Future Classics

FORD FOCUS

Description

The Focus was a major step forward from the Escort for Ford's mid sized model when it was released and it is now on its third incarnation. The ST and RS represent the warmed up models. The RS received many a shining review.

The Mk1 Focus RS and Mk2 ST2 offer similar power and performance.
Mk1 RS 2.0 litre, 215bhp, 0-60 6.2 seconds
Mk2 ST 2.5 litre, 221bhp, 0-60 6.5 seconds

Expect to pay about £1200 for a clean high miler and £2500+ for an excellent condition low miler (50k) (Feb 2016)

Prices: October 2016
A good Mk1 RS with 60k miles £13k
A good Mk2 ST with 60k miles £5k

Check out our features page for a full comparison of these two cars, link below

Headline stats

Maximum # of Registrations = 1462383
Latest # of Registrations = 1416883

Links

[Buyers Guide] Focus Mk1 RS vs ST-2 
[Reviews] Focus ST170 test drive review 
[Buyers Guide] Selling our ST170 

Our Verdict

The original Focus was introduced in 1998 and was acclaimed as a huge step forward from the last incarnation of the Escort range, which had been much derided by both the press and public alike. The Ford engineers had pulled out all the stops with the new Focus, particularly with its distinctive angular exterior styling and the suspension design which were the two areas that had been most criticised on the previous Escort. The suspension was where the the greatest advances were made using a new design of multi-link rear suspension, marketed as Control Blade which offered strong body control, sharp and accurate steering regardless of the car's attitude, and an absorbent and quiet ride over bumps. And it showed, the new Focus got rave reviews and was praised for its excellent handling.

The ST170 was launched in 2002 and was Fords first attempt at warming up the Focus. Power went from a max of 127bhp to 170 and the car was fitted with Recaro seats,17inch alloys and a 6 speed gearbox. Interestingly the only mods to the suspension were slightly thicker anti roll bars, the handling of the standard cart being considered quite up to the job.

If you are thinking of buying a second hand ST170 with an eye on its future residuals then the two main factors to consider are overall condition and mileage. There are several things to look out for regarding condition, firstly there appears to be a lot of issues with misfires according to the forums and it seems that no one really knows where the problem lies but the finger of quilt does often end up pointing at the ECU, so would be worth avoiding cars with this problem. Another cause of concern is their desire to devour their clutches, we're not totally sure about this but we think the clutch was not upgraded for the St170 and is therefore more prone to wear due to the extra power. Certainly any car with more than 90k on it is going to be looking at a clutch change in the near future which is a £600-700 job.
One last thing to bear in mind with these cars is that although they were built in Germany they don't appear to have the longevity of say a BMW or even a VW, so a low mileage example is definitely the way to go.

Whats it like to drive? Well original reviews went mad about the the Focus's handling though were less impressed with it performance. There is talk that Ford deliberately used a heavy dual mass fly wheel to keep the performance far enough a way from the soon to be released Focus RS, certainly the engine does feel slow to rev and its not going to set the world on fire. That said, its a great B road drive, with fluid handling and performance enough to keep you entertained. The only thing to bear in mind is that, as we said earlier, these cars don't suffer high mileage well and the suspension will lose its edge on leggy cars as we have found out, see our video review.

So let us repeat. Low mileage is a must when buying a Focus ST170 as a Future Classic.

As for prices, not surprisingly there are plenty of dealers out there who are factoring in potential future gains in value to the the price they are asking now. At the other end of the scale there are a lot of cheap dogs out there which look tempting but are beyond redemption. A fair price that we saw for a decent mileage car with 73k and a full service history was £2200. I wouldn't pay more than £3k at present for anything with more than 50k miles. (Jan 2016)

So why do we think that the Focus ST170 is a Future classic? Well its not just us, lots of dealers are quoting “future classic” in their spiel and are pricing good cars to match, also, the price of the ST170 cars does seem to have bottomed out.
And remember, its a warmed up Ford and everyone loves a warmed up Ford. Not just that but the Focus mk1 was a defining point in Fords design history, representing a quantum leap forward from the soggy sixth generation Escort.
A mk3 RS Turbo recently sold at auction for £60k, think about that!

Expect to pay about £1200 for a clean high miler and £2500+ for an excellent condition low miler (50k) (Feb 2016)


