Focus ST as a daily?

Lately I've been thinking of thinking of getting something a bit more practical and selling the GTO. Low mileage STs seem to be fetching $15k, which is in the ballpark of what I think I can get with a private sale. I haven't heard much about these cars on the forum. Any experiences, good or bad? Anything else I should look at? I briefly had an interest in a used Volt just because the technology was neat and they have similar 0-60 times. I've test driven both but didn't come to any revelations about either except for that the first generation Volt's interior was pretty pedestrian.

I can't think of a single reason not to do it. Unless you're able to find an S52 M coupe in the same price range and don't mind an older daily with higher miles on it.

I daily an ST. It's a great car. I average about 25mpg for my ~25 mile mixed commute. I have only 2 complaints. The trunk is not as big as you'd think - the shape makes it less useful than it appears. The Recaros are so bulky that my rear-facing infant seat will only fit in the middle, which makes it a huge pain in the ass to get my son in and out, but is safer. Other than that, it's been a joy for the last year and ~12k miles.

Armitage wrote: Anything else I should look at?

GTIs are right in that price range as well.

I had a FoST as a DD for about 7 months, but I put a solid 17k miles on it - my commute is 55-60 miles each way. I also had a Ford Racing tune done, which gave it something like 360lb/ft tq. For me, it was a love/hate relationship with the car. Mine was the ST3 trim, fully loaded. Things I loved about the car:
Torque. Holy torque steer Batman, this sucker goes!! From 2000rpm to 4500rpm it was a missile. Pulled like a freight train. That was great for rush hour traffic, as I could pull from any gear without having to constantly shift. Above 4500rpm was basically a waste of gas. Torque steer was bad, but it was FUN!!

Steering. Razor sharp. It went where you pointed it...right now.

Suspension. Handling was first rate (combined with steering), and ride was surprisingly compliant.

Recaros. Especially with heat. They were the bees knees.

MPG. - I averaged 28-30mpg, which for a vehicle this quick, isn't bad.

Things I hated about the car:
Requirement for premium unleaded. It is what it is, but when I drive this much, it hurts.

Turning radius. It needed more room to do a u-turn than a Kenworth. Royal pain when trying to park in a parking lot.

Hatch space. As noted by cmcgregor, it's not as big as you'd think. Plus the subwoofer took up even more space.

Ford TouchMyself system. Or whatever the hell it's called. I have mixed thoughts on touch screens anyway. This one had neat features when it worked, but it was prone to freeze up, respond slowly, etc...

The cars' "personality". My wife nicknamed it "Squirrel on caffeine", and that about sums it up. It always wants to go, go, go, which isn't a bad thing necessarily. But when you deal with a lot of stop and go traffic, it can get annoying. Don't know how else to describe it, it's just high strung and wasn't a happy camper creeping in heavy traffic (though darting into holes was fun).

I got rid of it partly because of those annoying things, partly because I wanted to spend my money elsewhere (wife), and partly because it gnawed at me that I was beating the daylights out of an expensive car. Would I get another one? Maybe. Honestly I miss the car in some respects. But the drawbacks were definitely not insignificant to me.

Klayfish wrote: Turning radius. It needed more room to do a u-turn than a Kenworth. Royal pain when trying to park in a parking lot. Ford TouchMyself system. Or whatever the hell it's called. I have mixed thoughts on touch screens anyway. This one had neat features when it worked, but it was prone to freeze up, respond slowly, etc...

The turning radius is obnoxious, especially when I drive my Miata for a day then go back to the Focus.

I haven't had too many problems with MyTouch, but it has frozen on me once or twice. I find it annoying to not have physical buttons, but that's probably true of pretty much any car these days.

Mine is also an ST3

cmcgregor wrote:

Klayfish wrote: Turning radius. It needed more room to do a u-turn than a Kenworth. Royal pain when trying to park in a parking lot. Ford TouchMyself system. Or whatever the hell it's called. I have mixed thoughts on touch screens anyway. This one had neat features when it worked, but it was prone to freeze up, respond slowly, etc...

