Ford Focus ST

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VaderSS

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I was making too many 6 hour trips in the 2000 Miata LS, and was beginning to dislike it because of limited seating positions.

I wound up trading it in on a 2007 Ford Focus ST. This car has a 151 HP 2.3L Duratec 4 cyl with a 5 speed manual transmission. It does 0-60 in just under 8 seconds and the 1/4 in just under 16. It has the dampers and sway bars from the old SVT Focus, though I replaced the rear bar with a thicker one. I also replaced the stock Pirelli P6s with Goodyear F1 GS-D3s.

I paid $14k for it, which is, IMO, a smashing deal on a car of this caliber. I've made a couple of 6 hour trips in it and could not be happier with it, except that it's FWD. It handles beter than I would have ever expected, but soaks up bumps that would eat a Miata or Impala's suspension.

Quality concerns of the past appear to have been fixed, and the car is actually one of CR's recommended ones now.

If you are in the market for a new car in this price range, try one out. You might just be suprised, like I was. The sell at under invoice and have a $2500 rebate on them right now.

The Impala is going nowhere soon, but it has now been relagated to weekend toy and project car.
 
I agree with msparks!

I had a garden variety focus for four months and over 10000 miles of driving, as a rental when I was on ling term travel for work.

I have to say that it was a very nice car.. I enjoyd drviging in it, and I am 6ft 4 and 230 lbs. My only gripes were LOUSY headlights, where the high beams offered no real range imporvement over the lo-beams (and the car was new when I got it, no accidenthistory, etc), poor highway fuel economy (~32 MPG, due to the AT), and an auto trans that loved to kick down at the slightest touch of the throttle (thus the reduced fuel economy, I suppose). I was disapointed, as I can really beat fuel economy numbers handily in my personal vehicles.

My fiancee's parents will likely be buying one for her sister, down in the USVI. We have test driven them down there, and the non 2.3L, MT versions handle the severe hills and whatnot with more than enough ease. Just take care of the car and suspension... the rental ones that we used to test drive down there, to see how they would do were not well maintained... and their suspensions felt like they were about to fall apart. My take is that the focus cannot take frame flex all that well.

But good luck, I like that little car a lot, and would consider an MT focus if I needed a small commuter car... does youre have 4 wheel discs?

JMH
 
Yes, the ST has 4 wheel disks. Great brakes on the car. It is the only model to have them though. Same with the 2.3.

I do wish we could get some of the diesels the rest of the world gets. Diesels have come so far, but we don't get them.

The base Focus is pretty nice, and it was actually a rental that got me to looking at them. You could actually get a base Focus for $10k.

The 2.3 combined with the SVT suspension really brings the car to another level. As for suspension problems, all that I have driven have a kind of a "clunk" in the suspension. It does not seem to get worse though, but sounds bad. I don't notice it anymore though.

Headlights are ok to me, but I'm coming from other cars that had truly ****** headlights.

I'm averaging 25 MPG with a 75% highway circuit. Not great, but then not bad for the performance. As with most torquey engines, it feels faster than it really is. According to several folk on the Focus forums, fuel economy improves dramatically in the first 10k. I'm tracking it on a spreadsheet to see.

I'm hoping someone will come out with an affordable RWD sports coupe or sedan. Closest thing I know of, currently, is the upcoming BMW 1 series. I'll have to give them a serious look in a few years.
 
1-series looks so awesome...the 3.0 version with the M-sport package, really neat! I have a video of one with the E39 M5 engine (5.0 V8 394hp), that's my type of car.
 
The Mazda 3 is a better car, all around, as it is based on the 2nd gen Focus, the one we Americans don't get from Ford.

That said, the 2.3 Focus is quicker than the 2.3 Mazda 3, and the handling is the same on smooth pavement. The Focus gets more easily upset by bumps in turns, but it's not bad.

Keep in mind that Ford dealers readily sell the Focus at invoice and even below, and that there is a $2500 rebate currently in effect. This makes the Mazda3 considerably more expensive.

Personally, the Mazda3 never made it to my short list. It came down to the Focus ST vs the Honda Civic Si. The Civic Si was better in every way than the Ford, but I did not feel it was $6000 better.
 
Good insight. Those fuel economy numbers are disapointing, even if they grow bigtime by 10k. My saab 9-3 has a lot more torque, and short of maybe some handling at the edge, certainly is no slouch compared to the focus (same ~7.7 sec 0-60, etc), but yet I have been able to pull 34-38 MPG in a ~75% highway, 25% heavy traffic driving profile, from the very beginning.

But that is just something that I never understood about my rental focus... for as nice a little car as I thought it was, I could never get over the economy... At least you have an excuse, with 0.3L more and 30+ more HP.

JMH
 
Is that normal fuel economy for a 9-3? That seems really good for the performance. What are the EPA ratings on it?

For '07, the 2.0 Focus has gone from 26/34MPG to 27/37MPG. The '06 PCM can be reflashed to get the same fuel economy as the '07s.

The ST has a rating of 22/31. If it gets what I'm expecting, it should be around 29 MPG.

The Mazda3 2.3 is rated at 26/33 with the 2.0 getting 28/35.

The Mazda3 has variable valve timing, while the Focus does not. The Mazda3 weighs about 300 pounds more than the Focus.

The power ratings are interesting;
Focus 2.0 136 hp @ 6000 rpm 136 ft-lbs @ 4250 rpm Revlimiter 6750 RPM

Mazda3 2.0 Horsepower: 148 hp @ 6500 rpm 135 ft-lbs @ 4500 rpm Revlimiter 7100 RPM

Focus 2.3 151 hp @ 5750 rpm 154 ft-lbs @ 4250 rpm Revlimiter 6750 RPM

Mazda3 2.3 Horsepower: 156 hp @ 6500 rpm 150 ft-lbs @ 4500 rpm Revlimiter 7100 RPM


All engines pull hard right to the revlimiter. The Focus has no redline on the tach, while the Mazda3 has a 6500RPM redline.
 
