<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="90%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=text11><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="90%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=text11 align=right>by: Tom Bird</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2>
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Ever since the last Focus RS torque-steered its way off the production line nearly two years ago, there has been a gaping hot-hatch shaped hole in the Blue Oval's line-up. Sure, the Mondeo and Fiesta STs are great at what they do, but Ford really needs a car to epitomise what a hot hatch should be in the 21st Century.
Wearing lurid orange paint as its signature colour, the Focus ST certainly isn't a run-of-the-mill family hatch. Chunky 18-inch alloys, gaping air intakes, twin exhausts, a substantial real spoiler and countless flashes of aluminium leave you with no doubt about where the Focus ST is coming from.
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But a wild paint job and big alloys does not a hot hatch make: it must have the bark to match its visual bite.
In the Focus ST, that bark comes from a turbocharged 2.5-litre five-cylinder Volvo engine, tuned by Ford's TeamRS to a substantial 221bhp. A five-cylinder engine may not be de rigueur for a hot hatch - most others on the market use turbocharged fours - but Ford has decided to go its own way.
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When tuning the engine for maximum power - which arrives at 6,000rpm - TeamRS were careful not to compromise low-end grunt. By tweaking the engine's twin variable-cam timing it managed to extract a sizeable 236lb ft of torque, which is on tap from just 1,600rpm.
This makes the engine supremely flexible: think of the instant acceleration of a turbodiesel combined with the high-revving nature of a tuned petrol - surely the best of both worlds. That said, this engine isn't as free-revving as, for example, the Astra VXR, but this can be put down to the increased capacity and cylinders of the engine.
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From rest, the Focus scrabbles its way to the 62mph benchmark in just 6.8seconds. Quicker than the Golf GTI (7.2), it falls short of the Astra VXR, Megane 225 and Civic Type R - but only by fractions of a second, which in real-world driving you'd be hard-pressed to notice.
More importantly for Ford, it is quicker than the old Focus RS (6.6) - the ST actually laps the Nurburgring 10seconds faster than the RS ever could. Top speed is a nice, round 150mph, if you ever find yourself on an unrestricted section of German Autobahn.
At low revs, that five-cylinder engine has a muted hum to its exhaust note, building into a more urgent thrum as you increase the revs, climaxing in a hard-edged metallic-edged wail egging you on all the way to the 7,000rpm rev limiter.
So that you make the most of this noise in the cabin - and not just to frighten traffic as you blast past - Ford has introduced an interestingly named "sound symposer" that channels noise from the engine into the cabin, without introducing excess road or wind noise to dilute the experience.
The six-speed manual box has short-spaced ratios with a short throw, making for fast and accurate shifting. Reaching 60mph can be achieved in second gear and the engine is so flexible you'll hardly find yourself out of third gear during a fast B-road blast. Sixth gear is very much a cruising ratio, with the revs sitting at 2,500rpm at 70mph - making for decent economy - but you're best off changing down to fifth if you want to overtake quickly on the motorway.
Its not just quick in a straight line, though - where's the fun in that? TeamRS have worked on the already fantastic chassis of the regular Focus - which would put many a sports car to shame - by adding a strut brace at the front, stiffening both front and rear springs by 30% and increasing the rear anti-roll bar by 5%.
This additional stiffness in the chassis hasn't made the ST a shuddering mess to drive over ruts and bumps, soaking them up with amazing smoothness, while also rewarding you with sublime body control and minimal roll through corners. The chassis is so good, the (optional) ESP is rarely troubled, only cutting in progressively when you really need it.
The only minor gripe is that the steering feels a bit numb at low speeds, but it does load up nicely when you put the power down in corners, letting you feel exactly what's happening under the front wheels. Torque steer is apparent, but only when you give it full beans, and even then, it isn't as intrusive as with the old RS or Astra VXR.
However, it's worth bearing in mind that the ST is no stripped-down racer in the mould of the old RS. The ST tips the scales at 1,317kg, whereas the old RS looks almost anorexic with its 1,175kg kerb weight. Through corners you can really feel the multi-link rear suspension load up under this weight.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Standard-fit eight-way manually adjustable Recaro seats keep you comfortably in place under high lateral g-forces, but don't hug or pinch excessively - good to know if you're not exactly a honed racer yourself. The rest of the cabin is suitably sporty too, with aluminium drilled pedals, leather steering wheel, black headlining and colour-coded flashes on the seats.
