00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 This is the Ford Focus ST, and it's hugely important.
00:13 You see, while Europe's been getting all the hot versions
00:15 of the Focus, the RS, and so on, we've
00:18 been left with nothing, nothing hot and nothing fast,
00:22 at least nothing since the SVT, which lasted until 2004.
00:26 But let's not dwell on the past as bitter as it may be.
00:29 The ST badge on the back of this car
00:31 stands for Sport Technologies.
00:34 And to that end, we have a turbo 2-liter engine.
00:36 We have around 20 pounds of boost.
00:38 We have 252 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque.
00:42 And we only have a manual transmission.
00:45 Now let's get started.
00:52 Now when you have a front-drive car
00:54 that makes 270 pound-feet of torque,
00:56 you have to be pretty mindful of how to launch it.
00:58 Now the best way to launch the Focus ST we found
01:01 was without a lot of wheel spin.
01:02 Release the clutch at about 2,000 RPM,
01:04 ride out first gear, and shift hard into second.
01:07 [ENGINE REVVING]
01:10 A lot of power through first.
01:12 And if you spin into second, that's a good sign.
01:15 You'll hit 60 in second gear, 5.9 seconds.
01:18 [ENGINE REVVING]
01:21 And you get to listen to a rather wonderful engine sound.
01:25 [ENGINE REVVING]
01:27 Quarter mile arrives, 14.6 seconds at 95.9 miles an hour.
01:32 [ENGINE REVVING]
01:36 And now for a 60 to 0 brake test.
01:37 [ENGINE REVVING]
01:43 Took the Focus just 112 feet to stop from 60.
01:46 [ENGINE REVVING]
01:49 So now we begin the figure 8 test with the Ford Focus ST.
01:53 This thing is a riot around our handling course.
01:57 [ENGINE REVVING]
02:00 We have very nicely balanced steering, a lot of control
02:02 through the front end.
02:04 And lifting off the throttle in the corner produces
02:06 these big rotations.
02:08 You can put this car anywhere you
02:10 want it on this handling track.
02:12 We turn in hard enough, you'll go into a drift.
02:14 But because the car's front wheel drive,
02:16 you can just keep your steering angle set
02:18 and balance the throttle.
02:19 And that keeps the rear end in check.
02:23 This thing is a lot of fun.
02:24 [ENGINE REVVING]
02:26 [LAUGHS]
02:27 [ENGINE REVVING]
02:31 Just turn it hard enough, the back end comes right around.
02:34 You set your steering angle, start applying throttle,
02:36 and that's it.
02:37 [ENGINE REVVING]
02:39 If I do have a complaint, though,
02:41 it's that this car on corner exit is kind of difficult.
02:44 You have to be very careful with the throttle.
02:46 We have an electronic differential
02:47 that doesn't feel like it's doing its job.
02:50 When you get on the throttle out of a corner,
02:52 you end up spinning if you're too aggressive.
02:54 It takes pretty careful throttle use.
02:57 I'll take that if it means I can drive the chassis misbalanced.
03:00 [ENGINE REVVING]
03:02 [LAUGHS]
03:05 This thing is just an absolute delight.
03:07 [ENGINE REVVING]
03:09 [LAUGHS]
03:10 You don't think much about counter-steering a front wheel
03:12 drive car, but this makes you consider it sometimes.
03:15 [ENGINE REVVING]
03:16 [ENGINE REVVING]
03:18 [MUSIC PLAYING]
03:21 [ENGINE REVVING]
03:24 [MUSIC PLAYING]
03:27 [ENGINE REVVING]
03:28 So the first thing you notice about the Focus ST on the road
03:31 is, one, it sounds fabulous inside.
03:35 The second thing you notice is torque steer.
03:38 It's especially apparent in the lower gears, first and second
03:41 particularly.
03:42 And it's kind of funny.
03:44 They've done a lot of work to try to quell the torque steer
03:47 with the brakes, with the steering system, which
03:49 I'll come back to in a second.
03:51 But it's still there.
03:52 It's such that it'll actually turn the car to the right
03:54 pretty aggressively if you're not careful with your throttle.
03:58 Now, I think that's OK, because when
04:00 you have 270 pound feet of torque driving the front tires,
04:04 you probably should know that's the case.
04:05 Fortunately, when you're in third gear or so
04:07 and you're charging hard, it's not that big of an issue.
04:12 The work that they've done, though,
04:14 on the steering system, which is electronically assisted,
04:18 I think what they've done to try to get rid of the torque steer
04:21 might have also taken a bit of the feel out of the wheel
04:24 itself.
04:25 That's not to say this is a bad steering system,
04:27 but it just isn't relaying a lot of feedback
04:30 from the road through the rim.
04:33 We talked about the steering and what it's doing
04:35 to help get rid of torque steer.
04:37 The brakes are actually working a bit on the car as well.
04:40 When you turn in aggressively, you'll
04:41 actually feel a bit of pulsation on the inside wheel,
04:45 helping the car turn in.
04:47 It's a little strange at first, but in practice,
04:49 it's rather nice.
04:51 Couple that with a chassis that's pretty aggressive.
04:54 You can lift off this car, and it'll actually
04:56 do a little bit of yaw that helps you turn in and change
04:58 your line.
04:59 And it becomes a very fun thing to drive.
05:01 And even though there isn't a lot of feel
05:05 through this steering wheel, it's
05:07 still nice to throw the car around.
05:09 And that goes for the rest of the controls.
05:11 The shifter, the knob itself is OK,
05:14 but the throws are very nice and positive.
05:16 It clunks very nicely from gear to gear.
05:19 The brake pedal, especially on the initial bite,
05:21 is very sharp.
05:22 It feels good.
05:24 And so does the clutch pedal.
05:25 It's a very small, tight engagement area.
05:29 I'm disappointed with the styling of the interior.
05:32 It's a bit too much, a bit too alien spaceship,
05:35 especially some of the graphics along the gauges up there.
05:38 They look, well, cheap.
05:40 The thing is, with the sound this car makes,
05:42 with the quick steering, with the eager engine that, again,
05:46 sounds great, it makes for a car that's really, really, really
05:50 fun to push.
05:51 You take the way this car sounds,
05:58 the way how aggressive its chassis is,
06:01 the nice use of the controls, and you
06:04 have a car that's really, really fun to throw around.
06:08 You have a genuine hot hatch that is really enjoyable,
06:12 one you want to stay on the limits of
06:13 and feel like you can comfortably
06:15 drive on the limits of all the time.
06:18 It may be a little too aggressive,
06:21 but I'll take that over a little bit too conservative.
06:27 This is, let's face it, a kind of an immature car.
06:30 But that's OK.
06:31 The world needs more of those.
06:34 I very much enjoy this car, and Ford
06:36 deserves credit for tuning it so aggressively.
06:38 Its styling is a little too immature.
06:40 But when you consider everything from the steering wheel
06:43 to the chassis tuning to the way it sounds on throttle,
06:48 when you consider all that, you find a thorough approach
06:51 to making a very enjoyable car.
06:55 Its dynamics are likely the best of the front driving
06:57 sporty cars available.
06:59 Bravo, Ford.
07:01 [MUSIC PLAYING]
07:04 [MUSIC PLAYING]
07:08 [MUSIC PLAYING]
07:11 [MUSIC PLAYING]
07:15 [MUSIC PLAYING]
07:18 [MUSIC PLAYING]
07:22 [MUSIC PLAYING]
07:26 [MUSIC PLAYING]
07:30 [MUSIC PLAYING]
07:33 (upbeat music)
07:35 you
Comments