Ford Focus Hatchback (1998 - 2004) 2.0 ST170 5d (2003/03) Owner Review
Want to know everything there is to know about this car?
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Summary
What does this car say about you?
What do your friends / family / neighbours think of the car?
Like the performance and the space, and the looks
Would you buy this car again and why?
I would consider the new Focus ST - better seats, more power and those lovely turbo gauges ;-)
What are you likely to buy next?
Focus ST, Golf GTI or maybe Civic Type-R
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Buying experience
Type of dealer you bought from?
Franchise
Did you buy this car new?
No
What price did you pay?
£10,500
When did you buy the car?
February 2005
Did you get a good deal and why?
I thought the price was good seeing as the car was immaculate and only had 10k miles.
Is there any special reason why you bought this car?
Performance, Practicality, Good value for money compared Honda Civic Type-R and Seat Leon Cupra-R
What was the dealer like?
Petrol head who drove a Sierra Cosworth and was able to talk techie with me, so i liked him ;-)
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Driving it
What's it like to drive?
I drive down B roads every day to work so the handling gets tested everyday and its great. Had cheap front tyres on it when i bought it, replaced them with some continentals now and the handling is even better. Nice bit of low down torque around 2k rpm so you dont have to thrash it to get a bit of power, but when you do thrash it, the engine note sounds great. However, it could do with an extra 30-40bhp to get the most out of its chassis.
What's it like to park?
Turning circle is ok, no where near as bad as a friends Alfa 147 GTA.
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Living with it
Have you had any problems with the car?
Heated rear windscreen had to be replaced due garage removing an old garages sticker and peeled off some of the heater element. Had to have the throttle cable replaced under a recall due to vibrations coming through the accelator. Drivers side rear door has locked itself shut. Unable to open from inside or outside. Throttle started sticking so had to have throttle body cleaned out.
What's most practical about your car?
Good interior space, big boot when rear seats folded down, 5 drs so will be ok if the inevitable happens...
Favourite gadget, option or accessory?
Feature on alarm to open/close all windows with one button press on the remote