The dash itself, however, is a big swathe of blackness and some extra colour wouldn't go amiss here. It differs from the regular Focus thanks to the addition of a three-dial instrument pod in the centre, facing the driver. These read the oil pressure, oil temperature and turbocharger boost pressure, so you can keep an eye on the state of the engine when thrapping along. Mind you, the turbo boost gauge is a little pointless: if you can't feel when the turbo is delivering a full bar of pressure, you shouldn't really be driving the ST.
It goes without saying that electric windows, mirrors, remote central locking with an alarm, air-con and a decent CD player are all standard fit on the entry-level Focus ST 1 at 17,495. An extra 1,000 gets you a Focus ST 2, which has an MP3-compatible CD player, Xenon headlamps, heated front windscreen and (switchable) ESP. The ST 3 (for another 1,000) get leather Recaros for all passengers (10-way electrically adjustable at front) and a six-CD autochanger.
As an all-round package then, the Focus is hard to beat. Its remarkable list price and decent standard spec make it better value for money than any other hot hatch of its size on the market.
It may be marginally short on power compared to the 236bhp Astra VXR and 225bhp Megane RenaultSport, but the ST is so much more capable at putting all of its power down without wasting it in wheelspin or corrupting it with excessive torque steer.
It's much more fun than the still-comfort-biased Golf GTI, but not as hard-edged as the Astra VXR: it's the perfect balance of the two. It'll be perfectly well-behaved during a traffic-bound, stop-start commute, but will also give you plenty to smile about on a Sunday morning country road blast.
After its two-year sabbatical, it's heart-warming to know that the fast Focus is well and truly back where it belongs - at the top of the hot hatch tree.
source:http://www.channel4.com/4car/road-tests/driving-impressions-2005/F/ford/focus-st-2005.html
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="90%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD class=text11></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=text11><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="90%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=text11 align=right>by: Tom Bird</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2>
Ever since the last Focus RS torque-steered its way off the production line nearly two years ago, there has been a gaping hot-hatch shaped hole in the Blue Oval's line-up. Sure, the Mondeo and Fiesta STs are great at what they do, but Ford really needs a car to epitomise what a hot hatch should be in the 21st Century.
Wearing lurid orange paint as its signature colour, the Focus ST certainly isn't a run-of-the-mill family hatch. Chunky 18-inch alloys, gaping air intakes, twin exhausts, a substantial real spoiler and countless flashes of aluminium leave you with no doubt about where the Focus ST is coming from.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="90%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
But a wild paint job and big alloys does not a hot hatch make: it must have the bark to match its visual bite.
In the Focus ST, that bark comes from a turbocharged 2.5-litre five-cylinder Volvo engine, tuned by Ford's TeamRS to a substantial 221bhp. A five-cylinder engine may not be de rigueur for a hot hatch - most others on the market use turbocharged fours - but Ford has decided to go its own way.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="90%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=text11></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
When tuning the engine for maximum power - which arrives at 6,000rpm - TeamRS were careful not to compromise low-end grunt. By tweaking the engine's twin variable-cam timing it managed to extract a sizeable 236lb ft of torque, which is on tap from just 1,600rpm.
This makes the engine supremely flexible: think of the instant acceleration of a turbodiesel combined with the high-revving nature of a tuned petrol - surely the best of both worlds. That said, this engine isn't as free-revving as, for example, the Astra VXR, but this can be put down to the increased capacity and cylinders of the engine.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="90%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
From rest, the Focus scrabbles its way to the 62mph benchmark in just 6.8seconds. Quicker than the Golf GTI (7.2), it falls short of the Astra VXR, Megane 225 and Civic Type R - but only by fractions of a second, which in real-world driving you'd be hard-pressed to notice.
More importantly for Ford, it is quicker than the old Focus RS (6.6) - the ST actually laps the Nurburgring 10seconds faster than the RS ever could. Top speed is a nice, round 150mph, if you ever find yourself on an unrestricted section of German Autobahn.
