I've been looking through specifications of various cars and the Focus looks like a well rounded car.

The little extras like Xeon lights, climate control, 6 disc changer, etc make it more appealing.

The new shape Focus and the announcement of the new ST range, should knock the prices as well to make it more affordable, as 30-40k 3 year old ones are going for £7-7.5k.

Any comments on the car? Is there anything else that would be better for the money?

 

There dung mate !

I bought one new about 9 months ago, kept it for 2 months as it was pants !

Just my opinion though

 

That's fair enough, what would you get instead that was in a similar vein?

At least it helps me narrow down the choices I have in mind!

 

I did the same about 15 months ago .

Not sure about dung - they're pretty good for what they do per £.

They're not as much fun as I thought they were going to be - not really sure what was wrong with it - all the bits seems to add up to decent package - but at the end of the day you were left feeling they could have done better . Maybe some minor engine mods could produce better results .

Just not in the same league as the STi8 that replaced it (or the Audi Quattro that preceded it) .

 

Jase - Maybe that was the problem, maybe i was expecting too much, but for what was allegedly 170hp, felt like 130hp

Well put together apart from various engine faults that kept on occuring & the traction control was a bit on the heavy side, better to drive with it off

Andy - what about a Clio 182 or a Civic Type R ?

 

My wife has had her st170 for 9 months now and I love driving it.
The handling is excellent but lacks outright power (it would compared to my scoob), but power isnt everything because it sticks to the road soo well and the package is real nice.

So to conclude...not as fast as the clio172/civic type r, but I think it handles better and as an all round package it's excellent.

dipster

 

I'm not after a 'race car' or a car where I have to rev the bits off it to get any power! The Clio doesn't light my fire and the Civic is more expensive (and I'm not sure I'll get the best out of it on my journey to work!)

It's going to primarily be a commuting car with some Tesco trips, and maybe the odd longer journey where the Forester is too big or too juicy!

What's the fuel economy like on the ST170?
What sort of engine faults did you have or are aware of?

 

I felt you had too rev it hard to get any power out of it.
Fuel economy was about 260 - 300 per tank & that was usually town driving with a bit of motorway

 

Engine faults were nothing according to ford as they couldnt fault it but when you rev'd it hard & went to change gear the revs stuck & it wouldnt let you change up , so i had to let all the functions go, then it cured itself

Got sick of it so traded it in

 

My missus bought one a few weeks ago. She had a cooper S before it, but will be multiplying in November, so needed something more practical. I enjoy driving it. Lacks power compared to my STi7 as expected, but comparable to the cooper S with good tight steering (which my car doesn't). Lacks the low down torque which the cooper had, but looks good, serves its purpose and is fun to chuck around corners.

Great car, but depends what you are looking for. If you want power, forget it.

Neil

 

What about a Focus TDCi a bit slower than the ST 0-60 but a bit faster from 30-70, should be able to get one a year or two old for £7,500 to £8000. And if driven sensibly should be able to get almost 500 miles to a tank. If you can find a TDCi Sport its almost identical spec to a ST170.

 

Have heard that the ST170's can be pretty juicy, specially for the kind of performance that they give you.

Heard one with a CAI System and it sounded very much like a VTEC..... if a little less "raw" towards the top of the rev range.

However, I would consider the TDCi version over an ST170. Specially as a Bluefin Plug-In will provide extra power and torque on the TDCi too....


Cheers,
Grant

 

Had a colleague who had an ST170 for a few months but sold it because of the poor mpg, he's now got the TDCI Sport.

The tdci Fords have great engines.

 

I've got an ST170 at the moment and I've had it since May. Whilst its not the most blistering car I've ever driven it does what it does extremely well in my opinion.

The power delivery isnt particularly raw but it gets where its going smoothly and relatively quickly. Plus the 6 gear setup means 100mph motorway cruising is nice and comfortable.

It won't beat a Civic Type R or a Clio 172 in a race but you can sit just behind them and watch them rev their nuts off whilst sitting in the extremely comfortable seats at 3000rpm listening to something good on the 6 CD changer

Let me know if you want to know anything else.

David

 

I do agree, the ford tdci engines are very good but the 170 has the edge if you don't mind the 32mpg that I get.
The ST has a better chassis if you like a sporty drive, abit like comparing a std wrx with an sti. In that the wrx (sport chassis) is good, but the sti (ST chassis) is a fabulous.

dipster

 

My GOD! you should be on the tv with mind reading skills like that!

dipster

 

ST170 ?????? Crap. Save the pennies & get a Focus RS instead.

Looks better, Handles better, stop's better, accelerates better, sounds better, is better full stop.

 

Bet you can't get an RS for £8k though

 

My 1.8 Zetec three door is brilliant, so what the RS must be like, I'de really like to test drive one.

I have considered letting my Scoob & the Focus go to have a decent RS Focus. I'm sure there's plenty of potential for power increase on these baby's.

 

Our 1.8 Zetec is also fantastic, I never get tired of driving it either on the shopping run or in the twisties.

Its no power machine, but its smooth and the handling and ride are the closest i've ever had to my 205 in a modern car, very good fun.

I'm aiming for an RS at some point.

 

If you get one expect a standard 205 1.9GTi run rings around you! A few tussles with these 170's and they can't match the cornering or handling or even a straight line drag...........

Get a late 306GTi-6 Andy - faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar better

 

Nah mate - you want the new ST, its faster

 

Dream Weaver
I had two Peugeot 205's both 1.9's, best motoring years i'de say....

 

my brother has a st170 and i will agree with 80% of the stuff said on here ,, including you can't get an RS for 8k heheheh !! , anyway while not setting the world alight he's happy with it , when i drove it , it felt exactly like a 1985 xr3i . which doesn't say a lot for the power , it does not feel like 170 bhp i'll agree with that 100% . but alot of people are happy with them !!

 

anyone had one tested on a rolling road to see wot the real bhp is?

 

I think I'd trust Ford's figure over just about any RR in the country!

Steve

 

RR figures i've seen in ford mags do indicate they are about 170 output, but they never feel like this when driven, the other factor is that they are really bad at holding any value, prices drop like a stone from the moment you buy one.

you should maybe consider the new st,

http://www.fordeumicrosites.com/en-GB/focusst/index.html

 

[QUOTE=sti-04!!] the traction control was a bit on the heavy side, better to drive with it off [QUOTE]

its not traction control...its ESP, very different ;o)