Focus ST-3 Buying Advice

TighterThanTwoCoatsOfPain

I guess it depends on what you call heavy... a mate had an ST2 with the Mountune conversion and typically got 29mpg typically over a 25 mile each way commute (using all the performance on a regular basis!) - personally i think for a 260-270 ish bhp motor thats very good!

keepthegreen

Moving in the right direction now. Local dealer closest to me has offered £20k after the Ford finance offer. I've started the ball rolling with DTD so I'm still hopeful of a better deal.

jeannieblue

Could also try Copthorne Motor Company - and regarding all of those concerned with fuel consumption - go buy a Prius and get off this thread!

tight_arze

Would you consider a Golf GTI or a used R32? Golfs will have better build quality than the Focus and Leon.

peterg1965

What about a 200bhp Skoda Octavia vRS petrol. You can get a brand new one for about £16K - Skoda are doing a VAT free deal at the moment. YOu also qualify for 0% finance with 50% deposit or a subsidised finance rate. They are fantastic cars and will be a much better long term prospect than an ST3. I owned an ST3 a few years back, awesome machines - the 'ASBO' according to Top Gear at the time! They are definately developing a chav image now though.

Have a look at the Octavia vRS though.

Microstar_2

TighterThanTwoCoatsOfPain wrote: »

I guess it depends on what you call heavy... a mate had an ST2 with the Mountune conversion and typically got 29mpg typically over a 25 mile each way commute (using all the performance on a regular basis!) - personally i think for a 260-270 ish bhp motor thats very good!

Was that on the dash computer or a proper 'brim to brim' measurement? I have owned two of these cars and serviced/repaired many more. I tended to average 24mpg and it would drop to 20mpg if driven hard. They are VERY thirsty cars - this also evidences itself in the emissions, which put it in the top emission band for road tax.

Microstar_2

tight_arze wrote: »

Would you consider a Golf GTI or a used R32? Golfs will have better build quality than the Focus and Leon.

GTI and Leon are built on the same platform and share all major components from same suppliers. Build quality is much the same. They are both better built than the Ford though.

Microstar_2

I agree with the comments above about the Octavia vRS. These are great cars, well made, great to drive and very reliable. If you can get one for £16-17k then that's a staggeringly good motor for the money and likely to hold its value well. Its a more sophisticated design than the Focus ST, which is getting quite dated now and will be replaced soon.

Microstar_2

jeannieblue wrote: »

Could also try Copthorne Motor Company - and regarding all of those concerned with fuel consumption - go buy a Prius and get off this thread!

Really intelligent comment - !!!!!!

tight_arze

Microstar wrote: »

GTI and Leon are built on the same platform and share all major components from same suppliers. Build quality is much the same. They are both better built than the Ford though.

Yes the GTI and Leon both share the same engine and components but the GTI has a better quality interior and better residuals than the Leon. I have driven both Golfs and Leons.

Just depends what is important to the buyer, I'd personally buy the GTI.