Ford Focus ST mkII

ION08 · 10-01-2011 5:44pm #1

Hi all

Was just doin a bit of donedeal window shopping and came across a couple of 06 / 07 Focus ST's

Never really took notice of these cars before but they seem like a good car on paper.

2.5 5cyl Turbo, relatively new & modern, decent spec (leather, xenons etc), look good imo, classy enough image and subtly aggressive. - all for around 12k

Just wondering has anyone here driven or owned one? and what the general opinion is?

Owen · 10-01-2011 5:46pm

2 guys on here own them, Draffodx and Mik da Man. Might be no harm to PM them and ask them to comment on thread. There's also an owners club - think Mik's the Irish rep for them.

Nonoperational · 10-01-2011 5:51pm

I was considering one but ultimately I didn't. My conclusions were that they are great fast cars but thirsty(25mpg) and expensive to tax and insure...

EPM · 10-01-2011 6:04pm

I was speaking to a salesman in a Ford dealership last week. He mentioned to me that early last year they let a mint 08 one go for €16k.

They arent shifting fast so bargain hard. If my mileage was low I'd have one in a heartbeat. Mik da Man has a very highly tuned one actually.

bazz26 · 10-01-2011 7:54pm

Drop Henry Ford III a PM, I think he had one for a short period.

Had a spin in one as a passenger once but regretably didn't get a chance to drive it. Lovely sound track from the 5 cylinder engine and they are a brisk car. Not a cheap car to keep as a daily runner though I'm led to believe.

Another one woth looking at is the Mazda 3 MPS, doesn't stand out as much as the ST and can be bought for similar money.

For example:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=200836189889248
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=200841190422374

stealthyspeeder · 11-01-2011 8:02am

bazz26 wrote: »

Drop Henry Ford III a PM, I think he had one for a short period.

Had a spin in one as a passenger once but regretably didn't get a chance to drive it. Lovely sound track from the 5 cylinder engine and they are a brisk car. Not a cheap car to keep as a daily runner though I'm led to believe.

Another one woth looking at is the Mazda 3 MPS, doesn't stand out as much as the ST and can be bought for similar money.

For example:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=200836189889248
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=200841190422374

The black one is mislabelled, its not an MPS!

btw the MPS is 260 bhp.

Velocitee · 11-01-2011 8:23am

anyone have any idea what the tax rate is on them?

Ferris · 11-01-2011 8:24am

Silver 07 MPS for 11.5k:

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1776541

Another option is the Astra OPC. Am I right in saying that all 3 will have bother putting the power down however. I like the ST too and the engine is very easy to modify if you want more power.

corktina · 11-01-2011 8:51am

a great car...id have one like a shot if I could afford the tax....

11-01-2011 9:02am

Velocitee wrote: »

anyone have any idea what the tax rate is on them?

pre 08s they'd be €935/annum

STForSale · 11-01-2011 9:09am

€1120 on pre '08's or €1050 emissions based.

11-01-2011 9:12am

STForSale wrote: »

€1120 on pre '08's or €1050 emissions based.

How is a pre 08 2.5 costing €1120 to tax ?

STForSale · 11-01-2011 9:13am

Cos it 2521CC not 2500?

h3000 · 11-01-2011 9:19am

Really hoping to buy one in the first half of this year myself. It's a really nice car, sounds a bit like the Audi Quattro's too :cool:

Henry Ford III · 11-01-2011 9:21am

Nice cars. Strong usable performance. Recaro seats are great. Handling is a lot of fun. Engine note is almost musical.

Expensive in terms of fuel consumption and fixed costs (insurance/motor tax), but servicing is very inexpensive.

Atomic Pineapple · 11-01-2011 10:02am

If you've no issues with the tax then they are a great car, I've mine about 10 months now, remapped to 260bhp and lowered slightly on the Eibach pro kit and I love it.

The recaro seats are comfortable but supportive in the twisties, the interior is nice and and the boost, oil pressure. oil temp cluster is nicely placed, mine has the Sony 6 cd changer which is a most I think, the other cd player looks horrible.

