ST Newbie

[nagra]

Morning all

Off to buy this today...

http://finance.autoexposure.co.uk/drilldown.cfm?Ac...

Need a practical four door to cart baby and shopping round but also has to be fun to drive. Not TOO worried about MPG as my commute is only 10 miles.

Anyway, anyone on here got one?

What have I let myself in for?

[arfur sleep]

I have the same car.

You will not regret it.
You will get no more than 25mpg.
You will smile a lot when driving.
You will need new front tyres every 7-10k. (my conti sport contact 3's are £120 a corner)
You will overtake / go for gaps that you previously wouldn't have (depending on previous cars).
You will get all the kiddie clobber in and forget they are in the car and be told to slow down by other half
It gets nicely noisy over 4500 rpm

Services are about £250 a pop every 12k.

I do a 70 mile total commute each day. I changed my route after buying the ST from mainly motorway to mainly B roads....it's more fun.

I love it.

But now I want an RS

edit - spelling

[Justin S]

Nice looking car. Silver looks great.Wanted silver but never found one or pearlescent white and ended up with Sea Grey.
MPG is the only downfall, but you can get early 30's on a run. Mate got 38 from his RS this week when he collected it!!!! I am managing 25mpg at the moent.
Bonus is 5 door, 5 seats, comfy recaros, great engine, easy box.
The other niggles are a slightly high driving position, which you get used to and steering for parking etc is a but short locked. Love ours and a remap for £250 ish will transform it and no real downfalls.
We went Mountune to keep the Ford warranty and insurance recognised so didnt really make an impact for us.
Enjoy the car.

[m444ttb]

We bought a black pre-facelift 5dr ST-3 for my wife a few weeks ago. We both absolutely love the car. It sounds brilliant and goes so much better than I was ever expecting. Yet you can properly fit 4 adults in it. Better than my BMW e36 touring too!

[lee st]

Some good fuel economy's here I only average 21 mpg. And barely better on a run. Tyres where shot after 4000 miles. It's all worth it though. You will love it cross country it's great fun.

[ClintonB]

arfur sleep said:

I have the same car.

You will not regret it.
You will get no more than 25mpg.
You will smile a lot when driving.
You will need new front tyres every 7-10k. (my conti sport contact 3's are £120 a corner)
You will overtake / go for gaps that you previously wouldn't have (depending on previous cars).
You will get all the kiddie clobber in and forget they are in the car and be told to slow down by other half
It gets nicely noisy over 4500 rpm

Services are about £250 a pop every 12k.

I do a 70 mile total commute each day. I changed my route after buying the ST from mainly motorway to mainly B roads....it's more fun.

I love it.

But now I want an RS

edit - spelling

Not all of the above is a given.



I haven't regretted it & don't think many will, but it is always possible. Depends on your expectations & requirements I guess.


As already mentioned, you can get more than 25 and can average more than that, it depends on many factors (mix of driving, traffic, foot weight, levels of anticipation etc). I get anywhere between 24-28 in a mix of driving & don't amble.
As long as you don't expect 30 and well above too often and accept that a lot of the time it will be sub 30, you will be ok.


You may smile a lot or you may not. I don't as such but that doesn't necessarily detract from the car. It is a fine everyday car but obviously isn't going to give the thrills of some. For me it is a smile of having made the right choice at the time rather than a st eating grin of out & out pleasure.


You might not need tyres that often, I don't. Fronts lasting 12-15k and rears @ double that. Again, depends on roads, driving style and the like.


Noise - Personally I think it sounds better at low revs in a high gear when you go for WOT (rumblicious - relatively, of course). It is still fine at higher revs but as standard it certainly feels a little strained much above @ 6.5k, so not quite rev forever VTEC scream.


Services - Mine have alternated @ £130-£140 and then @ £240, every 12.5k. Unless something goes wrong, there shouldn't be much expense beyond brakes (my fronts lasted 50-odd k and the rears about 90k). Cambelt change is something daft like in the 125 - 140k region (I know I haven't got there yet - just shy of 100k).


Faults - I've had broken seat base (only warranty item), occasionally rattling front speakers (disappeared a couple of years ago, never returned since), a silly problem with the anti-trap windows, a minor cooling system glitch & recently a new radiator and front suspension arms. Oh and a bit of rust around rear arches (apparently the bumper rubs) . Then again, my bonnet does look like it has been used for target practice as well - damn motorways.

