Ford Focus ST owners

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Are there any ST owners out there? if so, what are you opinions on the car? reliability? performance? anyone using the car as a daily driver? any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
 
I test drove one and ended up buying a GTI. At the time, I felt the Focus ST was more of a performance car while the GTI couldn't quite match it's performance but offered more comfort. I have total respect for the Focus ST and it's little sibling the Fiesta ST.
 
Not a lot of St owner response so I’ll add only slightly relevant comments. Owned a non-ST Focus hatchback for 5 years. The dual-clutch transmission was a disaster, but as STs don’t use it, my comments are on the rest of the car.

Other than the DCT, it was really trouble-free with 0 non-DCT warranty work over my ownership period. A few interior creaks and buzzes but otherwise solid. Great highway cruiser: seemed to punch above its weight class in that respect.

Ford 2.0 EcoBoosts like used in the ST seem to enjoy a good, albeit thirsty, reputation and the manual gearbox has been around forever.

Replacing the Civic?
 
Thanks for the feedback.

I owned one in sedan version myself. POS transmission but otherwise nice little car.

As far as civic goes, love everything about the car but the clutch. I had the car for almost 18k and still can’t figure out how to shift smoothly. Very very wierd...plus the rev hang is soooo annoying. Other than that awesome peppy car with excellent fuel economy.
 
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I owned one for just over 48,000 miles. The torque steer wasn't a big deal, but the wheel hop when trying to accelerate hard from a stop was a real annoyance. The reliability was horrendous, even though I cared for it like a BITOGer.

It was back to the dealership for a recall for a wiring loom, a TSB for a motor mount, the radio antenna was installed improperly, and the rubber trim behind the grill was falling out. Finally the head gasket went. It was all covered under warranty. When I got the paperwork after the repair the notes said that they found that the head bolts weren't torqued properly at the factory, one was just finger tight.

With build quality like that I started looking to get out of the car. A Subaru dealer offered me way more than Blue Book and I jumped at it. I've been very happy in a WRX ever since, it's a better car by far.
 
I have a regular 2014 Focus with an M/T and it hasn't had one issue in 37K....it handles great to.
 
I've got one, loving it so far. It's a '17 model currently with 7600 miles on the odo. I daily drive it. No problems with it yet.

I have driven just about every car that competes with the ST and the Focus in general before I purchased the car. This includes the Fiesta ST, Golf GTI, WRX and STI, Civic Si, regular Civic, Mazda 3, MazdaSpeed3, regular Focus and Fiesta, etc. and I liked the Focus ST best so I bought one.

Compared to something like a regular Focus or Mazda 3, the ride is stiffer and the fuel economy isn't as good, but it is much faster and better handling.

Compared to the Civic Si and VW GTI, it feels more exciting/performance oriented to drive and is way faster than the two. Compared to the WRX, it is not quite as stiff and uncomfortable as the WRX, and being fwd while the WRX is awd; it is slower off the line because it just wants to spin the tires.

I drive pretty sane most of the time and average 26-28 mpg on my commute (including traffic), which I am more than happy with. The interior design and materials and fit and finish is very good for the price point aand the fact is is based off a compact economy car. It feels very quick and the handling is phenomenal for what it is. I have the regular cloth seats, which are pretty comfortable and not nearly as tight as the Recaros. Interior space is good, the rear hatch cargo area is decent size.

Overall very happy with the car, and if you need a practical, (somewhat) economical car to daily drive, but really want a performance car and have only a modest budget, it's really hard to go wrong with the ST. For the price point, I am very satisfied and I have no regrets so far.

I have heard that if you purchase used, to avoid the 2013 models. It's the first year of the ST in the US, and generally early models of cars tend to have more issues than later production models. There are some issues they had at first where they had to issue recalls to fix and some bugs and design flaws that they ended up getting worked out later on. The facelifted (2015+ models) have some nice updates over the 2013-14 models as well. Chassis improvements for better handling, updated interior (nicer/more options, especially on the base ST1 package), lock/unlock button moved from the center to the doors, all 4 windows fully auto, better lights (IMO), among other things.
 
Very much appreciate y'alls feedback guys. I've never driven ST myself but always liked the way it looks. I guess I'll give it a try and test drive one. Again, thanks for your help. Cheers
 
I test drove one and bought the Fiesta ST instead . Now with a Pumaspeed X47R hybrid turbo and 285 hp , It makes even mundane trips a joy .
 
When I was looking at getting a fiesta ST, I test drove a base focus ST. The focus surely would have been a better highway/long trip car. Also it was probably the "practical" choice. But the Fiesta was alot more fun.

I think the overall fit and finish is better on the GTI, but the focus does feel a little more raw. Have you looked into tunes for you civic to kill the rev hang? I don't recall if the Focus ST had it, but I know quite a few cars do. My 08 Civic Si had it bad until I got a tune.

If I didn't need an automatic for the lady, I'd probably have the Focus ST. As it is the best auto option in the class was the GTI with DSG.
 
Originally Posted By: eddy21
I test drove one and bought the Fiesta ST instead . Now with a Pumaspeed X47R hybrid turbo and 285 hp , It makes even mundane trips a joy .


thumbsup2.gif
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I'm waiting to see what comes out in the near future, turbo kit wise for mine (hoping that CP-E, or someone eventually develops a twin scroll system
wink.gif
).
 
Originally Posted By: dailydriver
Originally Posted By: eddy21
I test drove one and bought the Fiesta ST instead . Now with a Pumaspeed X47R hybrid turbo and 285 hp , It makes even mundane trips a joy .


thumbsup2.gif
01.gif


I'm waiting to see what comes out in the near future, turbo kit wise for mine (hoping that CP-E, or someone eventually develops a twin scroll system
wink.gif
).


The Revo is a good option . I got a great deal on the X47 or would have gone with that., There have been a few failures of the X47's braking shafts. Steer clear of Vargas .
 
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