Ford Focus ST MK2 (Stage 1) Review | Cheap entry into 5 pot ownership! 

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A very fair and straight-up, honest review. Proud to be a subscriber of his super underrated channel

First time to come across your content. I own a ST225 and think you've done a great job in this review..covered everything,good fly by/sound clips with v.good info 👌

A new drop, been waiting one for ages and on a car I was once considering. Nice one

Loving the new style of videos, it's giving me Throttle house vibes, can't wait for the next drop!

Had a lot of torque steer on my Mondeo 2.5L V6 ghia x.The car shredded its front tyres,I had it for 13 years and loved it.Electric everything and lovely to drive.

Fair review mate. My Mk2 Mondeo ST24 had electric everything and run 175bhp, which was good for a large 90s saloon. Loved that car for the 5 years I had it. Was looking at getting the ST MK2 purely for another Duratec engine car and they sound Nice. Switched over tho to a Mk5 Astra VXR and added a few mods last couple of years really gr8 car had it 4+ years now - Always good to have a little Rip with the ST Gang 🔥💣💥

Mines 343bhp,proper sabre tuned car. I’ve practically got rid of the torque steer by fitting a wavetrac LSD and the powerflex anti lift kit. Also revs to 7300 instead of the standard 6500. But a lot a money in to building it but it’s sick👌🏻

Excellent and honest review. I have black one at stage1 and it's 3 doors (imho 3 doors are sexiest). The main reason why I bought it is the beautiful sound of Volvo 5 pot, I absolutely adore it. 2nd reason is handling through the corners. Thanks for this review. Wish you luck from Croatia. Cheers.

I’d love to get one as a second car if insurance won’t be too insane. The sound alone is worth it for me.

Nice video, one day I want to own one. Got the fiesta st500 atm

Great review , however if you want something understated and with awd get an S60R this was the car where the RS mk2 engine was derived from . 300bhp with old school turbo lag from a sleeping arm chair 👌🏻

Very late to these comments. But as an owner of ST225 2010 facelift, i can tell you these are extremely fun cars to drive. I think you gave a perfect review of the true beauty and beast of these cars. One thing i could add to this, is telling whether its mapped. The centre boost gauge is the main indicator as to if its mapped - if stock, the boost gauge will hit halfway, blip every so slightly over, and then hold at 50% the entire way through the gear to 5k until it starts to drop off. However when mapped, it will stay all the way at the top of the boost gauge when on full chat at any RPM. One thing to consider for anyone who has watched this and is considering buying one ;)

you can get the rear electric windows fitted by using the 5 door titanium set up all the wiring is apparently there

Have a black one with rs wing and white defuser , and she runs at 245hp 336nm and let me tell you she is a beast monstrous 5 cylinder .0-60mph 5.7 seconds. 1st 4000rpm 2nd 4500rpm and 3 rd 5200rpm.

I've got an st2 5 door in performance bkue, had a few bits from mountune. Fuel isn't as bad as that, my average on the dash is 21mpg, such a fun car to drive.

Which exhaust mods does this car have please? Looks like standard exhaust tips but it's definitely louder than stock exhaust and there's more burbles but not over the top like a pop and bang map. I really like the sound and volume. Regarding fuel economy, I'm getting 15 mpg on a series of short journeys (2-3 miles max). Mixed driving I got 23 mpg.

My mk2 st hits 120mph in fourth it's 320bhp but it's the facelift so not sure if they changed the gear ratios compared to the 05-07 preface lift. I always though my red one couldn't reach that speed in 4th .

Just about to buy one and plan on getting it mapped and now upgrading the brakes 🤣 any suggestions for exhaust upgrades or does it not need it? (Mostly for the soundtrack)

That noise is cool when its booted

That's down to the map mine avgs 25 rising to 30 on longer drives

Ofc if it’s mapped it will be 20mpg or below. Stock it should not drop below 26mpg when hoofing around. Steady motorway speeds gets you 40mpg if you stay off boost - so will be economical if you need it to be on a long run.

Upload more akh!!! Bring back the r32 content too 😅

Been a minute, welcome back

The MPG is horrendous, I had a stage 2 Orange one and was around 15-22mpg, the RS is even worse, some guys in RSOC who had RS with MP375 tune were getting 5-10mpg, but both cars put a smile on your face, so I didn't care and wasn't a daily. Hoping to get another one soon 🙂.

Owned a 56 plate st 225 a couple of years back but just didnt get on with it, sold it and bought a mk6 fez st which was much more fun until it went pop 😬😔

for sure mapped, doesn't sound like that from factory even with a nicer exhaust

Great review i own one same as the one you are test driving its a fun car to drive 👍 its s--t on petrol but you don't buy them to be good on petrol lol 😂

If you're after a 5 pot, would you consider a Focus ST to satisfy your desire? Let me know below! If you liked this video, make sure you like, comment, share and subscribe! Check out some of our other uploads too! 🖤 Please do checkout my Instagram if you want to see more behind the scenes content: instagram.com/car.nitty?

Yea theres something very wrong with that MPG figure. It should be around 20mpg even with a lot of stop/start driving. The brakes are actually good on them but you need uprated pads, fluid and braided hoses if you want to do fast road driving. The braking and torque steer (and steering feel) issues would be far better if this car was on something other than cheap shite chinese tyres, ive never understood why people drive performance cars and run them on budget crap tyres? Even a mid range tyre like a Kumho or Hankook would be so much better altogether. Also regarding the lack of interior features like rear electric windows...these cars were meant to be cheap and affordable, im sure if you checked youd find the STs were cheaper than mk5 gtis at the time, possibly even the ST3s, electric rear windows and even built-in window blinds could be optioned in when buying the 5 doors. Regarding the RPM/power band...they run out of puff around 5500 rpm because the standard turbo is tiny on them, with a st hybrid or bigger they can be opened right up, mine can rev to 7500rpm with no issues on a st hybrid turbo setup.

I’d have an Astra vxr or focus st over a mk5 gti tbh

If your boost gauge is touching the red mark then it’s tuned if it’s somewhere close to the centre then it’s not , also compared this to the mk5 gti is a disgrace to the st 🫠 the st is way ahead .

Hope you kept the speed limit the elite are watching.

Mpg are really bad on these mk2. St. I knew a divery driver who was useing one. 😂😂😂😂 but mpg is average 15 to 18mpg. Think motorway 32mpg . My megane 225 would do 28mpg and 43mpg long run.

Megane sport astra vxr and the gti can't even compare with the st

They're great until you have to do cambelt and water pump, clutch and new tyres at the same time. 💸 💸💸💸💸💸💸💸💸💸

Totally horrendous on fuel i had a audi 3.2quattro that did miles better mpg. Plant your foot and watch the needle drop

You not a very driver sorry

This generation focus stood the test of time, where the gti and opel fell out