I'm sure there are others but you'll find chapter & verse on the STOC site on just about every topic.


So, a few niggles but never actually broken or failed to start, interior still looks ok, never used any oil and the old school pig iron engine should be good for moon miles.


Mine will be going soon I suspect as it is time for a change & I can't go down the two car route at the moment. However, I'd say go for it

[Justin S]

Ummm,Clinton. Cambelt is 100k miles...........so get yours booked in LOL

[Zad]

I don't think I would trust any cam belt or tensioner past 60,000 miles or so.

[ClintonB]

Justin S said:

Ummm,Clinton. Cambelt is 100k miles...........so get yours booked in LOL

Well, there seems to be a view that it is officially 10 years or 125k, which is kinda where I was thinking. The 100k is for more cooking models.

Anyhow, I may try and move it on in the next week or two, if I can, so one way or another it won't be my issue to get it done.

[Justin S]

Its not that expensive a job anyway.I will get mine done at 50k miles. 100k is nuts for a belt. Mate has seen a few belts go at just north of 50k miles on 100k belt interval engines, so peace of mind it will be done next service. Car manufacturers will accept no liability if they go early either.........

[Dave_]

Ive had mine for about 4 months now and i think its time may be up.

Ive averaged 18mpg over this current tank , im not going to kid about i do give it a bit of stick when it warms up. Seems to be you average 25 if you take it easy , hardly worth it when its not that quick. Im actually considering an Impreza STI as it cant be much worse on fuel , will be twice as quick and just as practical.

It does look and sound good , the interior is nice in plain grey or leather and the seats are great as you would expect from Recaro.

Reliabiltiy seems ok. Passed its MOT with zero advisorys with 70k on the clock. Just this week though the self leveling xenons appear to have chucked it and the steering has went a bit soft. Probably 2 cheap fixes though as parts seem to be reasonable.

[nagra]

Thanks for your replies chaps......an update...

I bought the car on Friday and since then I have not really gelled with it.

Sure, its fast and everything but the whole car feels a little.....plasticy! It's as though the car has been built to a very strict budget and they have only spent money on the bits you touch like the heater control buttons, steering wheel, handbrake etc.

When opening the door, it feels flimsy as though its all made from Kinder egg plastic!

Not sure if i'm going to keep it.... options are as follows....

1) Sell it and buy an M3 V8 Saloon
2) Keep it and buy a Cayman S for weekends

Either way, I need four doors to cart the wife and baby round but I need it to be fun too.

.... leaning towards the M3 option at the moment.

[rb5er]

Strange, mine felt a very solid car, but it was brand new and a 3door.

The doors like the rest of the car felt very heavy and solid in line with the cars heavy weight, they closed with a satisfying solid clunk.

It will be much cheaper to run than an m3, but if you have m3 money to spend then the ST is a cheap car in comparison.

So other than "flimsy doors" which is a feature i do not recognise at all what else don't you like about the car?

[nagra]

rb5er said:

Strange, mine felt a very solid car, but it was brand new and a 3door.

The doors like the rest of the car felt very heavy and solid in line with the cars heavy weight, they closed with a satisfying solid clunk.

It will be much cheaper to run than an m3, but if you have m3 money to spend then the ST is a cheap car in comparison.

So other than "flimsy doors" which is a feature i do not recognise at all what else don't you like about the car?

Mine is a 2009 model with only 19k on it and it still smells and feels like a new car but it just feels.....built to a budget.

I think I just need to wait for the roads to get a little drier then I can truly guage the chassis but so far it seems to understeer more than I was expecting.

UPDATE:
Just checked the tyres, I have Continentals on three wheels and one front wheel is wearing a ditchfinder remould!!!!

[rb5er]

I replaced the original continentals on mine for michelins ps2's. They are so much better its unreal.

Perhaps they started cost cutting on the facelift models, or perhaps the doors on the 3door models just seem much more solid.

[Justin S]

If you think you are going to get BMW M3 or Cayman quality on an ST, you are not thinking right. Both cars are in another league. What you do get is a comfy practical car with go. Fords never have or aspire to have quality as high as the german cars ( ironically the ST was built in germany) and that shows in the price tag. As for M3's , my neighbour has one and cries everytime it is serviced with costs. Mate had a boxster S and always went wrong and had a weird rattle which was engine related and the engine was in and out all the time. He gave up and bought a new fiesta and has not had any issues.
We decided the ST ( although tweaked a bit) is probably the best all round car we have had and we have had Audis, Mercs as well as Hondas etc, as an all round package. Plus our last service was only £120, although mates rates. Audi used to cost us 1000's to keep on the road every year.
Everyone has a choice, but buying an ST is not going to buy top fixture quality I'm afraid, but a cracking engine and nice box from Volvo.