The turning radius is obnoxious, especially when I drive my Miata for a day then go back to the Focus. I haven't had too many problems with MyTouch, but it has frozen on me once or twice. I find it annoying to not have physical buttons, but that's probably true of pretty much any car these days. Mine is also an ST3

Yeah, I like buttons too. I liked that the HVAC had physical touch points instead of just the screen, and there were radio controls on the steering wheel. But when I did need to use MyTouch, it got aggravating. What annoyed me most is that it would freeze up the radio. I would go to change stations and it would be 100% unresponsive for like 3 minutes. I couldn't change the station, nothing. Then it would suddenly "catch up" to the commands I had put in and freaked out.

Great feedback guys, thanks! Some of those annoyances are things I deal with already with the GTO. Trunk space is a joke because GM moved the fuel tank into the trunk area when they brought the car over here for crash safety reasons. Turning radius is bad since the car is so long. I'm seeing average of 10.8 mpg on my commute (10 stop lights in 3.6 miles) on premium.

That said, I do like old fashioned analog controls. Would you recommend getting a non-ST3 trim level car instead?

I have a friend with one as a daily. He says it's everything he wishes his STi was. He loves it.

I say go for it.

I've tried 2-3 times to part with the money to do it, and something else always comes up. But if I had $15k fall in my lap today, I'd be driving one tomorrow.

Armitage wrote: Would you recommend getting a non-ST3 trim level car instead?

If you can find them, try all 3 trim levels. The Recaros are a love/hate thing, because they're bolstered pretty aggressively. The ST3 does get some nice stuff like HIDs, so if you want that and hate the seats, you can probably find someone to trade.

Armitage wrote: Great feedback guys, thanks! Some of those annoyances are things I deal with already with the GTO. Trunk space is a joke because GM moved the fuel tank into the trunk area when they brought the car over here for crash safety reasons. Turning radius is bad since the car is so long. I'm seeing average of 10.8 mpg on my commute (10 stop lights in 3.6 miles) on premium. That said, I do like old fashioned analog controls. Would you recommend getting a non-ST3 trim level car instead?

I had a GTO. It was an '04, but it had a good amount of engine work done. You must be really hammering it if you're getting 11mpg. My driving back then was rural country roads, but I could get 28 out of it easily. If I hammered it, certainly I got less, but it was a great cruiser. They both have small trunks, but that's about where the comparisons end. They're so different. IMHO, the GTO is a much better highway cruiser, more relaxed. The FoST is sharper in its' reflexes.

If I were to get another FoST, I'd probably get another ST3. I liked the leather covered Recaros that much. I'd live with the MyTouch...I've heard the newer ones are better. Mine was a '13.

By the way, the Volt and the FoST aren't even close in 0-60 times. The FoST would absolutely destroy it. Very, very, very different cars.

I daily an ST and agree with everything said so far. I will add that the keyless entry and ignition are awesome. Never having to fumble with keys is life changing. I got the base model since I figured the recaros to feel claustrophobic if I had to sit in them more than 30 minutes at a time. I have the stink, I mean sync, instead of the my touch.

If you find one that has the factory goodyears on it, know that under 40° they feel like they are made out of wood, and will wear very quickly. If there is the slightest dusting of snow, they are horrifying to drive on.

I have had mine since 2013 and there is still nothing I would rather have for commuting for even half or double the price.

I've had an ST1 since 2013 and have put 75k miles on it. It has been a great car with the exception of a leaky rear main seal that I've had replaced and is leaking again. It does not require premium fuel and I've averaged around 27 mpg over the life of the car. Driving dynamics are great and once I got used to the turning radius it didn't bother me. As far as a daily goes, I can't think of anything I would change.

What's the difference between Sync and MyTouch? I've never had anything but knobs and buttons before.

My commute of under 4 miles takes anywhere from 20 - 40 minutes due to traffic and number of lights. I spend most of the time stopped or stopping which is why my mpg is so abysmal. I almost never get to drive the GTO on the highway and it seems wasted in the stop and go traffic, so something a little more zippy and nimble might make the daily grind more enjoyable. Or maybe I'm kidding myself. Either way it feels like after 3 1/2 years it may be time for a change.

MyFordTouch version 2 (made by Microsoft) is in '12-'15 (I think) cars with the touch screen. My Fusion 2.0 Ecoboost has version 2. I have very few issues with it and absolutely love it.

Version 3 started with the '16 model year I believe, and it is made by BlackBerry. Completely different system. A lot of people say it's an improvement.