The engine is a peach, the sound of it is as most have stated is one of the plus points but its also tunable up to 300bhp (+) if your that way inclined and is fairly solid.

I dont notice much torque steer in mine on the public roads, it may be more noticeable on track but I've often pushed it on through the back roads around my place late at night and cant stay the torque steer was any more than that I experienced from my DC2 Integra Type R.

It was one of my major concerns when considering the ST but it was unfounded as the ST puts the power down very well, a Quaife LSD is available to help with getting more power down if you want.

In Ireland the ST was sold bog standard with all the extras being optional unlike the UK where there was the ST 1, ST 2, ST 3 so if your looking at an Irish car you will have to check to see what extras it has. Mine doesn't have Xenons for example but does have auto lights, auto wipers, 6 cd changer.

Running costs aren't as bad as I expected, insurance for me is cheaper than on a DC2 Integra Type R, I get a constant 25mpg with mixed driving but 30 - 35 mpg is easily achievable on longer and motorway runs. A fill of the tank, around €60 - €65 these days I think gets me between 300 and 320 miles.

For a nice modern car that's comfortable but with a nice bit of power they are great value these days because of the tax, if you can live with that then they are well worth considering.

Velocitee · 11-01-2011 10:25am

I'm getting about 38mpg day to day on my 1.8 mondeo (do a 80/20 mix of motorway/national roads) so might be worth considering... hmmm....

Atomic Pineapple · 11-01-2011 10:29am

Velocitee wrote: »

I'm getting about 38mpg day to day on my 1.8 mondeo (do a 80/20 mix of motorway/national roads) so might be worth considering... hmmm....

The problem with the ST is that engine note means driving economically goes out the window as you make your own sound track on your travels

Mc Love · 11-01-2011 1:21pm

Would love an ST or an RS - yes definitely an RS would be much nicer.

Did you think of looking in the UK?

bazz26 · 11-01-2011 3:58pm

Mc Love wrote: »

Would love an ST or an RS - yes definitely an RS would be much nicer.

Did you think of looking in the UK?

I'd only buy in the UK over buying here because there is a better choice and spec over there, not to save money though. The VRT on them being based on emmissions is a killer. Also the higher motor tax here means they can be picked up here cheap enough.

ION08 · 12-01-2011 2:34pm

Some good advice, cheers.

Im in final year of college at the moment so I was thinking of treating myself to one when I graduate.

Currently driving a mk4 GTI remapped to 195bhp, and its hard enough to put the power down in the wet so can only imagine what the ST is like.. but thats FWD for you!

Tax is pretty steep on the ST when you think that you have to 900 odd per annum, but realistically its only ~300 more than what im currently paying.

The standard output of the ST is 225BHP, which is a bit underwhelming for a 2.5 Turbo imo, but the 5 cyl soundtrack should make up for that, plus as somebody said, it can be remapped to 260.

The 3 MPS is a cracking car with a cracking engine; 260bhp standard from a 2.3 is pretty impressive. I've actually driven one before and really loved it but the design really puts me off, kind of looks like a small estate instead of a hatchback

Correct me if i'm wrong, but isnt the engine the 2.3T MPS engine actually a Ford unit? .. and ironically the lower powered 2.5t 5 cyl Ford Focus ST engine a Volvo unit??

Ferris · 12-01-2011 2:45pm

ION08 wrote: »

The standard output of the ST is 225BHP, which is a bit underwhelming for a 2.5 Turbo imo, but the 5 cyl soundtrack should make up for that, plus as somebody said, it can be remapped to 260.

The 3 MPS is a cracking car with a cracking engine; 260bhp standard from a 2.3 is pretty impressive. I've actually driven one before and really loved it but the design really puts me off, kind of looks like a small estate instead of a hatchback

Correct me if i'm wrong, but isnt the engine the 2.3T MPS engine actually a Ford unit? .. and ironically the lower powered 2.5t 5 cyl Ford Focus ST engine a Volvo unit??

The MZR engine in the MPS is a Mazda original based on their L-engine which ford are using it in their new range of ecoboost engines. Ironically the next Focus ST will be a 2L 4cyl ecoboost.

Ford Focus ST mkII

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