Fiesta ST to Focus ST?

[rjk]

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
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

 

[rjk]

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.

 

[rjk]

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.

 

[rjk]

If you're honestly worried about how much a car will cost you, then this probably isn't the car for you.

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.

 

[rjk]

Sorry I didn't see the Impreza thread, what's your criteria for upgrading other than slightly bigger / more powerful ?

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.

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.

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

 

[rjk]

I've had an ST, a WRX and an Sti and tbh you can't really compare them. The ST is much easier to live with as a day to day motor and can modded to fast enough very cheaply and easilly. They handle well and the torque makes for a very relaxed and refined drive. They are a great car and other than the mpg I would have one again no problem.

this is a fair evaluation, thanks

The Impreza's are much more expensive to own and run, get into modding and you will become hooked and very poor very quickly.

highlighted in my OP the running costs of the WRX would be closer to that of the focus, however maintaining a WRX or even an STI would be significantly more which means it isnt a viable prospect.

 

[rjk]

I dont think its fair to say the Focus handles like a shed though, by all accounts the Focus is a brilliantly handling car.

And there is no bias from me as I'm hardly OcUK's number one FWD Hatchback fanboy am I

certainly interesting. especially if fox is backing it

have a test drive booked for friday in a pre facelift ST2 so will see how that fares compared to the 05 impreza STI i drove last month. certainly not expecting miracles, but the 18mpg i got out of the test drive in the STI was veyr much a tough pill to swallow.

 

[rjk]

The Focus doesn't have direct contact from the steering wheel to the actual wheels - digital delivery does make the car feel unresponsive and unnatural feeling imo.

its going to be interesting to compare the two mate

 

[rjk]

my main argument against modifying the fiesta was based on this.

i drove a mountune ST185 which was very nice but didnt feel all too dissimilar from my standard 150. ok it had more kick but i wouldnt call it a handful and it certainly wanst any more fun to drive.

looking into it on a semi regular basis, the cost of upgrades is very expensive in comparision [and that doesnt take into account the heavier depreciation on a modified car]

example here just using mountune as it is ford approved:

fez 150 - 185 upgrade £1877
Focus 225 - 260 upgrade £1139

modifying the car really isnt on my list of priorities, and even selling the fiesta for around the 5K mark would leave me in focus ST money if you added that £1877 to it.

any videos/pics of your fiesta firegod? sounds very interesting

 

[rjk]

But the best looker out of all of the Impreza's imo

indeed - the hawkeyes do look superb. i would have one in a snap but it cant happen at the moment.

 

[rjk]

right then
had a busy day on friday.

arrived at the ford garage in the morning, had a brief chat with the salesman about various things. the bad news was the focus RS they were putting out for me got sold so that was a slight dissapointment. either that or their BS radar was set to high.
we stepped outside with the keys to a 59 plate orange focus st2. the car was more orange than an air hostess and immaculate all round. the car had everything standard but had Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tyres all round. the car had done 15k and was traded in because the previous owner couldnt afford to run it.

we started off with a nice cruise down the dual carriageway for about 10 miles. instantly noticable was the comfort of the interior and the feel of the seats. far, far superior to my fiesta st.
the car cruised in 6th well and felt like it had a great deal of pull. even at 2.5k revs it was subdued and pleasent to be in. the MPG was in the high 20s.

we pulled off at a roundabout, and got onto some very familiar country roads. the car instantly came alive with the turbo building up boost whenever it wansnt on the attack.
the steering felt very responsive and the car felt very similar to the way my fiesta handles. the suspension felt a little less abrupt than my fiesta, it was hard but comfortable. the car was a lot more manageable than i expected and i didnt feel much bodyroll in the twisties.
i was most imporessed by the adjustments for the steering, the sales rep suggested to set the steering to the heavier setting and this did feel a lot better in the tight corners. the car sounded brilliant when on the attack, a lovely sound from under the bonnet and a marked difference from 6th gear cruising speeds.
the handling from the car was very impressive in the corners and i was presented with a surprising amount of grip even when pushing and totally preparing for understeer.
i was impressed by the way the car felt planted even when pushed, not what i expected from a front wheel drive car at all.
after arrving back at the garage i noticed the mpg had plummeted to low 20s, expected it really from the feedback in this thread but still shocked. i was holding back a bit as the garage rep was letting me push the car, but as i wasnt used to the car i wasnt putting it down too heavy.
overall i really liked it, would be interesting to drive a pre-facelift example just to see if it changes my opinion at all.

on the way home i spotted a WRX STI outside a fiat garage. it was a bug eye but a very clean example. within literally three minutes of being on the forecourt, i had the keys in my had and a smile on my face. after getting some heat into the engine, the guy who came out with me admitted that whilst the car had been with them less than a week, he had low expectations of a sale. i told him that the sticker price was far too high and it wouldnt sell for that money in a month of sundays.

the car was very different to the focus. the turbo kicked in a lot later but the car felt hostile all of the time. only got a chance to drive on country roads but they are close to my house and i was very familiar with them. the car was a little easier to push than the focus and held on for dear life at everything i did with it. the interior was noticably inferior to the ST. the seats, whilst comfortable didnt feel like they held you in position as well as the recaros in the focus. the dash was sparse and felt cheap and tacky in comparision. neither are exactly bmw/merc standard inside but i expected a little more from the subaru. the hawkeye i drove earier this year was certainly an improvement but not a patch on the ST.

the subaru was dominant on the backroads, always on the boil and unrelenting at all times. the engine sounded amazing and the uprated exhaust brought all the burbles and pops that i expected. a noted improvement from the entirely stock hawkeye i drove before. the only thing i didnt like about it was that the car felt like it was going to rip my head off if i gave it the chance. whilst this is not a bad thing, day to day it could have become tiresome.
after arriving back at the garage, the salesman was doing his best to get rid of the car. offering me close to 2k off the sticker price and a very favourable part ex for my fiesta.
whilst appealing i simply couldnt justify the car at all. it was certainly faster and more aggresive than the focus, but ceraintly lacked the ability to be a day to day car.

this has beein interesting comparing the two as i want to try a WRX out now to see if it is a bit more reserved.

i am impressed by the focus most so far but feel its only going to be fair to test drive a WRX to see if i get convinced by a subaru.

 

[rjk]

agree gibbo. in fairness comparing the bug eye sti to the hawkeye sti was a bit of a non mover.
the hawkeye felt a lot better
a lot.

i can see the appeal of all the extras that come on the newer model but when all said and done it would totally kill me to own at the moment. the focus is the more sensible option but i want to compare a standard WRX to the ST really. the STI was a totally different kettle of fish. like i say, it was totally dominant but im finding it hard to justify cost of ownership to myself at the moment.