Ford Focus Buyer's Guide Issue?

Yeah, I found it. Pics are slow but coming...

Feb 2010, "Best of the Year" Red white and blue Fiesta on the cover.

Mitchell wrote: 2004 appears to be the sweet spot; last year of the first gen, and first year of national 2.3 Duratec availability. I believe the member Hal has a supercharged Furatec model.

Mine is a 2001 which is a 2.0L Zetec which was the standard engine thru 2004. The 2.3 is a Duratec which first became available in 2003 in the "green states" (California and New England states) as a PZEV engine. It became available in 2004 in the rest country as an optional engine. IIRC, in 2005 the standard engine became the 2.0L Duratec with the 2.3 only available in the ST model which was a 4dr Sedan. That continued thru 2007. In 2008 the 2.0L Duratec became the only engine available in a Focus until the new ST in 2013.

I have crewed for guys who have raced an SVT and a 2003 2.3L hatch and IMO, the best bargain in a used Focus is the 2005-2007 ST sedan. All of them had the 2.3L with a 5-speed. and that 5-speed had slightly better gear ratios than earlier transmissions. And the 2.3L does not have the "finicky bits" (variable intake runners and variable valve timing) that could be a PITA on the SVT.

Does anybody know offhand if the Mazda 2.3 and the Ford 2.3 are the same?

I've been debating getting another Mazda3 or a Focus of some sort.

My dad jumped in the ST when he was still working at the dealerships and he seemed pretty expressed. He isn't a car guy either.

My '08 SE averages 30 mpg.

When I was shopping for mine the few '05+ ST's I found seemed to command a premium, probably because they were at dealers and the ST was the highest end Focus you could get short of the SVT.

The 2.3 ZX3's are more sleepers and priced accordingly. Too bad you couldn't get the 2.3 5-spd combo in a wagon.... I'd be driving one if you could.

Now I want one...

Pardon my bias, but I just can't get into the aesthetics of the ST. The coupes just appear to have too high of a CG... like a gasser or something. To be fair, I don't like the proportions much of the 5-door Foci either.

To me, the European Package is about the classiest looking hot hatch available in the States. Especially in Garish Orange or whatever it's called:

J308 wrote: Yeah, I found it. Pics are slow but coming... Dec 2010, "Best of the Year" Red white and blue Fiesta on the cover.

correction... feb 2010... in the market for a new sub $3k car and the focii is on the short list

In reply to donalson:

Er... Right you are. I was out of it. At least I included the cover pic so it could be found easily. And the model changes in case he couldn't dig it out.

Brett_Murphy wrote: Does anybody know offhand if the Mazda 2.3 and the Ford 2.3 are the same? I've been debating getting another Mazda3 or a Focus of some sort.

The MZR (Mazda's) and the Duratec (Ford's) are basically the same. They will bolt in where the other has been. There are some with variable somethin' er other that mess up the easy swap part of it though. Don't remember the specifics though...

Mitchell wrote: Pardon my bias, but I just can't get into the aesthetics of the ST. The coupes just appear to have too high of a CG... like a gasser or something. To be fair, I don't like the proportions much of the 5-door Foci either. To me, the European Package is about the classiest looking hot hatch available in the States. Especially in Garish Orange or whatever it's called:

Just beware of the faded paint issue with all (to my knowledge) and the Competition Orange painted vehicles - just the Cobra and the Focus I believe. Something about the flexible additive used in the paint on the bumper covers causes it to fade pretty quickly, and is quite noticable compared to the rest of the vehicle.

I actually test drove that car's twin before I got my ZX3 but it was just outside of my price range, needed a brake job, and had a fairly bad case of the paint fade going on.

