Clutch in. Fourth goes into third. Clutch out. Full on the accelerator and… the world goes quiet in anticipation in the Ford Focus ST. Ah, I’ve made a mistake of dropping the revs below and the turbo needs to recharge itself – 1,750 rpm is needed to get full 350 Nm of twist out of the engine. It feels like an eternity.
The engine is a 2.0 litre EcoBoost, force-fed to give the ST more muscle – 247 hp gets summoned when the engine turns 5,500 revolutions per minute. The all-aluminium engine is said to be lighter by approximately 25 kg and offer improved efficiency compared to a naturally-aspirated V6.
More important are the performance figures: 6.5 seconds breaks the 0-100 km/h beam, and it reaches 248 km/h. Drive it as how the Focus ST should be driven and fuel economy becomes a foreign concept. Pace it unnaturally moderate and it’ll return 9.0l/100km combined. My numbers are much higher.
This review originally ran in Issue #1 of Driven+ Magazine. Download Driven+ Magazine from the iTunes App Store or Google Play Store.
Just then, 16 pounds per square inch of air is shoved into the four cylinders, creating its own mini suns; short-lived, but the energy they give is no less potent. Inertia becomes force that takes a sledgehammer to the chest, pushing me deeper into the padding of the Recaros.
The steering pulls to one side, quickly corrected, but it is an act that shouldn’t need to be executed in the first place. Given the amount of horses and torque dropped into the front wheels, this torque steer comes as no surprise. There is no mechanical differential to temper the raw force going into the wheels, except for the torque vectoring control that’s better suited for fast cornering. At least it saves weight.
But listen to that sound. It’s properly loud. Not so much like a wail of a banshee but of something more animalistic. Pressure the pedal and the noise reverberates outside as well as inside. Notes from the exhaust and intake valves are channeled into the cabin through a newly-enhanced sound symposer. It appeals to something primal within, inspiring the predator inside to chase down prey.
Redline, third is dropped to grab fourth. The engine speed is well aligned now that no lag needs to be endured. Ford made sure that the ST remains a fire-breathing machine by overclocking the turbo, 15 seconds at a time, so the engine gets more torque between 3,000 to 4,500 rpm. At this level, the acceleration is potent and the speed will come in strong. Getting the speedo’s needle to point east-southeast is a task accomplished too easily.
Disc brakes, especially the large front ones, are assigned to bring the needle back to sanity so the corners, no matter how bent, can be taken. Suspension is made up of Macpherson struts in the front, mated to Ford’s Control Blade in the rear.
The Focus ST runs on an even plane, flushed to the tarmac underneath it. It is stable and the 18-inch rubbers extend the grip levels further. The steering, in spite of its electronic assistance, has enough chatter to communicate when that level is about to be breached. Usually, it’s the front that breaks loose first as a result of going into a corner too hot.
At this point, the torque vectoring control takes over, applying the right amount of brake to the appropriate wheel to keep the car going into the intended direction. That’s the general idea at least. In practice, it makes the car go from understeer to oversteer and back to understeer. It can’t decide which.
Best results still come from tempering speed because once everything is in equilibrium, the ST can shoot from one apex to another without ending up face first in a tree. Steering response is immediate and smart enough to know that a little bit of input means a lot at high speeds.
The ride is especially hard throughout. Faults on the road are absorbed into the chassis, transferred into the seats before transmitting the message into the nervous system. But it’s never bone shaking or hints at becoming a bother, except when the road conditions deteriorate.
The seats do make a significant difference, if it fits. No worries with the rear bench, it’s the front Recaro seats that are generously bolstered with thick and strong padding. Which makes it a tight squeeze for those who are already naturally well-padded at the torso and thighs. But it grips with a solid firmness, so the body does not get thrown around when the ST swings hard into a corner.
Once in, the seats bends the arm forward while instincts take over to hold that meaty, four-spoked button-invaded, ST badge-wearing steering wheel. One more detail that sets this dashboard apart from the ones found in normal Focuses is a small cluster of three gauges on the middle of the dashboard, facing the driver.
The trio reads water temperature, boost and oil pressure measurements, and they can be a lot handier if not for their size. You get the feeling that larger gauges will increase its street-cred even more. At least the front passenger can enjoy the needle of the boost meter swinging wildly about.
Still, the Focus ST is a magnet for second glances and head-turns. It is in the case of the test mule – Tangerine Scream, it is called, and under the sunlight the ST shines like large piece of Garnet.
Tour the body and you’ll know why this car is a strained-neck inducer. Some hate it, but I’m a fan of Ford’s new design direction. The rear and sides are what’s available on the regular third-generation Focus, albeit with added look-fast bits on the body and bigger wheels. It’s the front that makes the difference. Or rather, it’s that huge gap of a grille that invoke the emotions; it makes the Focus ST look fierce and fast even when it isn’t moving.
No, the Ford Focus ST isn’t a subtle thing. You’re almost guaranteed to get stares in it and not all of them will be flattering ones. What you are guaranteed of are slaps on the back from your mates at the mamak for having such a car. Questions will inevitably drift from car to you, the owner, as well as requests of giving your deprived audience a taste of its speed. For the Focus ST is a car for the enthusiast, and it is only they who will pay the respect that this car is due. Cool?
This review originally ran in Issue #1 of Driven+ Magazine. Download Driven+ Magazine from the iTunes App Store or Google Play Store.
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How does this compare to the Mazda 3 MP3 with a mechanical LSD?
Bro. Its mazda 3 mpz not mp3.
Hi i think its Mazda 3 MPS
Sorry – slip of the mind. Anyone driven both before?
great car. problem is it just doesn’t look really good. more effort could have been spent on the interior too….well…bring on the fiesta ST!