[Red 4]

nagra said:

Thanks for your replies chaps......an update...

I bought the car on Friday and since then I have not really gelled with it.

Sure, its fast and everything but the whole car feels a little.....plasticy! It's as though the car has been built to a very strict budget and they have only spent money on the bits you touch like the heater control buttons, steering wheel, handbrake etc.

Not sure if i'm going to keep it.... options are as follows....

1) Sell it and buy an M3 V8 Saloon
2) Keep it and buy a Cayman S for weekends

1. It's a Ford and probably cost you about 1/3 the price of an M3

2. It is built to a price. So is the M3 and Cayman.

3. Leave it a while. It might grow on you. If you want more performance the ST is very easily modified with a remap. Or spend a few quid and add eibachs, bigger intercooler, more boost with a bigger BHP map, etc.

4. If you were after cars in a different performance league I don't understand why you considered a Focus. Its competition is Honda Civic Type R, Seat Leon Cupra, etc.

[checkmate91]

Wow, if you thought you were comparing ST vs M3 or Gayman, you bought the wrong car! It's a great daily driver. The only reason I traded mine was for an RS. The St is a bit floaty on the bends/bumps but other than that it's a great car. I should point out out that I've been inside many BMW/Audi/Merc equivalents and, IMHO they're no better.

If you really wanted an M3 you should've pulled that particular trigger!

[ClintonB]

Dave_ said:

Ive had mine for about 4 months now and i think its time may be up.

Ive averaged 18mpg over this current tank , im not going to kid about i do give it a bit of stick when it warms up. Seems to be you average 25 if you take it easy , hardly worth it when its not that quick. Im actually considering an Impreza STI as it cant be much worse on fuel , will be twice as quick and just as practical.

It does look and sound good , the interior is nice in plain grey or leather and the seats are great as you would expect from Recaro.

Reliabiltiy seems ok. Passed its MOT with zero advisorys with 70k on the clock. Just this week though the self leveling xenons appear to have chucked it and the steering has went a bit soft. Probably 2 cheap fixes though as parts seem to be reasonable.

Something is amiss if you're only averaging 18. Either the car is broken or you need to look at your driving style - my last two tanks have been 28 and 26. That might be in part due to a good proportion of m-way miles but I certainly make as much progress as could reasonably be required & it will only drop by 2-3 MPG when the motorway returns to a car park in a week or so. So, around 24-25.

Unless you do absolutely nothing but town crawl (and even then kick the throttle pedal somewhat too hard), that just screams too much throttle, too much brake and too low a gear, mainly when not necessary. Even when my commute was 50% or more urban crawl equivalent, I was still managing 23 - 24 ave.

[ClintonB]

nagra said:

rb5er said:

Strange, mine felt a very solid car, but it was brand new and a 3door.

The doors like the rest of the car felt very heavy and solid in line with the cars heavy weight, they closed with a satisfying solid clunk.

It will be much cheaper to run than an m3, but if you have m3 money to spend then the ST is a cheap car in comparison.

So other than "flimsy doors" which is a feature i do not recognise at all what else don't you like about the car?

Mine is a 2009 model with only 19k on it and it still smells and feels like a new car but it just feels.....built to a budget.

I think I just need to wait for the roads to get a little drier then I can truly guage the chassis but so far it seems to understeer more than I was expecting.

UPDATE:
Just checked the tyres, I have Continentals on three wheels and one front wheel is wearing a ditchfinder remould!!!!

Like most modern, powerful FWD cars, it will be pretty sensitive to tyres (either wear level or prediliction to Wanliness). However, it is a weighty thing with softish suspension & a probably too much heft too high up, so hello understeer. Still, for 90% of the day to day, it is perfectly fine.

As for the interior, it is plasticky in the areas that the driver doesn't touch too often. It might rattle occasionally as well. However, caveat of destructive kids aside (don't have any), my plastickty interior is holding up better @ higher miles than the exterior. I don't treat it particularly well and yet TBH, it doesn't look much different to when it was new - far, far better than some soft touch German equivalents I've seen at considerably lower miles.