Really considering getting an ST but 2 things that I am wondering about is the fuel economy and the ride quality.

No I understand that I'm not going to get the same fuel economy as the ZS but what am I likely to get in the real world?

The other thing that is worrying me is the hard ride quality. I understand that this means it handles really well but is it going to make longer trips uncomfortable and tiring and expensive?

What's your current average speed reading? Mine is now 34MPH and I get 44.1MPG on my ST.

Ride I think is brilliant for what the car is, seats are so comfy, go sit in one and you'll buy it just for the seats alone.

I do 70 miles a day and the home drive can take over an hour and I don't have a problem with it, fuel economy is brilliant.

My 1.0 100BHP only ever returned 48-49MPG on the same runs, ST heats up so much quicker which I think is where it wins, plus heated seats saves having to have the heater on full blast which makes a difference to economy in the winter.

Ultimately depends on how much PM it's going to cost you.

M135's are going pretty cheap at the moment.

I'm gettin average 43.9 out of mine. Best are long runs, at 70 I find this gets better, but I also do a lot of little country lanes and that makes the consumption suffer. As for comfort, again on our roads you can feel the suspension working but it smooths out very well at speed. You really need a test drive over the worst road you can find to see how hard it is.

Thanks for the replies. Matt what do you mean by M135's are going cheap?

The problem is a 20 min test drive isn't the same as a 2 hour motorway journey or living with it in general. Just worried I will get tired of it.

If your worried about fuel and comfort then the ST isn't for you.

Ignore the salesman in the backseat just go for a long drive, it's perfectly comfortable, whole reason I bought one is I found it better than the Zetec to drive on long journeys, especially on motorways as it doesn't flap about all the way down the road or tip over round corners ( because 3 wheels is a must )

135M's are currently £279PM on private lease.

whats a 135m?

Black man's winkle ;) :p

BMW 1 series with a 3.5 Bi-Turbo engine, rwd and 360BHP!

BMW 1 series with a 3.5 Bi-Turbo engine, rwd and 360BHP!

3.0l, single turbo, 320PS. Its a great car as is, so no need to make it sound better...

No I understand that I'm not going to get the same fuel economy as the ZS but what am I likely to get in the real world?

In terms of real measured MPG (not just what the trip computer says) I'm getting around 35 MPG mainly from commuting to work, just 15 miles a day but a mix of different types of roads. On long trips I get about 41 MPG. That's with Shell V-Power, but I've not put any other fuel in it so I wouldn't know if that makes a difference. And I'm not trying to drive economically, but who buys a car like this and drives economically?

The other thing that is worrying me is the hard ride quality. I understand that this means it handles really well but is it going to make longer trips uncomfortable and tiring and expensive?

I actually find it really comfortable on long trips, I can drive for a few hours and get out with no aches at all. As others already mentioned this is probably due to the fantastic seats. Passengers sometimes complain though, but that's probably just because they're not used to a hard ride. It takes a very bad road to be uncomfortable.