As already mentioned rele interesting to read everyones opinions... it is annoying the cold start problem ( thankfully my megane conversion will rid that issue ) but for the sake of five minutes of annoyance in the morning, the Clio rele does make up for itself, the cars are amazing! handling amazing! not the best to run costs wise maybe but surely that was to be expected? from my experience off Fiesta St's and Corsa Vxr's they're all very similar to run! as for your choice of Focus St's... hmmm having had 5 of them i can safely say you will love it! as for reliability its very good, cambelt every 100000 miles or 10 years! only issue i have ever came across is knackered MAF sensor and Oil filter diaphram housing can fail... not a major cost! and the St is very tunable!
Enjoy, and good luck with the future sale.
Mark,