EOTR: 2018 Ford Focus ST

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Orange Cola
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EOTR: 2018 Ford Focus ST

Post by Orange Cola »

TL;DR, scroll to the bottom.

I departed with my last of the line Fiesta ST back in early 2018, that came with an ST200 Chassis and the Mountune 215bhp pack on top of the ST-3 spec. It was close to perfect but the departure was forced by getting the Mustang and we needed a larger car. Going into the Focus ST we spec’d everything the Fiesta had, because the intention was to keep it for a number of years, so instantly at ST-3 level and on top of that we got blind spot monitoring, heated steering wheel, tinted windows and painted brake callipers, upgraded headlights but stuck with the smaller 18” wheels for the marginally better ride. We get a decent discount so list was £33k, after our discount and dealer discount we paid £24k (rounded up) but on 0% we spread the cost (better in my account earning interest than in theirs)

It started out ok lugging three of us and our luggage on a stag do across Englandshire with no complaints, something the Fiesta wouldn’t have coped with due to its size. Following on from that it was the main commuter car, tip running car etc. On the cold mornings I managed to stick the heated steering wheel on and bask in warmth whilst the ice melted on the windscreen and that’s probably the best thing about the whole car.

The ride was better than the Fiesta ST but it was still ruddy firm, swerving for road imperfections was a must otherwise you’d break the car and yourself. The Mrs knee didn’t enjoy the ride, more on that in a bit. Not only was the ride hard but unlike the Fiesta ST it couldn’t get its power down at all. If it was below 15c, wet or the road wasn’t perfect then anything more than half to two thirds throttle would result in wheel spin. In the wet following Granny Smith round a T junction it would spin up the inside and thump away at the interior like the subframe was about to drop off, but at 5mph. When you finally got a clear road with no imperfections on a dry day at above 20c you’d end up with a broken arm from the torque steer. It just became annoying, it couldn’t use its engine and it understeered with a heavy feeling nose when getting to the limit. I found corners were quickest by going round at constant throttle and when back to being on the straight slowly feed the throttle in so you didn’t end up spinning away the power or getting dragged off by torque steer into the hedge. I even had the geometry checked by a reputable place which used to race ST’s and does some of the Mountune Chassis development work but it turns out they all do that :?

As such I spent most of my time driving round the flaws in the Chassis; want to over take? I’ll do it in a gear higher so I’m not wrestling the torque steer. Want to drive somewhere without a hard ride? Take the Mustang. And in fact, any journey nearly ended up in taking the Mustang. I averaged 31mpg over 9,000 miles in the ST whereas the Mustang is on about 28mpg average. And thanks to rotating the ST tyres, I nearly killed a set of fronts in 7,000 miles. Oh and servicing the Mustang is cheaper, too, by about £50 a service. Go figure.

Following the other half’s knee op in 2018 she didn’t drive the ST much and the final conclusion came when yet another knee op was on the cards for Easter this year. Ford announced the new ST with a revised Chassis, an LSD and better all round comfort and performance. What Ford also did was announce an automatic which, given it’s a left knee problem, looked to be an ideal trade in. Prices were announced and for the petrol auto we’d be looking at £35k-£36k with no discount and no 0% interest. £36k gets you into a lot of car elsewhere and having had a look at a new Focus ST it’s in no way worth the price hike. I could run a second lightly used Mustang V8 and have change for modifications at that price. But I already have one of those so I was banned from getting another and supercharging it after a few years :oops:

TL;DR, a permanent left knee issue coupled with a poor Chassis which couldn’t cope with its power and a significant price hike for the new Focus ST in Automatic spec has meant I’ve bought something else for almost the same money. The only memorable thing is the heated steering wheel, which the new car has. It made me really miss my Fiesta ST and I want another Fiesta ST in the future.

Replacement car? Jaguar F-Pace, collected it on Saturday. And given the flaws in the Focus ST the Jag is just as quick but a lot more fun and engaging to drive whilst being far better at filling the practical, comfortable car role.
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Mito Man
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Re: EOTR: 2018 Ford Focus ST

Post by Mito Man »

Did you not test drive it?
How about not having a sig at all?
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Orange Cola
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Re: EOTR: 2018 Ford Focus ST

Post by Orange Cola »

Mito Man wrote: Mon Jul 22, 2019 9:25 pm Did you not test drive it?
I did. But there’s only so many times you can tell a salesman how bad the handling is in the wet. Usually that’s about once before they tell you to stop the car and fuck off ;)

In all fairness the important thing at the time was the space increase, I managed to man maths the ST from the 1.0l Ecoboost and a test drive in the rain in January isn’t the most ideal thing, but that’s hindsight and knowing what it’s like. It’s not a bad car, the build quality was almost faultless, it’s just crap at being an ST.
Last edited by Orange Cola on Mon Jul 22, 2019 10:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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JLv3.0
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Re: EOTR: 2018 Ford Focus ST

Post by JLv3.0 »

I have to ask then - why did you still buy it if the shortcomings were apparent even on an initial test drive? Genuine question, I'm not trying to be That Guy On A Car Forum.
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Orange Cola
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Re: EOTR: 2018 Ford Focus ST

Post by Orange Cola »

JLv3.0 wrote: Mon Jul 22, 2019 10:17 pm I have to ask then - why did you still buy it if the shortcomings were apparent even on an initial test drive? Genuine question, I'm not trying to be That Guy On A Car Forum.
I’ve edited the above to clarify a bit more. If it wasn’t for the ongoing knee issue I’d have got to this point in time and bought it outright, I just never fell in love with it. The final figure to own was £14k for a two year old Focus ST, so given I’ve got the Mustang I’d have grumpily carried on with it for a while.

