The facelift versions were '08 onward and will still have a higher residual. The touchscreen stereo is, apparently, useless and infuriating. You're better off fitting something custom that does what you want. Yes, the ST-3 is 4-seater only (sculpted rear seats). ST-2 is 5-seat but lacking leather. However, I preferred it as I liked the colour contrast in the cabin.
Edited by Funk on Wednesday 3rd February 20:19
What Funk says.
I had an 07 ST2 which I had Mountuned and it was terrific, fuel consumption averaged around 25/26 depending on usage. Last 3 months was just used local commuting and it dropped to around 23. The Mountune upgrade was fantastic. Only thing to worry about there was potential for a bit of clutch slip on occasion (5th gear full trottle in the dry lol). Everything else was fine. I did 40k miles in mine from new, the 37.5k service cost around 800 because I had Ford replace front and rear brake pads (not discs), they did need it. I sold it with 3rd set of front tyres, almost new, second set of rears, close to wear indicator level. Stories of 8k for a front set are of cars you wouldn't want to buy!
I traded it in for an RS. TBH, if could have kept both I would. ST3 is a bit of a compromise as it's only four seats from what you're saying, a well specced ST2 would probably be what you're after.
Regards,
Andy
I had an 07 ST2 which I had Mountuned and it was terrific, fuel consumption averaged around 25/26 depending on usage. Last 3 months was just used local commuting and it dropped to around 23. The Mountune upgrade was fantastic. Only thing to worry about there was potential for a bit of clutch slip on occasion (5th gear full trottle in the dry lol). Everything else was fine. I did 40k miles in mine from new, the 37.5k service cost around 800 because I had Ford replace front and rear brake pads (not discs), they did need it. I sold it with 3rd set of front tyres, almost new, second set of rears, close to wear indicator level. Stories of 8k for a front set are of cars you wouldn't want to buy!
I traded it in for an RS. TBH, if could have kept both I would. ST3 is a bit of a compromise as it's only four seats from what you're saying, a well specced ST2 would probably be what you're after.
Regards,
Andy
Bought an ST-2 before crimbo and love it. 5 door, Blue and currently Standard. But will have the Mountune kit soon, as it doesn't affect the Ford Warranty. Even through really the Bluefin is much cheaper and gives more power.
I think the ST-2 is probably the best to go for, as mentioned the ST-3 although has leather is only a 4 seater (why?). I've got auto lights and wipers. I've heard the Sat Nav is awful on the Focus, so don't pay extra for it.
Not had to replace tyres yet, but I don't think they will be too long. MPG is averaging at 27 at the moment.
For a price comparison I bought mine from a dealer for £12k with 14k on the clock... It's a 56 plate BTW
I think the ST-2 is probably the best to go for, as mentioned the ST-3 although has leather is only a 4 seater (why?). I've got auto lights and wipers. I've heard the Sat Nav is awful on the Focus, so don't pay extra for it.
Not had to replace tyres yet, but I don't think they will be too long. MPG is averaging at 27 at the moment.
For a price comparison I bought mine from a dealer for £12k with 14k on the clock... It's a 56 plate BTW
Edited by twin sparky on Thursday 4th February 18:14
Cheers for the advice gents. It seems the red one is sold, although there is an orange one there now instead. Will look into it a bit further before Saturday and take a run out and see what we think.The 4 seats is fine, but on occasions a fifth seat is good. I will need to take my mother out with the family etc at some point.........
You'll be voiding your insurance if you're carrying a 5th person in an ST-3 as it's only homolgated for 4 people. I'd really suggest the ST-2 if you may need to have 4 passengers along with you.
Seriously, get on the STOC as well. There's always cars for sale on there and as an enthusiasts' club they're likely to have been far better cared-for too.
Seriously, get on the STOC as well. There's always cars for sale on there and as an enthusiasts' club they're likely to have been far better cared-for too.
Johnnytheboy said:
Orange looks (IMHO) lovely, but as bad as the RS green for chip repairs/colour matching.
Nah, invisible grey is the way forward 
I'm just about to move mine on (I think) after 60 odd k and aside from the slightly less than wonderful fuel consumption (which I guess everyone knows about), the only great negatives I can really come up with are the squeaky seats and the handling, which is a little too soft for my liking (but I guess makes it a good GT hatch). You could argue that the plastics aren't as nice as a Golf but so what? They're long lasting, the bits you touch regularly are ok and the Focus is quite a bit cheaper than the VW.
Mind you, even the fuel has been balanced for me by cheaper insurance than it's predecessor & lower non-fuel running costs. I managed to get 55k out of the front pads/discs and the rears are still all orignal. Tyres are about 14-15k for fronts and at least double that for the rears.
My one regret is that the Mountune upgrade wasn't available when I got mine. I would have definitely gone down that route (but didn't fancy/trust the others for some reason).
Simon Bags said:
Funk said:
Mine was grey too, nice and stealthy. By the way, you can have the Mountune kit fitted to any ST, it's all the same gubbins underneath the metalwork.
Looks just like mine. Nice.Edited by Funk on Friday 5th February 09:34
Funk said:
Simon Bags said:
Funk said:
Mine was grey too, nice and stealthy. By the way, you can have the Mountune kit fitted to any ST, it's all the same gubbins underneath the metalwork.
Looks just like mine. Nice.Simon Bags said:
Funk said:
Simon Bags said:
Funk said:
Mine was grey too, nice and stealthy. By the way, you can have the Mountune kit fitted to any ST, it's all the same gubbins underneath the metalwork.
Looks just like mine. Nice.Edited by Funk on Friday 5th February 09:36
Funk said:
Simon Bags said:
Funk said:
Simon Bags said:
Funk said:
Mine was grey too, nice and stealthy. By the way, you can have the Mountune kit fitted to any ST, it's all the same gubbins underneath the metalwork.
Looks just like mine. Nice.Edited by Funk on Friday 5th February 09:36
Simon Bags said:
Funk said:
Simon Bags said:
Funk said:
Simon Bags said:
Funk said:
Mine was grey too, nice and stealthy. By the way, you can have the Mountune kit fitted to any ST, it's all the same gubbins underneath the metalwork.
Looks just like mine. Nice.Edited by Funk on Friday 5th February 09:36
Here she is in slightly less shiny mode
The ST's paint is pretty poor right from the factory. If there's really bad swirling and orange peel then it might be worth getting done. Wouldn't go to town on it though, it's just not worth it.
Funk said:
Simon Bags said:
Funk said:
Simon Bags said:
Funk said:
Simon Bags said:
Funk said:
Mine was grey too, nice and stealthy. By the way, you can have the Mountune kit fitted to any ST, it's all the same gubbins underneath the metalwork.
Looks just like mine. Nice.Edited by Funk on Friday 5th February 09:36
Here she is in slightly less shiny mode
The ST's paint is pretty poor right from the factory. If there's really bad swirling and orange peel then it might be worth getting done. Wouldn't go to town on it though, it's just not worth it.
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