Format: bullet cues only, reference not read-aloud. Hosts riff from beats, never teleprompter the page.
Scored as: 2013-2018, 2.0 EcoBoost, 6MT (MMT6) · Total: 43/70 (PROPOSED, not ratified) · Target runtime: ~6:40, hard ceiling 7:00
Title (curiosity gap): "The Cheap Ford That Costs Six Thousand A Year"
Thumbnail word (emotion/verdict, zero overlap w/ title): "INSURANCE" + big 44 on the Board
Order: Deal -> Drive -> Upkeep -> Risk -> Daily -> Limit -> Mods -> Board -> Verdict

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Hook | One Sentence (~0:05)

1. "This might be a genuinely nice car to drive, and whether you should buy it comes down to one number that has nothing to do with driving."
2. "Nothing on this car can break in a way that ends it, and that still isn't enough."
3. "It costs ten grand to buy and six grand a year to keep. Do that maths out loud."

Recommend #1: it sets up the contradiction the whole video resolves. Cut straight to The Deal.

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1 · The Deal, reveal 6 (~0:50)

Beats

• $10,230 · KBB private party, Good, 120,000 mi · range $7,955 to $10,780
• It breaks our own band. $230 over the $10k ceiling
• Ramon kept it in on purpose. We score the overshoot rather than waive it - say that on camera, it's the honest move
• $40.6 per horsepower, against the Mazdaspeed3's $32.6, the NC Miata's $41.8 and the GTI Mk6's $45.4
• The two Fords land in completely different places: $2,430 more than the Fiesta ST for 55 more horsepower
• Do not quote the 2014 price. Our source gives $4,300 to $6,000 against $7,955 to $10,780 for a 2015. Not credible, tagged conflicting, off screen

B-roll: live cars.com search, 2013-18 under $12k · screen-record the grid at edit time
On screen: the $10,230 plate with a red line at $10,000 · Fiesta-vs-Focus price split · $/hp ladder
Reveal line cue: "Ten thousand two hundred and thirty dollars, and it doesn't fit... The Deal, a 6."

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2 · The Drive, reveal 6 (~0:40)

Beats

• 252 hp / 270 lb-ft at just 2,500 rpm · 3,223 lb [V] · 12.8 lb/hp · 0-60 5.9s
• 5.9s to 60, against the G37's 5.4 and the 350Z's 5.6
• Worth a caveat on camera: the Mazdaspeed3 has the better power-to-weight at 12.5 and a slower quoted 6.2s, from a different source. Treat the two as level on pace and don't sell the 0.3
• Nice detail: Ford rates the 252 hp on 93 octane. A best-fuel number, which matters in the next section
• 270 lb-ft through the front wheels with no mechanical limited-slip. That is the whole character of the car, good and bad

On screen: 0-60 ladder across the tier · "252 HP @ 93 OCTANE" stamp · torque-steer b-roll
Reveal line cue: "Five point nine to sixty through the front wheels, and a lot to put down... The Drive, a 6."

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3 · The Upkeep, reveal 4 (~1:05)

Beats (this is the segment that decides the video)

• ~$6,092/yr: $1,846 fuel · $3,516 insurance · $280 tires · $450 service
• Land the ratio first, it's the whole story: it costs $10,230 to buy and $6,092 a year to keep. That's 60% of the purchase price, every year
• $892 above the 350Z's $5,200
• Insurance is $3,516 and that is what does it

- MoneyGeek breaks out the St Hatchback 4d trim specifically at $293 a month
- 40% more than the Fiesta ST's $2,508, from the exact same table and the same driver profile
- 34.4% of the car's value, every year, against the 350Z's 34.1%
- the caveat: trim-level but not year-split, so a 2013 and a 2018 sit in the same number. Get a real quote before you believe our score

• The octane is a genuine three-way conflict, and we're showing our work:

- Edmunds says premium recommended · fueleconomy.gov lists that exact engine and gearbox as regular · Ford rates the power on 93
- We publish the premium figure, same rule we used on the NC Miata. The spread is $462 a year and it changes nothing: $5,861 at 87, $6,323 at 93, above $5,861 on all three

On screen: the $6,092 bar towering over the tier · $10,230 vs $6,092 side by side · MoneyGeek trim table with St Hatchback highlighted · three octane figures with the same verdict under each
Reveal line cue: "Sixty percent of the purchase price, every single year... The Upkeep, a 4."

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4 · The Risk, reveal 6 (~1:05)

Beats (this segment is the review, and it is the twist)

• Scope out loud first: 2013 to 2018
• Here's the twist: the failure list is benign. No catastrophic mode, no pressure-fed chain, no paper gasket, no ringland, no timing chain, no fuel pump
• The worst item is a motor mount. Rear/lower and passenger-side hydraulic, $300 to $600
• Near-universal - collapse reported at very low mileage - and you can find it from the passenger seat in ten seconds. Vibration at idle through the wheel, wheel hop under power
• The rest: MMT6 gearbox shift fork tabs and synchros (test every gear), and carbon buildup on the valves, which every direct-injection engine at 120k has
• That's it. That's the whole list. And the point of this segment is that it still doesn't save the car

THE ONE THING TO SAY OUT LOUD - THE RS HEAD GASKET

• Our own Focus RS page is scoped to "with verified head-gasket work, Program 17B32." That's real and documented, about the RS
• It does not transfer to the ST. 2.3 litre versus 2.0 litre, different engine, different programme, owners report the two are unrelated
• Our own cross-shop link makes a viewer assume it carries over. Correct it before they ask

