Fiesta ST to Focus ST?

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rjk

rjk

rjk

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Hi folks,

a while ago, a few of you may remember my thread about the Subaru WRX STI.
whilst i would still give a limb to own one, it does appear that my financial circumstances twinned with the ever rising cost of fuel is against me.

its going to be demoted to the 'one day...' list for the time being.

my current car is an 05 Fiesta ST, its on around 51K and has all the bells and whistles that the pre-facelift models can have [full leather etc]

now the car is superb for what i need it for. running costs are acceptable and after a year of ownership i havent had any mechanical issues. main costs have stemmed from consumables such as tyres and brake components.

a 6th gear and maybe a turbo would be a nice addition but other than that it is a good laugh and it keeps me smiling every day.

my family are very good friends with a ford mechanic who services our fords for a very good rate whilst keeping logbooks up to date etc. this also means that i dont get charged more because it has an ST badge on the back which a lot of main dealers and independant garages tend to do :rolleyes:
this makes another Ford a slightly more attractive prospect.

now the prospect of a slightly bigger, more powerful car is attractive and it seems that the only realistic option i have is the focus ST
i have heard a lot of good and bad things and have a test drive booked in one for this week.

there are a lot of desirable examples around for around the £6-7K mark and these all seem to be about ST2 trim level.

my main question is that has anyone done this exact change?
Fiesta ST to Focus ST? i have asked on the OC forums and the feedback seems a little biased.

should i even be looking at something else for this budget that is better?

some feedback from focus owners would be nice as well.
I am looking mainly for opinions on comfort, genuine running costs, any hidden costs and anything a long term owner feels that they can contribute to the thread.

thanks

rjk
 
I moved from a 1.3 mk4 fiesta to an ST-3 and haven't looked back for obvious reasons, love driving it, I get on average 250 miles to a tank, hidden costs are mods, I said I wasn't going to mod it, but it was just too easy to do, and I have, so have spent a fortune doing that. Definatly a better car, have been out in a few fiesta st's and prefer the focus, I didn't like the ST-2 and I wanted leather so went for an ST-3, but the leather isn't the best you can gt in cars, but is ok.
 
Why do you want to upgrade ? Doesn't seem to make sense based on what you say

now the car is superb for what i need it for. running costs are acceptable and after a year of ownership i havent had any mechanical issues. main costs have stemmed from consumables such as tyres and brake components.

a 6th gear and maybe a turbo would be a nice addition but other than that it is a good laugh and it keeps me smiling every day
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You'll end up with a slightly faster, more expensive, bigger car but with probably more miles and significantly higher running costs.

I had an ST500 for a while and loved it but they're heavy on the juice as I'm sure you already know. I struggled to get low 20's from it but if you drive it enthusiastically you'll see even less.

If you do get one though Dreamscience or Bluefin or GGR is very affordable and adds significantly to the day to day enjoyment...
 
full leather interior isnt really a deal breaker i must admit. thats why looking at ST2 trim levels. the ST3 really doenst offer anything i am interested in.

@ peerzy. i am still looking into it really. i can see the price falling rapidly across the board on higher mileage examples, ideally looking for 06-07 plates with around 50k on the clock.
 
Didn't the facelift with the much better interior come in about late 2007? See if they are in budget.

A few people have had issues with turbos but nothing widespread.

Fuel costs are pretty high, expect about 25mpg on standard driving in town.

Isn't ST3 just ST2 with a 6CD Changer and leather. I'd get an ST2 personally.
 
Regarding fuel - they're VERY thirsty cars. You'll get somewhere in the high 20s normal use. Go off for a hoon and it'll drop sharpish.

Just thought i'd mention this as you talk about running costs. But I looked into them a month or two back and I just can't justify owning one due to how much they like a drink.
 
Tute said:
Regarding fuel - they're VERY thirsty cars. You'll get somewhere in the high 20s normal use. Go off for a hoon and it'll drop sharpish.

Just thought i'd mention this as you talk about running costs. But I looked into them a month or two back and I just can't justify owning one due to how much they like a drink.
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If you ever see high 20's in an ST I will eat my hat :p
 
really that bad on fuel? now that does surprise me

in fairness my trip to work consists of a country road and then a 8 mile NSL dual carriageway.
is the mid 20s mpg quotes coming from spirited driving or leisurely drives down the motorway?

i am going off the proviso that if i buy the car and can cope with the costs then it stays, but if it turns out to thrash my wallet 24/7 then i will change to something else.
 
Sneaky Peaky said:
If you ever see high 20's in an ST I will eat my hat :p
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Indeed, I owned one from new (St-3) when they first came out and they are seriously expensive to run. Tyres are very expensive and you'll be lucky to see mid 20's mpg wise.

But, they are great cars.

If you're honestly worried about how much a car will cost you, then this probably isn't the car for you.
 
Peerzy said:
Didn't the facelift with the much better interior come in about late 2007? See if they are in budget.
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If by better interior you mean the tacky carbon stereo surround, useless cup holders and the arm rest made useless, then you have an odd idea of "better" :)

The facelifts do look a lot more modern, but they are no where near the budget mentioned in the OP.
 
MikeHiow said:
If by better interior you mean the tacky carbon stereo surround, useless cup holders and the arm rest made useless, then you have an odd idea of "better" :)
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We've done this before, I prefer the facelift, you prefer the pre facelift interior. Best we leave it at that :)

rjkoneill said:
really that bad on fuel? now that does surprise me

in fairness my trip to work consists of a country road and then a 8 mile NSL dual carriageway.
is the mid 20s mpg quotes coming from spirited driving or leisurely drives down the motorway?

i am going off the proviso that if i buy the car and can cope with the costs then it stays, but if it turns out to thrash my wallet 24/7 then i will change to something else.
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Seriously bad on fuel, 25mpg is what you would average if you were not hoonng at all and just driving to work I'd imagine. Drive the car like you should and have some fun and no doubt you could get it sub 20mpg.

Remember buying then changing quickly will almost always cost you and you'll 'lose' money.
 
hilly said:
If you're honestly worried about how much a car will cost you, then this probably isn't the car for you.
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not so much worried about the running costs, just wanted to get a very clear picture of what to expect from ownership.

as mentioned in my OP, the maintainance of the car can be done for reasonable prices which i am more than happy with.

but looking on parkers at the MPG and asking actual owners of a car usually highlights discrepancies. which is the main reason for posting.

i think in hindsight that my original budget quote was a little low. in fairness it would be largely dictated by the sale of my current car anyway.
however. it does seem doable [at least more than the impreza anyway]

it certainly wouldnt be an ill considered decision, feedback here so far is appreciated.
 
Sneaky Peaky said:
Sorry I didn't see the Impreza thread, what's your criteria for upgrading other than slightly bigger / more powerful ?
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not much really. just fancied a change. as i mentioned in the op. the fiesta is perfectly capable and quick enough. just wanted something a bit more lively really.

Tute said:
I'm trying SO HARD to justify one of these. I can insure it. I can afford to buy it. I can afford to maintain it. The only problem?

I've done 29.5K miles this year. I wouldn't say we've struggled but we really can't afford to go crazy putting fuel in the thing.

Also, I do tend to have quite a heavy foot, so "best case scenario" would NOT apply to me.

I just love these cars. :o
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Tute. I think this quote from that thread you linked to sums it up for me really.
my annual mileage is just over 6K so not groundbreaking like yours :p
 
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