https://youtu.be/r9naYyleif8
https://youtu.be/Ukd-nnBrtw8

Future Classics Rating

77%
Source: Wikipedia

Details of Derivatives

Total 229 items.
NameCalculated RatingMax RegLatest Reg
FOCUS 10004242
FOCUS 16V 804201192
FOCUS BLACK4720911102
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FOCUS C-MAX GHIA AUTO919401759
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FOCUS C-MAX GHIA S-A36515328
FOCUS C-MAX GHIA TDCI E4930632759
FOCUS C-MAX LX16101688517
FOCUS C-MAX LX D A143429
FOCUS C-MAX LX TDCI2341713175
FOCUS C-MAX LX TDCI (E4)1812561020
FOCUS C-MAX LX TDCI AUTO54264120
FOCUS C-MAX STUDIO1811392
FOCUS C-MAX STYLE511041040
FOCUS C-MAX STYLE D A077
FOCUS C-MAX STYLE TDCI E415275233
FOCUS C-MAX TREND5042
FOCUS C-MAX ULTIMA18145118
FOCUS C-MAX ULTIMA TD16171143
FOCUS C-MAX ZETEC163243227137
FOCUS C-MAX ZETEC AUTO1119281713
FOCUS C-MAX ZETEC D A26263193
FOCUS C-MAX ZETEC S-A43836472
FOCUS C-MAX ZETEC TDCI E41149214332
FOCUS CC-13294285
FOCUS CC-2426262509
FOCUS CC-2 AUTO8281258
FOCUS CC-2 D612991214
FOCUS CC-3435943438
FOCUS CC-3 AUTO3427413
FOCUS CC-3 D423632260
FOCUS CC142322
FOCUS CHIC3618981200
FOCUS CL513740118190
FOCUS CL TD DI69149164481
FOCUS CL TDI5540871825
FOCUS EBONY3128181935
FOCUS ECO TDCI START STOP9125113
FOCUS ECONETIC 109 TDCI1476
FOCUS ECONETIC 90 TDCI101917
FOCUS ECONETIC TD 1091717321428
FOCUS ECONETIC TD 902717641280
FOCUS ECONETIC TDCI 109191169936
FOCUS ECONETIC TDCI 9034696454
FOCUS EDGE81286911806
FOCUS EDGE AUTO08484
FOCUS EDGE DIESEL2835522549
FOCUS EDGE ECONETIC TDCI418421767
FOCUS EDGE TDCI17227187
FOCUS EDGE TDCI 115345354378
FOCUS EDGE TDCI 95641663891
FOCUS EDGE TURBO0710710
FOCUS ELECTRIC42322
FOCUS ELLE3118761284
FOCUS FLIGHT18112749242
FOCUS GHIA3811829072692
FOCUS GHIA 1139691624
FOCUS GHIA 116681337631
FOCUS GHIA AUTO181584812921
FOCUS GHIA D A27262189
FOCUS GHIA LPG358756
FOCUS GHIA T727012501
FOCUS GHIA TD DI6243671616
FOCUS GHIA TDCI253363525221
FOCUS GHIA TDCI CVT338355
FOCUS GHIA TDI62105943940
FOCUS INK2117151351
FOCUS LX37167438104685
FOCUS LX 1161036923314
FOCUS LX AUTO201829214491
FOCUS LX D A469450
FOCUS LX LPG55494219
FOCUS LX T1120591828
FOCUS LX TD DI66168235714
FOCUS LX TDCI343269421400
FOCUS LX TDCI 903163424348
FOCUS LX TDCI CVT482714
FOCUS LX TDI5565802905
FOCUS MILLENNIUM60940368
FOCUS MP33722281388
FOCUS RS056155615
FOCUS RS500278360
FOCUS S ZETEC07373
FOCUS SILVER4132031877
FOCUS SPORT52016819075
FOCUS SPORT 116921411940
FOCUS SPORT AUTO520101909
FOCUS SPORT D A284633
FOCUS SPORT S1111671032
FOCUS SPORT S D15903763
FOCUS SPORT T10896803
FOCUS SPORT TDCI132162418660
FOCUS SPORT TDCI 9020955755
FOCUS SPORT TDCI CVT044
FOCUS ST7640593
FOCUS ST TURBO3128123
FOCUS ST-1 TDCI0327327
FOCUS ST-1 TURBO09494
FOCUS ST-2896508852
FOCUS ST-2 TDCI023562356
FOCUS ST-2 TURBO051655165
FOCUS ST-3797709063
FOCUS ST-3 TDCI035173517
FOCUS ST-3 TURBO075417541
FOCUS ST17034126728267
FOCUS ST50011457404
FOCUS STUDIO231893115
FOCUS STUDIO TDCI2947363332
FOCUS STYLE074067406
FOCUS STYLE 100287198472
FOCUS STYLE 100 AUTO757475309
FOCUS STYLE 125443134123
FOCUS STYLE 125 FFV57773
FOCUS STYLE 806258240
FOCUS STYLE AUTO117311698
FOCUS STYLE DIESEL2177996102
FOCUS STYLE ECONETIC TDCI0398398
FOCUS STYLE FFV6145136
FOCUS STYLE TD 1092424191821
