Ford Focus ST170 | Shed of the Week
It's been nearly a decade since the ST170 graced SOTW - have we finally learned to love it in the interim?
Today’s shed uncovers a surprising truth, which is that not every old performance Ford is worth a fortune. This Ford is old, it does have some performance, why, there’s even a Cosworth badge on the engine. The rest of it looks decent too – so why is it only £1,650 and not the £49,995 we are expected to pay now for the dull Escorts and Capris that were shunned by Shed and his mates in period?
We’ll get into that in a minute. First though, let’s remember the last time we had one of these ST170s in SOTW, back in 2017. That ST was an 84,000-mile 2005 car with a full MOT, two new tyres and a 5,000-mile-old cambelt. The £850 asking price seems like chickenfeed now, but maybe the price was right because the Govt site in charge of MOT histories didn’t recognise the reg number at the time. Strangely, it did briefly pop up but it’s since disappeared again. Either way, not being on that site could mean it’s been scrapped. It could also mean that someone has given it a private plate. Who knows, if it’s still around maybe it is worth a fortune. Or more than £2k at least, which in Shed’s eyes is a fortune.
Probably not though. These ST170s did flatter to deceive. The engine was a 2.0-litre Zetec lifted from its normal 127hp to a new figure of 170hp, not by today’s cheap method of slapping a turbo on it but by yesterday’s expensive method of paying a tuner like Cosworth to do some internal mods. In the ST’s case, the main features were high compression pistons, new manifolds on both the intake and exhaust sides, a sports cat and a big-bore stainless pipe.
Unfortunately these improvements were hamstrung by the odd ratios of the six-speed Getrag 'box, hampered further by a notchiness at the knob when cold. They do say that the original intention was to put the Focus’s normal five-speed manual in the ST but someone high up stepped in to say ‘ve must haff das Getrag’, or words to that effect. That decision brought with it a dual mass flywheel which for today’s ST170 owners will be a potential source of cursing. It is possible to retrofit the 2.0’s normal MTX75 5-speeder with its solid flywheel, and that’s worth thinking about not just for the flywheel or the ratios but for a lighter shift action and less obstructivity (?) when trying to secure reverse. The only downside of the swap, if you can call it that, is a small reduction in the standard ST170’s mph top speed of 134mph.
The 0-60mph could be done in less than 8 seconds, but not by much. Second gear would take you most of the way to 70mph. Despite the gearing and a kerbweight of over 1,300kg (which was high compared to ordinary Foci), magazine stopwatches showed the ST to be more or less on a par with other well-rated hatches of the time like the Clio Williams and Peugeot 306 GTI-6 when it came to 0-100mph tests. With Ford’s Control Blade suspension doing its level best to deliver the rightly vaunted Focus dynamics, fast drives were therefore very much achievable if you didn’t mind hanging on to the lower gears. The other advantage of driving in that manner was that it freed you from the high-gear drone at motorway speeds.
The ST’s steering was very nice too, although the poor lock meant you had to twirl the wheel like a ferret on crack when attempting a U-turn. In a possibly related fact, ST racks failed. Thermostat housings leaked and absorbent wheelarch liners created a breeding ground for rust. The sills, tailgate and upper parts of the front doors near the mirrors didn’t need absorbent materials to achieve the same result.
That wasn’t all. Throttle pedals buzzed, rear bumpers flapped, cat heatshield brackets snapped and you needed to drive like a granny when the car was cold as the brake servo struggled to crank up the right amount of pressure. Even when things were at the right temperature, the brakes weren’t confidence-inspiring. Lambda sensors died, as did fuel pumps. Throttle body dirt and/or a worn cable would mess up the smoothness of the pedal action and the engine warning light was easily triggered by sensors in the IMRC (Intake Manifold Runner Control) system. In most cases, it was a false alarm. The flaps were still working, it was just the engine’s brain noticing and reporting on initial cable-related stickiness. On the plus side, the IMRC flaps could be refurbed and there were some not-too-expensive top end mods you can do to sharpen up the drive. Expect 30mpg in normal use and an annual VED rate of £430.
ST170s were well specced, especially those with one or both of the option packs fitted. Comfort added a heated windscreen, Xenons and climate; Custom gave you a subwoofered 9006 audio system and heated leather Recaro seats. That last one was an expensive upgrade, although it did get rid of the too-high regular seats. Body colour choices were oddly conservative: black, silver, grey and two shades of blue, Imperial and the rare Capri. Talking of rarity, Ford did build some estate-bodied ST170s, but there’s more chance of seeing Mrs Shed smile than seeing one of them on the road. Our shed is a five-door hatch. Three-door ones are available and arguably look better but your mileage may vary.
The steering wheel on this one looks like it would benefit from a rubdown with a copy of the Racing Post, but other than that it seems clean enough. It’s only just passed its MOT test, although the vendor’s ’advisories fixed’ claim in their ad is stretching it a bit. With the right sort of manual assistance, even the postmistress could have remedied the wiper blade failure, but the actual advisories – a worn rear brake disc and tyre, and corrosion to a rear subframe mounting and a brake pipe – have been left untouched for the next owner to ponder. The sellers are also charging a £99 admin fee, taking its actual price from £1,650 to, according to Shed’s Binatone calculator so don’t blame him, £1,749. Still a good way below our £2k limit, yet unlike the postmistress this sort of thing never goes down well.
“ although the vendor’s ’advisories fixed’ claim in their ad is stretching it a bit. With the right sort of manual assistance, even the postmistress could have remedied the wiper blade failure, but the actual advisories – a worn rear brake disc and tyre, and corrosion to a rear subframe mounting and a brake pipe – have been left untouched for the next owner to ponder.”
The kind of vendor who misrepresents something like this is probably one best steered clear of.
But compared to today's bloated huge hatches, it actually looks pretty good and would make a decent daily beater.
A dealer trying to remove a customer of their consumer rights.
Should PH be supporting that?
I once bought one from a chap who lived nearby - a tidy silver, 70,000 mile car, cost £1k around 5-7 years ago I think.
I ran it as a second car for less than 6 months before selling it on.
Just as you say, pretty thirsty and just felt a bit slow (my other car then was a BMW 325i which was hardly the quickest).
A dealer trying to remove a customer of their consumer rights.
Should PH be supporting that?
A dealer trying to remove a customer of their consumer rights.
Should PH be supporting that?
If dealers don't like the rules they shouldn't be in the game.
A dealer trying to remove a customer of their consumer rights.
Should PH be supporting that?
Stating "trade sale" does not absolve a dealer of his responsibilities. So to me sounds iffy.
I thought it was leagues ahead of the competition, especially the Golf which felt like a Maxi to drive in comparison.
Somehow the ST170 only had a lukewarm reception, how did Ford drop the ball with this.
My Zetec handled so much better than the BMW E36 328 and E46 330 sport I ran alongside it, it was considerably more reliable as well.
Test drove the Mk2 but for me the magic had gone.
This seems appealing with age, but a car I would mod to improve tbh.
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