Howdy Trend Setters

I have an 18 month old Mazda 2 hatch and am quite happy with it.

At the time of buying, it was a toss up between this and the Fiesta.

Ended up going with the Mazda as the waiting list for the Fiesta at that

stage was 4 months and we needed some wheels.

So anyway, was going past the Ford dealership and decided to

pop in for a look. Was interested in the 1.6 Fiesta Sport for 724 000 THB.

Whilst in there, I saw the A/N Focus. I know a lot has been written

and said about the top of the range model MRO initially advised about

which was reduced to 999 999 THB.I haven't read or seen much info

about the Focus Sport though.

The build quality seems very good but the interior is very dated.

They offered me 450 000 Baht for the Mazda on both the Fiesta and

Focus. Advised prices have dropped since the new tax rebate was introduced.

The new price was 640 000 and it's only done 34 000 k's so was a little

disappointed with the offer.

To be honest, I would've thought that they would be doing a better deal

on the Focus seeing as the new models have been released. Or has the

Focus already been discountede to 849 000?

Was wondering if anyone have one of these or have test driven one?

If I was offered a better deal on the Focus, I would've been sorely

tempted but am thinking if I do trade, I might as well go for the Fiesta.

Then again, it might be a better idea to hang onto the Mazda for 1 more

year as I don't think it will drop much more in a years time.

Any advise/thoughs appreciated.

Regards

Will

Main advise: don't trade in at the dealer but sell to one of the second hand shops. The dealer would do the same, so you might as well collect his profit margin on this, quite often around 40,000 Baht.

I went through a similar process when I was considering changing the wife's 2008 City for a Fiesta 1.6 Sport Ultimate at 760,000 THB. It was a bit small and we considered the Focus Sport+. In the end we went to the motor show and were really impressed by the new Focus Sport which launches in August. We placed an order for the sport at 969,000 THB. The new model is so much better, check out the Ford website but the spec includes; new 170 bhp engine, 6 speed dual clutch auto, bluetooth, USB etc etc.

Economically speaking, your car has taken the biggest hit in terms of depreciation already. First year tends to drop about 20% here in Thailand for small Japanese cars. Subsequent year's depreciation is much slower - about 10% a year. My advice therefore would be to at least see out its warrantee. Once it is three or four years old, consider selling it then - privately.

Thanks for all of the advice so far gang.

Will take it on board.

Regards

Will

I went through a similar process when I was considering changing the wife's 2008 City for a Fiesta 1.6 Sport Ultimate at 760,000 THB. It was a bit small and we considered the Focus Sport+. In the end we went to the motor show and were really impressed by the new Focus Sport which launches in August. We placed an order for the sport at 969,000 THB. The new model is so much better, check out the Ford website but the spec includes; new 170 bhp engine, 6 speed dual clutch auto, bluetooth, USB etc etc.

Hi,

I can't see the Focus Sport on the Thai Ford website.

Is this the same as the Focus ST?

If so, Google shows some very interesting images!

Thx!

I went through a similar process when I was considering changing the wife's 2008 City for a Fiesta 1.6 Sport Ultimate at 760,000 THB. It was a bit small and we considered the Focus Sport+. In the end we went to the motor show and were really impressed by the new Focus Sport which launches in August. We placed an order for the sport at 969,000 THB. The new model is so much better, check out the Ford website but the spec includes; new 170 bhp engine, 6 speed dual clutch auto, bluetooth, USB etc etc.

Hi,

I can't see the Focus Sport on the Thai Ford website.

Is this the same as the Focus ST?

If so, Google shows some very interesting images!

Thx!

All Sport badged Fords to date in Thailand have been cosmetically sporty and not much else.

I've driven the Focus ST in the UK and it is quite a beast. Can't see it being sold here in a month of Sunday's.