THE MOUNT PATTERN - a segment, not a coincidence

• Mazdaspeed3: 280 lb-ft, open diff, factory rear mount collapses, wheel hop, first mod is the mount
• Focus ST: 270 lb-ft, open diff, factory rear mount collapses, wheel hop, first mod is the mount
• Two manufacturers, one identical failure, one identical piece of advice. Rubber mounts sized for an economy car, holding one that makes 270 lb-ft

PPI CHECKLIST - hold it on screen

1. Idle vibration through the wheel and the seat. This is the mount test and it takes ten seconds
2. Hard 1-2 and 2-3 shifts, listen for the bang or bump
3. All six gears and reverse for synchro wear
4. Borescope the intake valves
5. Confirm it is an ST and not an RS. Different car, different engine, different risks

YEAR-ONE COST

• Typical ~$2,600-3,500, which is 25-34% of the $10,230 buy-in
• Bigger than the Fiesta ST's bill, but every line in it is a known wear item rather than a gamble

On screen: the four-item risk list next to the G37's and Mazdaspeed3's · "NOT THE ST" over an RS head gasket photo · mount collapse b-roll · Mazdaspeed3/Focus split screen
Reveal line cue: "Nothing here can end it, and it still isn't enough... The Risk, a 7."

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5 · The Daily, reveal 6 (~0:30)

Beats

• Five doors, folding seats, the roomier of the two Fords by a clear margin. WRX and Mazdaspeed3 bracket, not the coupes
• What holds it back is the seats, which is a good beat: the Recaros are the car's signature and the fixed bolsters eat rear knee room an ordinary Focus has
• No CarPlay in these years

On screen: Recaro close-up, then the same shot from the back seat · boot against the WRX's
Reveal line cue: "Recaros up front, and they're why the back seat is tight... The Daily, a 7."

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6 · The Limit, reveal 6 (~0:40)

Beats

• SCCA H Street, and it carries the same asterisk as five other cars down here. From our tier brief, not a direct read
• 235/40R18 Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 from the factory. A 235-section factory tire
• ST-specific sport suspension, and the 2015 refresh brought new springs, stiffer dampers and recalibrated steering
• And then the catch: the differential is OPEN. No mechanical limited-slip at any trim
• Ford fits brake-based Torque Vectoring Control instead, which brakes the inside front wheel to mimic a diff
• Put it against the Civic Si, which has a proper helical limited-slip as standard for $2,470 less. That's the comparison that sets the score
• Heavy for a front-driver at 3,223 lb, and no instrumented grip or braking figure for the scored car

On screen: the 235-section tire next to the tier's others · "OPEN DIFF" over the TVC diagram · Civic Si helical LSD cutaway
Reveal line cue: "Wide rubber, and no diff to use it... The Limit, a 6."

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7 · The Mods, reveal 6 (~0:30)

Beats

• Elite aftermarket. Deep, mature, and the 2.0 EcoBoost responds very well to a flash
• The first mod that matters is the rear motor mount, not power. Same answer as the Mazdaspeed3, same reason
• `modsAccelerateFailure` = Partial. The mounts and the MMT6 are the constraints, so added torque goes straight into the two things already known to fail
• The line: the engine will take it, the chassis hardware won't
• No installed price sourced for a flash package, so we're not quoting a cost per 100 whp

On screen: mount on the parts bench in front of the tune screen · "ENGINE YES, HARDWARE NO" stamp
Reveal line cue: "Loads of power available, and the first thing you buy is a lump of rubber... The Mods, a 7."

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The Board + Verdict (~0:55)

Beats

• Total lands: 44 / 70, and it is a proposed score
• Above the GTI Mk6 and the Mazdaspeed3, level with each other at 43, and below the WRX at 45
• The Fiesta ST comparison is the close, and it's the cleanest one we have:

- same brand, same era, same idea, five points apart
- the Focus is quicker, roomier, and has the better failure list with no severe item at all
- and every one of those five points is money rather than driving. $2,430 more to buy, $1,536 more a year to keep

• VERDICT: "Buy it only if your own insurance quote comes back nothing like ours."
• The honest framing: we're not saying it's a bad car, we're saying it's an expensive one, and this Board scores best buy, not best car
• And the buy case is real: if your quote comes in near the Fiesta's, this jumps several points

On screen: the 44 slotting between the GTI Mk6 and Mazdaspeed3 · Fiesta 49 vs Focus 44 with the gap labelled "MONEY" · Conditional stamp with the quote condition
Close cue: one line pointing at the Fiesta ST review · end

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Runtime + notes

• Sum ~ 6:45. The Upkeep and Risk are both long here because they argue against each other; that tension is the video. If it runs long, pull from The Mods.
• All seven scores are proposals. The Upkeep (4) is the one to argue about, and it is an Upkeep of 4. It rests on a single figure that is trim-level but not year-split.
• Do not say on camera: that the RS head gasket applies, H Street as settled, the 2014 price, any grip or braking figure, or the 5.9s as clearly quicker than the Mazdaspeed3.
• Tell people to get an insurance quote before buying. On this car it is not advice, it is the entire verdict.
• B-roll warning: listings are asking prices, the $10,230 is KBB private-party, and the gap is wider on this car than on any other in the tier. Name which is which.
• Title and thumbnail share zero words per channel rule.