At low revs, that five-cylinder engine has a muted hum to its exhaust note, building into a more urgent thrum as you increase the revs, climaxing in a hard-edged metallic-edged wail egging you on all the way to the 7,000rpm rev limiter.
So that you make the most of this noise in the cabin - and not just to frighten traffic as you blast past - Ford has introduced an interestingly named "sound symposer" that channels noise from the engine into the cabin, without introducing excess road or wind noise to dilute the experience.
The six-speed manual box has short-spaced ratios with a short throw, making for fast and accurate shifting. Reaching 60mph can be achieved in second gear and the engine is so flexible you'll hardly find yourself out of third gear during a fast B-road blast. Sixth gear is very much a cruising ratio, with the revs sitting at 2,500rpm at 70mph - making for decent economy - but you're best off changing down to fifth if you want to overtake quickly on the motorway.
Its not just quick in a straight line, though - where's the fun in that? TeamRS have worked on the already fantastic chassis of the regular Focus - which would put many a sports car to shame - by adding a strut brace at the front, stiffening both front and rear springs by 30% and increasing the rear anti-roll bar by 5%.
This additional stiffness in the chassis hasn't made the ST a shuddering mess to drive over ruts and bumps, soaking them up with amazing smoothness, while also rewarding you with sublime body control and minimal roll through corners. The chassis is so good, the (optional) ESP is rarely troubled, only cutting in progressively when you really need it.
The only minor gripe is that the steering feels a bit numb at low speeds, but it does load up nicely when you put the power down in corners, letting you feel exactly what's happening under the front wheels. Torque steer is apparent, but only when you give it full beans, and even then, it isn't as intrusive as with the old RS or Astra VXR.
However, it's worth bearing in mind that the ST is no stripped-down racer in the mould of the old RS. The ST tips the scales at 1,317kg, whereas the old RS looks almost anorexic with its 1,175kg kerb weight. Through corners you can really feel the multi-link rear suspension load up under this weight.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Standard-fit eight-way manually adjustable Recaro seats keep you comfortably in place under high lateral g-forces, but don't hug or pinch excessively - good to know if you're not exactly a honed racer yourself. The rest of the cabin is suitably sporty too, with aluminium drilled pedals, leather steering wheel, black headlining and colour-coded flashes on the seats.
The dash itself, however, is a big swathe of blackness and some extra colour wouldn't go amiss here. It differs from the regular Focus thanks to the addition of a three-dial instrument pod in the centre, facing the driver. These read the oil pressure, oil temperature and turbocharger boost pressure, so you can keep an eye on the state of the engine when thrapping along. Mind you, the turbo boost gauge is a little pointless: if you can't feel when the turbo is delivering a full bar of pressure, you shouldn't really be driving the ST.
It goes without saying that electric windows, mirrors, remote central locking with an alarm, air-con and a decent CD player are all standard fit on the entry-level Focus ST 1 at 17,495. An extra 1,000 gets you a Focus ST 2, which has an MP3-compatible CD player, Xenon headlamps, heated front windscreen and (switchable) ESP. The ST 3 (for another 1,000) get leather Recaros for all passengers (10-way electrically adjustable at front) and a six-CD autochanger.
As an all-round package then, the Focus is hard to beat. Its remarkable list price and decent standard spec make it better value for money than any other hot hatch of its size on the market.
It may be marginally short on power compared to the 236bhp Astra VXR and 225bhp Megane RenaultSport, but the ST is so much more capable at putting all of its power down without wasting it in wheelspin or corrupting it with excessive torque steer.
It's much more fun than the still-comfort-biased Golf GTI, but not as hard-edged as the Astra VXR: it's the perfect balance of the two. It'll be perfectly well-behaved during a traffic-bound, stop-start commute, but will also give you plenty to smile about on a Sunday morning country road blast.
After its two-year sabbatical, it's heart-warming to know that the fast Focus is well and truly back where it belongs - at the top of the hot hatch tree.
source:http://www.channel4.com/4car/road-tests/driving-impressions-2005/F/ford/focus-st-2005.html
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