FOCUS STYLE TD 1152169615486
FOCUS STYLE TD 903146883218
FOCUS STYLE TDCI046524652
FOCUS STYLE TDCI 1092535572644
FOCUS STYLE TDCI 901665
FOCUS TD 902417301303
FOCUS TITANIUM02192621926
FOCUS TITANIUM 10021207611793
FOCUS TITANIUM 100 AUTO228042728
FOCUS TITANIUM 10536664
FOCUS TITANIUM 1138278254
FOCUS TITANIUM 116634483231
FOCUS TITANIUM 12501098810941
FOCUS TITANIUM 125 AUTO236423545
FOCUS TITANIUM 125 FFV123228
FOCUS TITANIUM 145218931842
FOCUS TITANIUM 145 AUTO416241548
FOCUS TITANIUM AUTO085868586
FOCUS TITANIUM D A248766
FOCUS TITANIUM ECONETIC TDCI510541001
FOCUS TITANIUM NAV ECON TDCI213921363
FOCUS TITANIUM NAV TDCI AUTO0208207
FOCUS TITANIUM NAVIGATOR AUTO036953667
FOCUS TITANIUM NAVIGATOR TDCI090569056
FOCUS TITANIUM NAVIGATOR TURBO056635626
FOCUS TITANIUM T820181837
FOCUS TITANIUM TD 1091525842183
FOCUS TITANIUM TD 110 A114237
FOCUS TITANIUM TD 110 AUTO75248
FOCUS TITANIUM TD 1151053574785
FOCUS TITANIUM TD 136452575040
FOCUS TITANIUM TD 136 A3601581
FOCUS TITANIUM TD 136 AUTO5703665
FOCUS TITANIUM TDCI04089040890
FOCUS TITANIUM TDCI 107811921091
FOCUS TITANIUM TDCI 109561445797
FOCUS TITANIUM TDCI AUTO014101410
FOCUS TITANIUM TDCI CVT3396
FOCUS TITANIUM TURBO11187611696
FOCUS TITANIUM X041204120
FOCUS TITANIUM X AUTO0555555
FOCUS TITANIUM X TDCI01554915549
FOCUS TITANIUM X TDCI AUTO023222322
FOCUS TITANIUM X TURBO063596359
FOCUS ZETEC34230696150920
FOCUS ZETEC 10025881557381
FOCUS ZETEC 100 AUTO21099610681
FOCUS ZETEC 10501967719612
FOCUS ZETEC 11618127104
FOCUS ZETEC 12512833527944
FOCUS ZETEC 125 AUTO193799258
FOCUS ZETEC 125 FFV115347
FOCUS ZETEC 1457210194
FOCUS ZETEC AUTO32847727346
FOCUS ZETEC CLIM TDCI CVT27118
FOCUS ZETEC CLIMATE76024255721
FOCUS ZETEC CLIMATE 11671326812327
FOCUS ZETEC CLIMATE AUTO71301612005
FOCUS ZETEC CLIMATE D A31226155
FOCUS ZETEC CLIMATE T885637808
FOCUS ZETEC CLIMATE TDCI182763622659
FOCUS ZETEC COLLECTION5834271417
FOCUS ZETEC ECONETIC TDCI233433251
FOCUS ZETEC LPG40247148
FOCUS ZETEC NAV ECONETIC TDCI211281098
FOCUS ZETEC NAVIGATOR310951059
FOCUS ZETEC NAVIGATOR AUTO212121179
FOCUS ZETEC NAVIGATOR TDCI066266626
FOCUS ZETEC NAVIGATOR TURBO058175808
FOCUS ZETEC S060446044
FOCUS ZETEC S 115344604306
FOCUS ZETEC S 115 TDCI9833754
FOCUS ZETEC S 125327722685
FOCUS ZETEC S 136 TDCI6756705
FOCUS ZETEC S 136TDCI S-A69488
FOCUS ZETEC S 1453283273
FOCUS ZETEC S AUTO010671067
FOCUS ZETEC S TDCI01713517135
FOCUS ZETEC S TDCI 109721321979
FOCUS ZETEC S TDCI 13483532
FOCUS ZETEC S TDCI 134 SA022
FOCUS ZETEC S TDCI AUTO0328328
FOCUS ZETEC S TURBO064396423
FOCUS ZETEC T12867760
FOCUS ZETEC TD 1091873425952
FOCUS ZETEC TD 110 AUTO78175
FOCUS ZETEC TD 11513105149096
FOCUS ZETEC TD 136512341161
FOCUS ZETEC TD 136 AUTO7420387
FOCUS ZETEC TD DI63155865615
FOCUS ZETEC TDCI07552975529
FOCUS ZETEC TDCI CVT022
FOCUS ZETEC TDCI 10992013918189
FOCUS ZETEC TDCI AUTO0902902
FOCUS ZETEC TDI45993537
FOCUS ZETEC TURBO03772737427
FOCUS ZINC2054
FOCUS ST-2 TDCI AUTO000
FOCUS ST-3 TDCI AUTO05959
FOCUS ST-LINE000
FOCUS ST-LINE AUTO000
FOCUS ST-LINE TDCI000
FOCUS ST-LINE TDCI AUTO000
FOCUS STYLE TDCI AUTO04242
FOCUS ZETEC S BLACK ED TDCI07070
FOCUS ZETEC S BLACK EDITION0239239
FOCUS ZETEC S RED EDITION0275275
FOCUS ZETEC S RED EDITION TDCI08282
FOCUS ZETEC TDCI CVT022