Mk3 Focus ST - Petrol or Diesel?

[MrBig]

New car time. Budget £12k. We used to have a diesel ST3 estate which we stupidly sold on to get a Velar! Anyway, time for me to get a new daily and I enjoyed the ST so much I'm thinking of getting another. I was wondering about the petrol version this time though.... basically I need to get 25mpg on average and I've been out of petrols for so long (company cars for the last 8 years) I have no idea if this is feasible?

Also, are ST's still going missing regularly? Would having a diesel and possibly an estate mitigate this risk?

No intention to modify in case thats a factor. I would love SYNC3 and carplay, but I cant see it happening on a £12k budget sadly.

[Zetec-S]

What sort of driving will you be doing? I average about 33-34mpg in my ST250 on a 50 mile a day B road commute. Sensible driving on the motorway results in mid-high 30's. I don't think I've seen mine drop much below 30, but then I try to avoid driving like a tt. Go on an owners group and you'll see plenty who get low 20's/high teens but I'll leave you to guess the sort of demographic we're looking at...

If you shop around then SYNC3 might be a possibility. As for it disappearing, I guess a lot of it is down to where you live, plus a bit of luck.

Personally I'd do it. I went from a 150bhp 2.0 diesel Mk3 Focus (basically a de-tuned ST diesel) to the petrol ST with no regrets

[Podie]

Sync 3 can be retrofitted... not cheap, but can be done. Some dealers are (were) doing it, and a few people on the Ford specific forums that have done it, or are willing to help people do it.

To be honest, anything that's keyless is a target so I'd get a Disklok

[Lemming Train]

I used to drive my ST3 estate petrol quite mad at times with some very silly speeds on motorways in quiet periods, but struggled to get my average mpg below 26 so unless you drive it like a complete nob everywhere you should have no problem getting at least 25. No self-respecting ST owner would ever buy the coal powered variant. Give your head a shake.

[Hub]

They aren't that economical. I think my long term average is high 20s, but I do a fair bit of urban driving. Still, it has to be the petrol!

[Ron240]

MrBig said:

New car time. Budget £12k. We used to have a diesel ST3 estate which we stupidly sold on to get a Velar!

I was wondering about the petrol version this time though.... basically I need to get 25mpg on average

Also, are ST's still going missing regularly? Would having a diesel and possibly an estate mitigate this risk?

Why was it stupid going from a Ford Focus to a Range Rover? It seems like a massive step up to me, but admittedly not as user friendly as a daily driver.

25mpg should be easily achievable from a Mk.3 petrol ST. To drop below this average you would need to be consistently driving with a lead foot!

There are no external differences between the Mk.3 petrol and diesel models, so nobody will know what it is.

[Lemming Train]

Ron240 said:

There are no external differences between the Mk.3 petrol and diesel models, so nobody will know what it is.

Apart from one sounds like a tractor and the other doesn't, plus the former barely has enough grunt to pull the skin off a rice pudding. All show and no go.

[Ron240]

Lemming Train said:

Apart from one sounds like a tractor and the other doesn't, plus the former barely has enough grunt to pull the skin off a rice pudding. All show and no go.

I wont disagree with that....but the OP was wondering if being a diesel it would be less likely to be stolen.
My point is that nobody will know what fuel it uses simply by looking at the exterior.

Edited by Ron240 on Thursday 9th July 19:24