The difference between Sync and MyFordTouch is simple. Sync comes on all cars except the base model. It allows Bluetooth connection to phones and voice activation. MyFordTouch is simply the name of the touchscreen systems with and without nav.

So, as I said above, I have a Fusion with the same motor found in the Focus ST. Granted, mine is coupled to a slushbox. But that motor is AWESOME in traffic. The midrange on that thing is incredible. If you're above 2.5k, you just smash the pedal down and GO, almost like an electric car.

I had an '06 GTO. Although I can't say I truly loved the car, that was more me than an actual issue with the car. I do still miss it sometimes. That interior was pretty solid. And comfy to just cruise down the highway (I got 30mpg on one road trip).

And turning radius shouldn't be a problem since you can just turn it with the back wheels! ;)

Besides the trunk (which was pretty pathetic), what practicality issues are you running into with the car?

Right, the FoST can run on regular unleaded, but I had the tune done, which requires premium.

If you want a stop light to stop light slingshot, the FoST is a barrel of laughs. The low end torque is awesome, it made me giggle every time I hit the gas...assuming the boost was ready to go. There would be times where I'd catch it flat footed.

In reply to Armitage:

Under 4 miles and takes 20-40 minutes. You need a bike or pair of running shoes. If there was a gym within .5 miles of work I'd be jogging to the gym, showering there, and then heading into work. That sounds like 267 in Tysons or the town of Reston.

My son had one. All of the pluses mentioned above. I thought it was a really nice car. He sold it because it became his wife's daily and there was no reason to be making that big of a car/insurance payments on something she was not getting the benefit from.

Armitage wrote: My commute of under 4 miles takes anywhere from 20 - 40 minutes due to traffic and number of lights. I spend most of the time stopped or stopping which is why my mpg is so abysmal.

Dear Lord, my 25 mile trip takes less time than that! I'm not sure any car would be fun for your commute. I'd be looking into ways to decrease that commute time. Maybe 2 wheeled stuff? Barring that, I'd go for comfort and fuel efficiency over sportiness. Something like a hybrid or full electric car is perfect for a duty cycle like that, but probably won't register very high on the smile-o-meter. I feel like anything "sporty" will just feel too constrained and full of unmet potential in gridlocked traffic.

I've dailied one since November, 2012, and put ~38k on it, including driving it across the country and back.

I think the biggest selling point on the ST is similar to reasons for having a WRX/STI: while it has fantastic handling and is more fun than reasonable, it is still fully functional as a Focus. You don't miss out on any of the practicality of the normal car, but you get all of the ST goodies. It isn't difficult to drive, the suspension is stiff but not unreasonable to live with, etc.

The one thing that some people don't like, as mentioned, are the seats. Either they work for you or they don't. I love them, but I have super narrow shoulders. One of my friends calls "not shotgun" when we're headed for the car because his shoulders don't fit in the passenger seat.

In reply to Sky_Render:

Thanks again for the info, good to know.

In reply to BA5:

Practicality issues include access to the back seats, small trunk, poor fuel mileage since I only ever use it for commuting, too much power for a commute in heavy traffic where the highest speed limit is 35 -- I almost never get to stretch its legs. The car has been completely trouble free and makes great noises and runs like a raped ape but I've never loved it either.

In reply to captdownshift:

You nailed it -- I commute to Reston on surface roads :)

In reply to everyone:

Thanks for the feedback guys, I appreciate the info! It sounds like a surprising number of folks here have or have had one of these.

My co-worker has one. Really likes it, it can suffer a bit from a lack of limited slip as the traction control can only do so much.

He's only had issues with a couple of coil packs and between his wife and kids, he can't keep it clean and straight (its a black car and they've all managed to run something into it and damage a panel).

We've become the informal "Focus Racing Team" at work:

I'm probably one of the few that went for a test drive and was not impressed. I was going to buy a new ST1 for daily driving and lots of autocross duty. In brief I felt that the visibility was horrible while driving and I could not imagine trying to autocross the car. I felt that the A-pillars were huge and I was constantly moving my head back and forth looking around them to turn. Also, I felt that the rearview mirror was right in my line of site and was also finding myself looking around it to drive. Lane changes were difficult and I felt it had a lot of blind spots period. I had every intention of buying one that day too. I also did not want the ST3 due to the seats/sunroof and extra weight/things to malfunction and or outdate in the future.