Focus ST TDCI

[Roboticarm]

As the "car guy" in my friendship group I often get asked for my views on cars, however I've been asked about one I know very little about, a 2016 / 2017 Ford focus 2.0 TDCI ST

I'd ways thought the STs were all petrol, from what I can tell the diesel is full ST spec bar the engine?

Anything to be aware of when viewing / buying, do they handle higher miles well, any common faults etc

Any info greatly appreciated

[ZX10R NIN]

They're a very good car & it doesn't have the terrible wet belt design.

They say you should change it every 10 years or 125k but most say 7 years or 80k.

[Roboticarm]

That's great news, googling ford and reliability usually results stories about ecoboom and wet belts so good to know these are safe.

Other than the usual advice of check for crash damage, avoid the modified ones, is there anything in particular to be looking out for on these ?

[ZX10R NIN]

In a word no, do all the usual checks like you would on any car.

[RTaylor2208]

I had a 2015 ST2 TDCI on a 3 year lease a few years back, at the time they were a bargain on a lease at approx. £200 per month.

I really liked the one we had, fast enough, didn't sound awful for a diesel, pretty economical and totally fault free over 60k miles.

[Time4another]

All the looks with the economy of the diesel lump.

[resolve10]

I had one from new in 2017 and absolutely loved it. 50mpg all day and decent performance paired with a very good chassis. No reliability issues in 30k miles.

The best execution of fake engine sound I've ever heard in a car too - they managed to make it just loud enough to drown out the diesel notes but not so intrusive that it would irritate.

I think the styling has aged very well considering the design is coming up to a decade old. The original (2011?) Mk3 Focus never looked quite right to me and dated almost immediately, but the 2015 facelift (which all ST TDCi models are) was pretty comprehensive and still looks fresh to me.

The specs vary on these quite a lot so be careful if there's certain features that are non-negotiable for your friend. ST1 is your base model (which seem to be quite rare). ST2 has more features and ST3 is the top spec model. Mine was an ST3 and had things like electric heated leather seats, xenon headlights, heated windscreen etc, so worth seeking out an ST3 if you can find one in budget.

[Supercell]

I've come across a few 2.0 TDCi engines of that age with head gasket failure so check for coolant loss

[Nyloc20]

We’ve owned our 18 plate Focus ST3 diesel from new, it’s one of the last of the old shape. Now on 63k, regularly serviced and very reliable. We’ve been all over Europe and UK in it, it was my wife’s daily driver until she retired a couple of years ago. I’ve been thinking of changing for a late SLK for Euro trips but it’s hard to let go when we’ve had it from new and it’s been so good.

[Roboticarm]

Thanks all, sounds like one of those rare occasions when "just the standard checks" will actually suffice

Really appreciate your help

[Roboticarm]

Two good options have come up
One is a 17 plate
One is a 15 plate

Both in great condition but full service history, price is pretty much the same, the newer one has 10k more miles than the older one

Would you prioritise age or mileage ?

[resolve10]

Roboticarm said:

Two good options have come up
One is a 17 plate
One is a 15 plate

Both in great condition but full service history, price is pretty much the same, the newer one has 10k more miles than the older one

Would you prioritise age or mileage ?

Definitely the newer one assuming all else equal - sound like the 15 plate is possibly overpriced.

Another thing I forgot to mention is early mk3.5's got the Sync 2 infotainment system which is by all accounts a bit rubbish (not used it personally). My 17 plate was one of the early Sync 3 cars and is a much better system, so another reason to go for the newer car.

[ZX10R NIN]

The 2017 would be my pick as it'll have some worthwhile updates.

[Zetec-S]

resolve10 said:

Another thing I forgot to mention is early mk3.5's got the Sync 2 infotainment system which is by all accounts a bit rubbish (not used it personally). My 17 plate was one of the early Sync 3 cars and is a much better system, so another reason to go for the newer car.

Agreed, I've had a Mk3 with Sync 2 and it was pretty crap compared to the Sync 3 in my current ST.

[Nyloc20]

I’d definitely go for the newer one. We had a 14 plate Stealth ST3 before our 18 plate one and I didn’t notice much difference with the electronic stuff to be honest. I’m an old git, we even specced our current one with a CD player!

[GTEYE]

I had an “18” plate one from new and absolutely loved it. It managed to avoid the horrific torque steer of the petrol one.

In the 30k miles I ran it, was economical, quick enough, sounded decent (a bit 5 pot in fakery) and reliable. I still miss it now.

[Roboticarm]

Thanks all for your input
The feedback is so glowing that I've decided to get myself one.
My friend isn't ready to push the button just yet so I've put a deposit on the 17 plate myself.

I was in need of a 5 door car soon and whilst this is about twice the budget I had in mind I've decided life's too short so treating myself