Next car after Fiesta ST

ringo747

ringo747

ringo747

Soldato
Joined
1 Feb 2006
Posts
8,188
Well, not a regular posted in Motors but maybe some decent advice going here.

Have a Fiesta ST at the moment and kind of getting pretty bored with it. Mpg is OK averaging 30 at the moment for motorway drives into work.

I fancy a bit of a step up, something bigger, more roomy, not much harder to run, and something a bit more classy.

I have another year to pay the ST off but would ideally trade it in for something else and extend the finance for an extra year.

Budget isn't really much of an issue but I'd probably like to keep under £15k.

I had looked at some second hand Focus ST-2 models but they do sound like they are mad hard to run. <20mpg for a daily drive to work doesn't sound that great.

Any suggestions to help me out would be good. Really can't think what else would be decent apart from Audi A3s but they would be hard to pick up within my budget I'd imagine.
 
ringo747 said:
Budget isn't really much of an issue
Click to expand...

Why say this? It blatantly is, it is for everyone, or we'd all buy a Ferrari. You even then go on to state a budget.

If budget isnt really an issue, buy a Porsche 911.

but I'd probably like to keep under £15k.

I had looked at some second hand Focus ST-2 models but they do sound like they are mad hard to run. <20mpg for a daily drive to work doesn't sound that great.
Click to expand...

And back to reality, buy the car you really want, an ST-2. But spend £15k, leaving you money spare to soak up the running costs.
 
Deeply sorry for getting up your nose! I maybe should have said that anything around £15k would be considered but if less than that then fine.

Not sure that an ST-2 is what I want - only said I looked at them. Not really getting far after post 1 anyway.
 
An Audi A3 is nothing like a Focus ST, so perhaps you need to decide what sort of car you want, a boring but premium hatchback or a cheap and cheerful hot hatch?
 
Well if you're thinking hot hatch then you're looking at something like an S3, Focus ST, Golf GTI, Leon Cupra R, Astra VXR et al.

Given you talk about Motorway driving and fuel economy, i'm going to suggest a Mondeo ST220. You could get a superb example for half your budget, and use the rest to wipe out your finance and pay for the running costs (3.0 V6, might be a tad thirsty).

[TW]Fox;16435283 said:
An Audi A3 is nothing like a Focus ST
Click to expand...

How so? (Not a stab, genuinely interested)
 
Tute said:
Well if you're thinking hot hatch then you're looking at something like an S3, Focus ST, Golf GTI, Leon Cupra R, Astra VXR et al.

Given you talk about Motorway driving and fuel economy, i'm going to suggest a Mondeo ST220. You could get a superb example for half your budget, and use the rest to wipe out your finance and pay for the running costs (3.0 V6, might be a tad thirsty).



How so? (Not a stab, genuinely interested)
Click to expand...

They are very similar though ain't they?

Espically seen as you can get them both with similar amount of power, same toys.

The difference is built quality and price.

But they are both hot hatches.
 
Begbie said:
built quality
Click to expand...

lololol really?
(actually I'm not going to be one of them pedant posters who know exactly what you mean and then dont explain why I picked it out. I'm pretty sure you mean things like expensive materials and soft touch everything. However reliability (hence build quality) as far as I know is pretty similar, and if anything cheaper to fix on the ST especially if you're one to just throw it at the dealer)

I think you'd be happier with the ST, much more raw and fun to drive than an A3, especially with the noise. You'd also get a newer Focus ST than you would an A3 for the money.
 
Kappa said:
lololol really?
(actually I'm not going to be one of them pedant posters who know exactly what you mean and then dont explain why I picked it out. I'm pretty sure you mean things like expensive materials and soft touch everything. However reliability (hence build quality) as far as I know is pretty similar, and if anything cheaper to fix on the ST especially if you're one to just throw it at the dealer)

I think you'd be happier with the ST, much more raw and fun to drive than an A3, especially with the noise. You'd also get a newer Focus ST than you would an A3 for the money.
Click to expand...

I can't comment am afraid, only been in the STs not been in a A3 in a long while.

But normally Audi > Ford for build quality.
 
I will have to point out that there is an issue with build quality on the Focus that Ford were working hard to rectify between 2008-2009. This is compared to the other cars in the range. But I dont think it made it terribly worse than anything else.
 
Tute said:
How so? (Not a stab, genuinely interested)
Click to expand...

Pretty obvious, no? The current shape S3 is above the OP's budget and obviously he isn't going to be after the 90's S3, so any A3 is exactly that - an A3. An A3 is not a hot hatchback really, is it? Not in the way a Focus ST is.
 
you can always wait for the new fiesta st coming out, dont know when its released but the picture of it look great
Plus i think its going to be 180 ish bhp and a turbo so loads of room to get it remapped for extra va va rooooom lol
 
Thanks guys - plenty to consider. The new Fez ST does sound very good but I think I'd like something bigger. S3 is a nice motor too but probably more than I'd want to spend at the moment.
 
ringo747 said:
I had looked at some second hand Focus ST-2 models but they do sound like they are mad hard to run. <20mpg for a daily drive to work doesn't sound that great.
.
Click to expand...

I average 32MPG on a mixed/motorway drive up to work, and around 24MPG locally now.

It ultimately depends what you're after, but £15k would buy you a facelift, three door ST2 maybe even an ST3 if you stretched your budget just a little bit, and for between £200 and £1200 (depending what route you go, and if you want to keep any warranty you may have) you can have 260-280bhp out of it.

My money would be on the ST.
 
MikeHiow said:
I average 32MPG on a mixed/motorway drive up to work, and around 24MPG locally now.

It ultimately depends what you're after, but £15k would buy you a facelift, three door ST2 maybe even an ST3 if you stretched your budget just a little bit, and for between £200 and £1200 (depending what route you go, and if you want to keep any warranty you may have) you can have 260-280bhp out of it.

My money would be on the ST.
Click to expand...

Thats pretty decent actually. There is an 07 model locally available which I was looking at for £12k. Would this be the facelift model?

I was getting around 25mpg in the Fiesta before putting in an induction kit. Fuel economy instantly up towards 30. I wonder does the focus benefit from a kit in the same way or is the default air intake system more efficient?
 
Being Turbo, I doubt you'd see much, if any increase in economy by improving the induction system, although there are some quite large restrictions - the ECU sitting in the airbox being one of them.

You may see some kind of gain by removing the cat, but it would be minimal.

The big 2.5 5 pot loves cruising, and if you can keep it off boost can actually be quite economical. That 32mpg I mentioned earlier was without trying - if I had tried to be economical, I reckon I could have hit near 40MPG (I've managed it over here before, over around 35 miles of A roads), but then, thats not the point of the car.

07 would be pre-facelift, you'd have to look at 08 plates onwards for the facelifts, but there may still be some late reg cars that crossed over (I spotted an ST500 on a 59 plate for example).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom