see also:
Focus ST Tuning Guide
Zetec S/SE Tuning Guide
Focus Body Kits
Ford Focus Tuners
Focus RS Buying Guide
High
Performance Car Insurance
Ford Focus ST Review
If you've got around £20,000 to spend on a fast, desirable and practical hatch, you're a very lucky bunny. The choice is huge, packed with quality, and diverse beyond any reasonable expectations. The Golf GTI is the consummate all-rounder, the Astra VXR the brash hooligan, the Mί¿½gane Trophy treads a fine line between the two; and if you're not too image-conscious, then the wagon version of the new Subaru Impreza WRX is a characterful and blisteringly quick alternative.
Focus ST Review
And now there's the Ford Focus ST. But just where does it fit in, and how do you make a splash in a market bursting with entertainment and catering for virtually every need? Well, the Blue Oval has always been something of a people's champion, and pricing the ST at an ultra-competitive £17,495 should ensure the new hot Focus has a loyal following. That price is for the basic spec car, which still includes the cool alloys, Recaros and body styling. The ST '2' gains Xenons, an MP3-compatible Sony stereo, heated windscreen and ESP traction and stability management and costs £18,495 (still less than the VXR and Mί¿½gane Cup). The ST '3' comes with full leather, has electric adjustment for the seats and a six-CD autochanger and is priced more in line with the Golf GTI at £19,495.
Equally enticing is the Focus ST's unique-in-class
drivetrain. The Volvo-sourced turbocharged in-line five-cylinder engine
not only produces a seriously muscular 222bhp and a relaxed 236lb ft
from as low as 1600rpm, but the deep-chested, hollow warble instantly
gives the ST a distinct and compelling character.
So, a bargain price, Golf GTI-humbling power and a rich, throbbing
exhaust note make for pretty strong building-blocks for the ST to win
customers and steal sales from Renault, Vauxhall, SEAT... And then
there's the promise of one of those effortless Ford-patented chassis,
which seem to both soothe and thrill without ever breaking into a sweat.
The ST could just be the new-generation hot-hatch to top them all.