VW golf GTi beater.. But why the boring looks..??
Halogen headlights.. yucks..
Its bi-xenon
Not for the ST2 and ST3 trim levels
if this car has DSG or Double clutch and not manual…it can sell better since Evo and Impreza are slowing down
5 speed Auto also acceptable, just don’t want the very old and slow respond manual!
Automatic for Manual…!!??? Are you for real ??
How can anybody enjoy driving an automatic sport hatch unless you’re an aunty. LOL
U dono how to drive manual ?! LOL
LOL, must have been the new breed of drivers who just got their auto-only licenses
LOL…
And I was just thinking…. How on earth do you drop a cog from forth and still not have enough revs to spool up the turbo when max torque is only at 1750rpm? How fast we’re you going on 4th? 5km/h? And on a 6 speed gearbox?
My old car gets full boost at 3500rpm… Lol…even then the engine had plenty of torque to pull from 1750rpm on the rather tall 3rd.
I think Chris just had a journalistic faux pas…. No one could be that daft with a stick.
Most of the road in Malaysia got traffic jem, manual make us cramp woo, that,s why Evo n Impreza slowing down
8-)
In automatic car, my leg feel more tired by constantly pressing brake in traffic jam…
because you always speeding lo.
evo x is not manual too. the reason why golf gti lots on road not because the dsg..but because it’s vw. some driver prefer a bit of luxury+sports. not all can appreciate rally bred impreza or evo.
And because it is VW’s DSG, they’ll be off the road soon as well..but not rallying, rather in the agent’s workshop getting their mechatronics replaced
The focus ST i saw in Labuan has HID with LED, why this one don’t have, in Labuan my hometown cost RM 118K.. golf GTI RM 135k , polo GTI RM90K which is my target..
This 1 better than Golf Gti. bcos VW DSG failure project!
BMW sedan 320i Beware! This Focus ST will smoke you!!!
320i? Check out the spec bro. Anything below 328i can not come close to this hot hatch
Polo 1.2tsi can smoke 320i. Haha.
lot of choices to choose from..this st,golf gti,megane etc. which is a good thing
Interior is nice to me. But exterior doesnt looks muscular like sti and evo x.
i think this car is not selling well as expected… been out for a while and only now i can see the review here in paultan and some local newspapers. well if need to boost the sales, try discount rm25,000 perhaps?
Problem is there is only so much market for manual car in that price range and Megane rs has sapu everything thanks to enthusiast friendly management, track day activities, an established car club as well as “g1m” service.
not a neck turner! only the driver syok sendiri, thinks that everyone looking at them. spec might be good, but the looks? hmm, scirocco better.
hehehe. peduli ape org kata. yg penting layan.
a very true sleeper. i like :)
wow it looks your source of accomplishment and happiness comes from other people’s opinion of you. why care so much about what other people think?
that a reason why u buy an expensive car. to impress ppl. if not, just buy viva, it can get u from A to B as well.
only hair dresser buy car to impress people.haha…
scirocco better in DSG problem.haha..
Drove car that you like,not what others like…be a enthusiast not a whore.
after driving it for 4500kms,
the car looks like a normal focus with kits. no one is gonna notice u esp in black. its a drivers car, yes, driver shiok sendiri…
scirocco looks are subjective, doesnt work for me. golf gti looks better imo.
not really. I’ve owned both cars and the Focus ST is much better by a huge margin.
wow..macam preve hatchback :P
Not quite at least..but we’ll see soon
SDAC and for that matter, Toyota with its 86, need to learn how to be less stuck up and exclusive in the way they market this car. Test drive units are hard to find and they don’t bother replying requests for test drives. This type of high-handed attitude only applies if you’re selling super cars, not hot hatches. Which is why TCEC is grabbing all the business in this segment.
I dunno about Toyota but as for the Focus ST, you may be able to get a test drive for it if you ask nicely enough and currently owns a Ford (or at least knows someone who owns a Ford).
– but I agree with you that they dont offer the test drive publicly, but for a valid reason – they have limited units of this car and obviously they can’t afford any mishaps by ‘over-enthusiatic’ test drivers such as what happen to some Golf GTis in the past.
wish i could afford this! luv ford all this while.
have driven and owned imported laser s, tx3 round light, and tx3 1.8. all this car have never disappoint me! except for one thing, karat if not taken care properly.
The front intake looks scary, but that bonnet gap is even more frightening…
Agreed..they should do some adjustments to the front hood gap. Thats the critical visual area..
ini baru garang macam wira evo turbo ma. bonet xleh tutup rapat. lol
err the gap is intentional btw. you just look foolish by commenting such.
the review forgot a few thing…
1) the car is made in Germany instead of like the normal Focus made in Thailand.
2) the torque steer can be reduce by switching off the stability control, in the expense of turning off the torque vectoring and more wheel spins….
3) the car is not harsh at all. and it’s so dem comfortable. the feeling is oversized anti row bar that over power the shock absorber springs.
4) the torque indeed come very early. this is because the turbine is a Borg Warner Twin Scroll Turbine. the torque curve is flat through out the whole range with some drop expected starting 4000 rpm.
5) the way to drive the car is not like typical japanese high revving engine. the best way to drive is 3000 to 6000 RPM only. you get the best of torque and hp… circuit driving will be different of course as you don’t want to end up changing gear so often.
How can a USD30k car reach 200k here, doesnt make any sense, suppose to be roughly the same price as the titanium like overseas, ffs
Oh my god. Dat rims. It looks like it is designed by a 17 yrold.
The interior looks really cheap for a 200k car.