Man am I glad I just bought two focussss(sp?) oh wait foci yeah thats it, off copart yesterday, or I'd be searching the net for some after rading this thread Both are sedans, #1 is an 04' with the 2.3 and a 5spd and the keeper. #2 is an 01 with 2.0 ad auto, aka the parts donor. Both cars were had for $1100 out the door I cant wait to get the 04' on the road, with a few grm type improvements, such as a DIY cold air intake and smoother intake tube, and a cat back exhaust. Then a rear wing delete, home depot front chin spoiler, and the ford svt suspension kit, its gonna be a fun Daily appliance. My last focus was an 03' zx5 with a 2.0 autotragic and had 149,000 on the clock. Ran it for a year or so and never had a bit of trouble with any of it. Fantastic little cars, and drive way nicer than you would think. Very competent driving manors, quite, and lively without being nervous. I drove mine back from DC stright through. About a 4+ish hour ride and felt better than when I got there. The trip down was in my 94 miata and I was very glad to be driving home in the focus. Great now I want to go work on mine. And its 30 degrees and sleeting outside. Time to bundle up!

How the heck did you get two cars from Copart for $1100? Do you have a license?

J308 wrote: In reply to donalson: Er... Right you are. I was out of it. At least I included the cover pic so it could be found easily. And the model changes in case he couldn't dig it out.

lol that is exactly what I did... flipped though the covers and found it :)

so quick question... for a family beater that will replace the '91 excort LX (1.9L pos ford engine)

should I worry about which engine I get?... i'm sure the higher output 130hp one would be much more fun... but this will be driven primary by my wife...

donalson wrote: so quick question... for a family beater that will replace the '91 excort LX (1.9L pos ford engine) should I worry about which engine I get?... i'm sure the higher output 130hp one would be much more fun... but this will be driven primary by my wife...

The duratec! The duratec had a timing chain (vs the belt) and got better mpg compared to the zetec, and of course more horses

A 2000 ZX3 has been in my family since it was new, and is now my girlfriend's DD with about 180k on it, rapidly climbing - she commutes 300-400mi a week, so I'd guess we put on roughly 2k per month. Throughout its life it has been subjected to everything from regular maintenance to outright neglect, and I can count on one finger the instances its broken enough to need a tow: when the fuel pump died at about 130k. Extremely reliable car, perfect size for two people with hobbies/stuff, plenty of fun to chuck around. I put the full SVT suspension on it maybe 5 years ago, which transformed the thing from econobox to a legitimately proper-handling FWD car. Time for new shocks, now that I think about it...

A couple years ago we bought my buddy's '04 SVT with about 60k on it. It was pretty much the perfect car for our tastes and needs. Except when the timing belt idler pulley grenaded at speed, borking all the valves when the cams jumped time. About $4k later we had a car as good as new, but unfortunately that came with no guarantee that the pulleys wouldn't do the same thing again in about 60k miles. It's not a common failure, but it's far form unheard of, and it's basically gambling with $4k. Too rich for our blood, so we sold it off. Damn shame, too. Great car aside from the interference head unique to the SVT motor.

It's entirely likely that we'll wind up with a 2.3 ZX3 5spd with the SVT suspension. That's just about an ideal DD for my money. The SVT suspension is a fantastic setup for the real world and there's plenty of power to be had from the Duratec, if that's your bag.

Some thoughts from my shopping. A few things with the Vin: a) if you see a Z in the Vin that means the 2.3L duratec b) 3FAH indicates side airbags, 3FAF so side airbags.

Traction control is not fully defeatable in the cars that have it. Personally I looked for a SVT without it. I think some of later Foci bundled traction control with ABS. Winter package = traction control.

This would be my build if I had time and know how - 2005 - 2007 ZX3 with a swapped duratec & transmision out of a Focus ST.

Brett_Murphy wrote: How the *heck* did you get two cars from Copart for $1100? Do you have a license?

No license. In Pa. you don't need anything but money to buy. It varies by state. You can check there website to see where you live and what you need it anything.

Does anyone know how hard it would be to swap a duratec w/trans into a zetec equipped car. I would have the entire duratec car so all wiring and computers etc. I am thinking about when the newest purchase gets rusty, finding a tired but clean southern car and swapping the running gear. Any thoughts experience?

Thanks

paulmpetrun wrote: Does anyone know how hard it would be to swap a duratec w/trans into a zetec equipped car. I would have the entire duratec car so all wiring and computers etc. I am thinking about when the newest purchase gets rusty, finding a tired but clean southern car and swapping the running gear. Any thoughts experience?

No personal experience. Won't be easy but if you have the entire Duratec car it has been done. IIRC you will need to use the instrument panel from the Duratec car along with all the other electrics.