I think that Focus is getting much better but I'll still take the Honda Civic Si for performance/quality build. Focus is decent though.
 
my 04 9-3 was epa rated 26/34. Real world it does great on fuel, and Ive sat in a LOT of traffic, without much of a drop below 30 MPG in the worst conditions. My car makes 175 hp and 195 lb-ft from just off fast idle all the way up. My car is heavier (of course) and larger inside than the focus, but the focus sure makes great efficient use of the interior space!

It is interesting that the 2.0 went from 34 to 37 MPG for MT versions. That is more like where id expect it to be... The focus is no 'small car' when it comes to the size of the interior, which is why it is such a good small car. I know that on the 2.0 that I had, the engine would pull really well... it was justthe dopey AT programming that would always kick down when you touch the throttle at speeds over 60 or 65 MPH, even with an empty car. It was my gripe when I had a similar car as a rental previously.

I can see that perhaps the mazda 3 2.0 would have some sort of modifications to it, thus the obviously superior power numbers... though the engine does sure take an economy hit...

But the mazda 3 2.3 has VVT while the focus does not?!? For all intents and purposes, power output is identical, and the way the numbers fall out, the focus seems better, with the same power at lower RPM. Too bad the focus ST doesnt at least have the economy numbers of the mazda 2.3... It sems that ford figured out whatever the issue was on the 2.0, so maybe theyll be doing the same to the 2.3, and youll be able to get a reflash and be on track for ~34 or so.

JMH
 
Mazda3 tach redline is at 6.5k. As mentioned above, rev limiter is at 7100.


I agree that the Civic blows the Focus away on overall quality, build quality, performance, and handling(mainly due to an LSD), but all of those things were more than I needed to be happy with what is essentially a fun commuter. When I want to have a bit more fun, I have access to a 2006 Miata, or my 1996 Impala SS.

If you hold the cars to MSRP, then the Civic Si is a no-brainer. Knock $4k off of the Focus though, and it makes for a harder choice, especially when it is not your only car...

If I had dropped the Impala and the Miata, I'd of been looking at a 3 year old CPOed 330Ci. Could not bear to part with the Impala, at least yet.

Yup, the Mazdas get VVT, but the Fords do not. As you noticed too, the Ford 2.3 seems to have not lost anything in the traslation except for fuel economy, and I have to wonder if real world economy might take even more of a hit with the VVT engine, which I would have to spend more time wring it out. I do know that, for real world driving, the Ford aproach is more enjoyable. It is the first 4 cyl I've owned that did not spend a lot of time with the pedal floored.

The Ford does get a variable intake system, but that was part of the trouble with the 2.0 engine. The "secondary" was set to kick in at 4k, but this wound up adding more pumping losses to the engine, so the switchover has been lowered. It seems like they could do the same for the 2.3, but maybe Ford does not feel it is worthwhile, as only 1 in 20 Foci have the 2.3.

There is always the aftermarket tuning...
 
Well, 4000 miles later and I'm loving this car more than when I got it. It really excels on long trips, and the handling simply amazes me at times. As with any car, it takes some learning to exploit its limits, and I'm getting better every day.

Modifications to date are a 22MM rear sway bar, up from the stock 22, which makes the car almost neutral, allowing very easy throttle tuning of the line in corners. I've also replaced the stock all-season Pirelli P6s with Goodyear F1 GS-D3s, which are the best tire I've ever owned.

Average fuel economy has been 25.14 in 3998 miles. Highway runs 27-31 depending on speed, Houston City 24-26 and pure city stop and go short-trip has been 21-22. Basically, it's loyal to the EPA specs on it.
 
If I had sufficient spare money to throw a t a toy, it would be the Focus XR-5 turbo (with the Volvo 5 cyl turbo in the front).
 
Your also noticing the 2.3 Duratec just gets better with time? It seems it took a while for mine, which is in a Ranger, to loosen up. It moves the heavier Ranger quite decently but in a Focus.. sounds like fun. 27-28mpg is the average so far with the 5spd.
 
"The Civic Si was better in every way than the Ford, but I did not feel it was $6000 better."

I agree with your statement. I have a Si and I think it is a fine car and I suppose they keep their resale value pretty well. Paying $6,000 more, IMHO, a person can afford not to have a high of a resale value. If a person wants to keep a vehicle for a long period of time and product x, even though it costs significantly more than product y, will last significantly longer than product y; then, maybe paying the premium up front would be worth the investment. With the cars you are referring, I have no idea which would last longer if both are well maintained. I could guess, but, I won't.
 
22/31 MPG!? Out of a 2.3L 156hp 4 cyl! I'm having a hard time even comprehending that, my 3.0L 244hp Accord gets 22/30! I've been averaging about 26 mixed mpg too. Don't get me wrong, I love the Focus and Mazda3 (haven't driven an ST, sounds even better!), but come on Ford. The reason why you have to sell this car so far under MSRP is that you can get a base Civic that's getting something like 32/40, and these days it's a set of numbers people really care about.
 
I owned a 2000 Focus and the best way to describe the Focus is that it is more than than the sum of its parts. The car has no glaring weaknesses. I wish I still had it, The near telepathic steering and the posh suspension, and brakes that were easy to modulate right up to the verge of lockup, made for a nice driver's car on the cheap. Your handling was as good the tires on the car.
 
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