A guy in work who has owned one completely disagrees with me though and thinks they’re one of the best cars he’s ever owned.
Last edited by Orange Cola on Mon Jul 22, 2019 10:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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JLv3.0
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Re: EOTR: 2018 Ford Focus ST

Post by JLv3.0 »

I was surprised to read the report, having been in my mate's ST. Of course the roads here are different etc but there was no torque steer, no wheelspin and so on. Just a proper old-school boosty thug hatch. I loved it!

Was it just in the wet that it struggled?
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Orange Cola
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Re: EOTR: 2018 Ford Focus ST

Post by Orange Cola »

JLv3.0 wrote: Mon Jul 22, 2019 10:23 pm I was surprised to read the report, having been in my mate's ST. Of course the roads here are different etc but there was no torque steer, no wheelspin and so on. Just a proper old-school boosty thug hatch. I loved it!

Was it just in the wet that it struggled?
I’ve added more above again - sorry!

It was everywhere really, if I crossed the white line and got onto the other camber it was frightening for passengers so I had to use a higher gear to stop the jolting. As such I drove everywhere short shifting in the torque band unless I was on my own on a good road (once or twice, but still produced nothing memorable) The engine is good, that’s why it’s made it’s way into other manufacturers cars, it’s just the Chassis hampers it and whilst on that point Ford made it sound like flat lemonade in the ST.

Some friends completely loved it though and they generally hated the Fiesta ST and others agree with me, but having come from the Fiesta ST I think my standards were set high but I knew going in to it it wouldn’t be getting a larger version of the car I loved. I’m not slating it, but it’s the car I sold which I’m glad I owned but will miss the least.
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Broccers
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Re: EOTR: 2018 Ford Focus ST

Post by Broccers »

Sounds ideal for someone in their 20s.

Even our mini has issues at 210 bhp, fun tho. That's the point I guess driving to get the maximum out of the car rather than it doing it all for you.
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Re: EOTR: 2018 Ford Focus ST

Post by Jobbo »

Funny how any ST-badged Ford (or any Ford, really) gets such high praise from the UK motoring press for how they drive. I never rated my Puma particularly; it felt like a warmed-up shopping car and nowhere near as good to drive as the Corrado which followed it.
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Orange Cola
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Re: EOTR: 2018 Ford Focus ST

Post by Orange Cola »

Jobbo wrote: Tue Jul 23, 2019 9:00 am Funny how any ST-badged Ford (or any Ford, really) gets such high praise from the UK motoring press for how they drive. I never rated my Puma particularly; it felt like a warmed-up shopping car and nowhere near as good to drive as the Corrado which followed it.
My Focus ST got its best reviews in estate form, the hatch was reviewed as a good car but missing the fun element ST’s are supposed to have, plus looking dated on the inside. The Fiesta ST is much more fun to drive. I think most reviewers preferred the Golf GTI over the Focus, but the VW was always more money.
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Re: EOTR: 2018 Ford Focus ST

Post by McSwede »

Jobbo wrote: Tue Jul 23, 2019 9:00 am Funny how any ST-badged Ford (or any Ford, really) gets such high praise from the UK motoring press for how they drive. I never rated my Puma particularly; it felt like a warmed-up shopping car and nowhere near as good to drive as the Corrado which followed it.
I loved the Puma we had. They'd drift and LOO everywhere, had nice steering and a very nice gear shift. Gutted when the wife wrote it off.
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Re: EOTR: 2018 Ford Focus ST

Post by Jobbo »

Pumas also feel strangled and on tiptoe, but nobody ever seemed to mention that in reviews. French hot hatches like the 106GTI handled much better.
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Re: EOTR: 2018 Ford Focus ST

Post by Nathan »

Orange Cola wrote: Mon Jul 22, 2019 10:19 pm The final figure to own was £14k for a two year old Focus ST
Wow you are giving it away
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Orange Cola
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Re: EOTR: 2018 Ford Focus ST

Post by Orange Cola »

Nathan wrote: Tue Jul 23, 2019 12:51 pm
Orange Cola wrote: Mon Jul 22, 2019 10:19 pm The final figure to own was £14k for a two year old Focus ST
Wow you are giving it away
That was the price to own at the end of the finance term, not the price I got for selling it. Hence until the knee issue was known as a permanent problem I was going to buy it at the end of the term and keep it. I changed part way through the term (just over a year) so didn’t pay the full amount and retained quite a bit of value which was used against the new car purchase.
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