Show Us Your Motors!

ShiWarrior · 7 Jul 2021 at 11:35

Nice upgrade Howard, i have the same interior in your mondeo, and the newer Focus is miles nicer isn't it , I'm wanting the non-ST version myself

the deep impact blue colour is probably the most common colour on the ST, but yours looks bloody lovely

i still love that Mondeo, its a shame to see it change to a focus , but needs must

Janesy B · 7 Jul 2021 at 14:46

Howard said:
Here are some quick phone photos of my new car. I have today off to go for a nice drive and get to grips with it, and will get some proper photos with my camera.

So... After 7 years of faithful service from the Mondeo, it is time for a change. You all know how fond I have been of my Mondeos, so I won't wax lyrical in that respect. But now that my mileage is greatly reduced, I felt that it was time for something a little more 'playful'.

So here's my next Ford, a 2016 Focus ST3 in Deep Impact Blue. I'm a sucker for a high spec car, so it had to be the ST3. Standard features are, well, most things, and as far as I can tell it has a handful of options including the premium 10-speaker audio system, nav, appearance pack with tints and illuminated sill plates, and heated steering wheel.

I know it's not a patch on most peoples' upgrades here of late, but it's mine and I love it! Why have I waited this long to experience a decent hot hatch?

I am sure I will write some further thoughts in due course, but in short, it's brilliant. It is considerably faster than my Mondeo despite "only" being up 10bhp on paper. Again, "only" 250bhp but it makes me grin every time I floor it.

The chassis and handling is also much more pin-sharp and it really encourages you to enjoy the drive. I had a smile on my face pretty much straight away during the test drive. It felt right. Amusingly, it isn't even noticeably less refined than the Mondeo.

The interior is more modern, and the seats are absolutely amazing. The illuminated sill plates are chavtastic, and the whole car looks brilliant to me.

I'm hoping it will reignite some of the driving pleasure that I enjoyed in previous years, and I am pleased that there is a decent after-market for performance upgrades. Rest assured that it will stay 100% standard cosmetically. My first change will likely be to upgrade the infotainment system to Sync3 which allows Carplay and Android Auto.

Farewell, old friend

Welcome to the ST club, again.

Still love my Fiesta after five years, even if it does break my spine.

Clearcut · 7 Jul 2021 at 15:02

Just picked this up.

MrRockliffe · 7 Jul 2021 at 15:05

Clearcut said:
Just picked this up.

Blooming love those! How is it?

Clearcut · 7 Jul 2021 at 15:14

Just come from a Mondeo too funnily enough and have to say it's amazing thanks.

Rilot · 7 Jul 2021 at 15:30

Minty

dlockers · 7 Jul 2021 at 15:31

Did that come shipped on pallets?

Edit: Really like the look of these. Funky things!

Clearcut · 7 Jul 2021 at 15:33

Kenai · 7 Jul 2021 at 16:18

Clearcut said:
Just picked this up.

Spleen Sauce · 7 Jul 2021 at 16:30

Clearcut said:
Just picked this up.

That is looooovely.

FlapR · 7 Jul 2021 at 18:49

Very nice, looks bloody huge.

watercooledman · 8 Jul 2021 at 09:15

Howard said:
Here are some quick phone photos of my new car. I have today off to go for a nice drive and get to grips with it, and will get some proper photos with my camera.

So... After 7 years of faithful service from the Mondeo, it is time for a change. You all know how fond I have been of my Mondeos, so I won't wax lyrical in that respect. But now that my mileage is greatly reduced, I felt that it was time for something a little more 'playful'.

So here's my next Ford, a 2016 Focus ST3 in Deep Impact Blue. I'm a sucker for a high spec car, so it had to be the ST3. Standard features are, well, most things, and as far as I can tell it has a handful of options including the premium 10-speaker audio system, nav, appearance pack with tints and illuminated sill plates, and heated steering wheel.

I know it's not a patch on most peoples' upgrades here of late, but it's mine and I love it! Why have I waited this long to experience a decent hot hatch?

I am sure I will write some further thoughts in due course, but in short, it's brilliant. It is considerably faster than my Mondeo despite "only" being up 10bhp on paper. Again, "only" 250bhp but it makes me grin every time I floor it.

The chassis and handling is also much more pin-sharp and it really encourages you to enjoy the drive. I had a smile on my face pretty much straight away during the test drive. It felt right. Amusingly, it isn't even noticeably less refined than the Mondeo.

The interior is more modern, and the seats are absolutely amazing. The illuminated sill plates are chavtastic, and the whole car looks brilliant to me.

I'm hoping it will reignite some of the driving pleasure that I enjoyed in previous years, and I am pleased that there is a decent after-market for performance upgrades. Rest assured that it will stay 100% standard cosmetically. My first change will likely be to upgrade the infotainment system to Sync3 which allows Carplay and Android Auto.

Farewell, old friend

i think the mondey was better

Howard · 8 Jul 2021 at 09:50

watercooledman said:
i think the mondey was better

Why so, out of interest?

watercooledman · 8 Jul 2021 at 09:55

Howard said:
Why so, out of interest?

i have one myself been the most trusty car i have ever owned, i have a few cars but love the mk4.5.

Howard · 8 Jul 2021 at 09:59

watercooledman said:
i have one myself been the most trusty car i have ever owned, i have a few cars but love the mk4.5.

Oh yeah they're brilliant, the high point of the Mondeo's timeline IMO. I loved mine, but I decided I wanted something a bit more interesting to reignite my passion for driving. I enjoyed my ownership, but after taking the Focus for a good long drive yesterday on all types of road, I am 100% happy with my decision

watercooledman · 8 Jul 2021 at 10:02

Howard said:
Oh yeah they're brilliant, the high point of the Mondeo's timeline IMO. I loved mine, but I decided I wanted something a bit more interesting to reignite my passion for driving. I enjoyed my ownership, but after taking the Focus for a good long drive yesterday on all types of road, I am 100% happy with my decision

fair enough the ford brand is hard to beat.

Martynt74 · 8 Jul 2021 at 13:40

Clearcut said:
Just picked this up.

Lovely. Got to say i am disappointed in the move back to a rag top though.

It would likely be on a next car list but with being parked up a lot of trees which destroy the roof paint with sap etc i would really need a folding tin top.

Clearcut · 8 Jul 2021 at 14:24

As much as I love the car, I have to agree. I swore not to have another soft top, but I was offered this as a company car. As unbelieveable as that seems.

dlockers · 8 Jul 2021 at 15:04

Clearcut said:
As much as I love the car, I have to agree. I swore not to have another soft top, but I was offered this as a company car. As unbelieveable as that seems.

Okay I'll bite, as deeply unpopular as I am for this.

Head of hair dressing?

Edit: Ah crap even your username is bait.

[TW]Fox · 8 Jul 2021 at 15:07

Clearcut said:
I was offered this as a company car. As unbelieveable as that seems.

It does seem pretty unbelievable yes - mostly because the BIK on an M40i is so high that it would make an awful company car. If you're a 40% taxpayer, which to get a car like that as a company car I'd imagine you are, you'll be paying £7500 a year in company car tax as a company car.

Why would you do that? You could buy it yourself for less than the tax bill for getting it as a company car surely.

This is a major part of the reason everyone is getting high end EV company cars. The company car tax on an Audi E-Tron costing £20,000 more to buy would be just £280 a year in comparison :eek: