2013 Ford Focus ST Long Term Road Test

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2013 Ford Focus ST Long Term Road Test

In just three months we've driven our long-term Ford Focus ST about 6,500 miles. During that time it has averaged 21.8 mpg.

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evodad

Wow that is low, looks like you guys are having a blast with that car. I average 22mpg in my evo rated at 19/25

pjm75

I'm getting 24.8 with my ST. But I'm rather heavy footed and drive rural back roads more than the interstate. Love it though.

seppoboy

That's appalling, I easily did 26 to 28 mpg with six-cylinder BMW and Audi ten years ago. A friend drives his 2011 or 2012 GTI really hard in the mountains and averages 25, with around 30 on long trips. A Mazdaspeed 3 locally does 24, driven by a hooligan. This ST is more like a dang Subaru WRX or STI in its thirst.

bassracerx

probably another vehicle that the EPA never tested just took ford at it's word and also ford probably only estimated. however it is still cold outside so in the spring i dont see 1 more mpg being hard to get.

ed124c

The ST is not in the category where gas mileage is a big factor. The ST is in a category of want-- not need. So who cares if the mileage numbers are a bit off? Just buy the car you want.

30 on the highway? I'll take it, thank you.

foxtrot685

Well I think the issue is that Ford labels this engine as EcoBoost and promises that these engines deliver the power of an engine with 2 more cylinders with the fuel economy of a smaller engine. 21.8MPG isn't very eco and while 252 HP is V6-like power, 21.8MPG is V6-like thirst.

lilwagon

My ST is returning between 25-26 mpg. Highway trips @ 70-80 MPH will achieve about 27 mpg.

I think what we're seeing with the Insideline folks is that multiple new-to-the-car drivers are playing and testing the ST's limits. This car gets lousy mileage when you press the fun button.

cotak

The wide summer tires don't help. My mazdaspeed 3 went from 3/4 of a tank per week to 1/2 after swapping for winter tires. Drove roughly the same way with both tires.

There is some efficiency gains from a turbo engine even when you demand from it the same power level as a regular engine. However, there is no magic formula and what you get out in power needs to go in as gas.

Is fuel efficiency important in this segment? I think yes. Sure not as much as the market for regular small cars but buyers of cars like the ST are still likely to be cost conscious. At some point it wouldn't surprise me if a future hot hatch is a hybrid.

kiotae1

I'm really not sure how you guys are getting that bad a gas mileage, but you're not alone from what I've read on the forums. There are plenty of us getting great, or at least the expected, mileage.

In my ST I easily get 23-26 around town and 30-34 at highway speeds (55-65) mph. Above 75, it drops off quickly (<30mpg), but that's expected.

These are calculated numbers, running 87oct winter gas.

My GTI required premium and returned similar, maybe slightly lower, numbers. My '11 WRX was horrific and only hit it's EPA hwy number of 26 if I kept it under 60, but over performed slightly in the city since I could usually keep it above 20mpg.

greenpony

Some of these new turbo DI motors seem to perform worse than EPA estimates (Focus, Optima) and some seem to perform as expected (Sonic, Regal). Still, the majority of it has to be in the way you (all of you) drive. I have one model year newer Optima turbo (same color too) and it is capable of beating its EPA highway estimate. You just need to have a light foot. Performance of a V6, economy of a 4-cyl, but not both at the same time. The same goes for the Focus ST: if you have a light foot, you'll get better mileage. And no, 70-80 mph cruises are NOT conducive of good economy. And forward is for upshift, backward for downshift. That is all.

fordson1

This is all relative. The gas mileage you're seeing for the Focus ST is since they got the car, not the month of January gas mileage figures you're seeing for the other LT cars. So that includes that initial track test, the track day against the FR-S that shredded the front tires so much they replaced them, various hooning, etc., not just month of January driving. So it got 18% lower than its EPA estimates (but really, EPA does not publish estimates for what mileage it will get with the throttle pinned...).

Take a look at the LT Prius C - just for the month of January (no testing, no beating, etc.) it got just over 41 mpg, against an EPA estimate of 50 mpg. In other words, about 18% low. But nobody's freaking out about that.

fordson1

This is all relative. The gas mileage you're seeing for the Focus ST is since they got the car, not the month of January gas mileage figures you're seeing for the other LT cars. So that includes that initial track test, the track day against the FR-S that shredded the front tires so much they replaced them, various hooning, etc., not just month of January driving. So it got 18% lower than its EPA estimates (but really, EPA does not publish estimates for what mileage it will get with the throttle pinned...).

Take a look at the LT Prius C - just for the month of January (no testing, no beating, etc.) it got just over 41 mpg, against an EPA estimate of 50 mpg. In other words, about 18% low. But nobody's freaking out about that.

duck87

Guys, don't forget that they had an autoX day as well as several editors "testing" the car out on twisty roads. Once they get it out of their system and go on some road trips, I expect the average to eek higher.

It IS pretty bad right now though =D

wyattf

I've got about 4500 miles on my '13 ST3 now and am consistently getting 24-ish in my daily drive (50-50 city-highway), even with my heavy foot, late shifting, and craving for boost. Admittedly, Florida is full of long, flat, straight roads, but speed limits are often 35-40mph in town and there's plenty of stop-and-go traffic (gotta love how light the clutch is!). That said, if I follow the shift indicator and make all the "flower pedals" grow, I get 27-28mpg, which is above the EPA combined rating.

BTW, I've never seen over 30mpg, even on the highway... of course, those long, flat, straight highways in Florida go on forever and no one does the speed limit... 25mpg @ 85mph is not bad in my book.