Ford Focus ST 220

[steve singh]

Hey Chaps,

Bit of an open ended question - a bloke at work is looking at ST's - I've always assumed (rightly or wrongly) outside of german badges cars are a bit shakey on reliability - especially fords.

Are Focus ST 220's considered reliable cars or do they have dodgy build quality ?

Also are they prone to rust / other issues ?

Thanks in advance.

[kambites]

Do you mean a Focus ST or a Mondeo ST220? There was never a car called the Focus ST220 as far as I know.

[HellDiver]

steve singh said:

outside of german badges cars are a bit shakey on reliability - especially fords.

Where are European Fords designed? Same place as Vauxhalls. Germany.

OBVIOUSLY the Focus is an unreliable deathtrap that will rape your granny. That's why they're the UK's most popular car, and are rarely out of the top 5 in sales.

[RobCrezz]

steve singh said:

Hey Chaps,

Bit of an open ended question - a bloke at work is looking at ST's - I've always assumed (rightly or wrongly) outside of german badges cars are a bit shakey on reliability - especially fords.

Are Focus ST 220's considered reliable cars or do they have dodgy build quality ?

Also are they prone to rust / other issues ?

Thanks in advance.

Fords of recent years have been pretty good on build quality and reliability. Since the Mk1 Focus they improved a lot.

[335Dmapped]

steve singh said:

I've always assumed (rightly or wrongly) outside of german badges cars are a bit shakey on reliability - especially fords.

Yea, steer well clear of Japanese cars. They're famously unreliable, can never trust them.

[Jayho]

HellDiver said:

steve singh said:

outside of german badges cars are a bit shakey on reliability - especially fords.

Where are European Fords designed? Same place as Vauxhalls. Germany.

OBVIOUSLY the Focus is an unreliable deathtrap that will rape your granny. That's why they're the UK's most popular car, and are rarely out of the top 5 in sales.

You cannot be more wrong!!! Everyone knows that Focus' (foci?) bats for the other team! It would be grandad you'd be worried about!

[cpas]

What you really need is a nice German A Class Mercedes

[steve singh]

Lol, sorry guys don't want to make inflammatory remarks!

I'm thinking ST > http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/1746745.htm

To help harden the question, compared to a VW MK5 GTI

Is the ST mechanically reliable ?
Is the ST more prone to rust/paint fade?

Edited by steve singh on Wednesday 26th May 13:59

[300bhp/ton]

steve singh said:

Hey Chaps,

Bit of an open ended question - a bloke at work is looking at ST's - I've always assumed (rightly or wrongly) outside of german badges cars are a bit shakey on reliability - especially fords.

Are Focus ST 220's considered reliable cars or do they have dodgy build quality ?

Also are they prone to rust / other issues ?

Thanks in advance.

funny post

[kambites]

Given the volumes its produced in and the complete lack of complaints you hear about them, I suspect the Focus is one of the most reliable cars on the market. They certainly seem to do better in reliability surveys than things like VWs, Mercs and BMWs.

Edited by kambites on Wednesday 26th May 14:01

[HellDiver]

steve singh said:

To help harden the question, compared to a VW MK5 GTI

Is the ST mechanically reliable ?
Is the ST more prone to rust/paint fade?

No, the Focus wheels fall off 2 seconds after the warranty expires, then it bursts in to flames and kills your budgie.

Likewise the paint falls off the first time it rains, and by the time the shower is over you're driving a sieve.



Despite what the ads say, there are cars out there that are better than the Golf. And cheaper as well. The Focus would be one of those cars.

Edited by HellDiver on Wednesday 26th May 14:04

[ben_h100]

I am on my second ST, great cars. Lots of info on focusstoc.com. I'm happy to answer any questions you have.

[steve singh]

ben_h100 said:

I am on my second ST, great cars. Lots of info on focusstoc.com. I'm happy to answer any questions you have.

Thanks Ben - very kind offer.

In essence some 'average mileage' examples of the ST2 are floating around the £8-9k mark - seems to be a real bargain ?

Is it worth a punt or would someone be letting themselves into a whole world of headache re things going wrong / cosmetic issues (like rust) ?

Edited by steve singh on Wednesday 26th May 14:10

[Pkh72]

steve singh said:

ben_h100 said:

I am on my second ST, great cars. Lots of info on focusstoc.com. I'm happy to answer any questions you have.

Thanks Ben - very kind offer.

In essence some 'average mileage' examples of the ST2 are floating around the £8-9k mark - seems to be a real bargain ?

Is it worth a punt or would someone be letting themselves into a whole world of headache re things going wrong / cosmetic issues (like rust) ?

Edited by steve singh on Wednesday 26th May 14:10

I wouldn't worry too much about rust, it's not an Alfasud.
One thing to look at is the front bumper, paint wise, they appear to have been sprayed by a gypsy contractor therefore the paint is only 0.000003 microns thick and chips easily.

[300bhp/ton]

335Dmapped said:

steve singh said:

I've always assumed (rightly or wrongly) outside of german badges cars are a bit shakey on reliability - especially fords.

Yea, steer well clear of Japanese cars. They're famously unreliable, can never trust them.

Urban myth can cause miss assumptions and false security though.

[typer0612]

i was considering moving from my ep3 to a focus st (tuned focus st) but it would have been £3k ontop easily taking into account the focus's value and so on...

focus st is cheaper to insure than a ep3. (for me anyway)

id own a focus st personally i think theyre reliable as long as you have mechanical sympathy like with any car

id never have one on finance though, the money going out isnt worth the car itself. but thats personal choice.

psssh the sound of the turbo! :P

Edited by typer0612 on Wednesday 26th May 14:32

[MoonMonkey]

Have a look at my blog in my profile.

Just sold mine after 38k miles and 2.5 years as needed something bigger. I paid £17k for an ST-3 brand new with 5 miles on the clock and sold it for just over £11k. The first 'modern' Ford I've owned and it was superb. Utterly reliable (apart from 1 minor warranty repair). Never needed topping up with oil and parts and servicing are cheap even from the main dealers. Not bad econonomy on a run regardless of what the doom-mongers will have you believe. Also, responds well to modifications. I had dreamscience, eibachs and a mongoose st. steel cat-back.

Problem areas in my opinion. Paint is crap as said above and the front will get stonechipped. It always bugged me that the front bumper is a different colour to the rest of the car (all like that guv..) High driving position - I never really got used to it. Will torque steer like a bd esp when re-mapped. A few squeeks and rattles but nothing too bad. Nose heavy handling even with the Eibachs. The other thing is mine was very susceptible to wheel balancing.

I will probably get another one day but not as my main car.

Edited by MoonMonkey on Wednesday 26th May 15:13

[blueST]

Mine has been mechanically perfect, had it since new (over 4 years). It's never used a drop of oil, missed a beat or broken at all. I've got the ST2, which has a decent stereo but doesn't really have any fancy feel good features you might get from other brands.

However... The quality of the paint finish is beyond poor. Mine has done about 38,000 miles and the front bumper looks like someone has unloaded a 12-gauge at it. It has had some corrosion around the boot hinges repaired under warranty too.

[ZesPak]

300bhp/ton said:

335Dmapped said:

steve singh said:

I've always assumed (rightly or wrongly) outside of german badges cars are a bit shakey on reliability - especially fords.

Yea, steer well clear of Japanese cars. They're famously unreliable, can never trust them.

Urban myth can cause miss assumptions and false security though.

Agreed!

All american cars are rubbish tough.

[rb5230]

my old £19k focus st proved much more reliable than my dads £45k audi s4. hope that helps.

and they dont rust, even the earliest mk1 focus hardly rusts 12 years on.