Prior^ tries^ to^ end^ the^
session^ –^ but^ no^ one^
pays^ him^ any^ notice
44 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 28 AUGUST 2019
Is this the missing piece of the
puzzle? Grunting up the dark granite
terraces of the Rhondda, our Orange
F u r y Fo c u s ST lo ok s mor e l i k e a
fragment of pop-art jigsaw that’s
made its way into the Rembrandt box,
but with its glue seams still warm
from the assembly line in Saarlouis,
it ’s t he c a r t h at si mpl y h a d t o b e he r e.
I’ve driven the Ford over to Wales
from our road test base in south-west
London, and even blindfolded –
inadvisable in any car, not least one
that makes 276bhp from an upscaled
2.3-litre engine derived from the old
Focus RS and equipped with anti-lag,
no less – straight away you’d know
you were sitting in a contemporary
fast Ford. Heavily bolstered Recaro
seats, hair-trigger steering response,
plenty of piped-in exhaust sound: so
f a r, s o pr e d ic t a ble. But t h i s a l l-ne w
Fo c u s ST a l s o ge t s a n e le c t r on ic a l l y
controlled limited-slip differential
that can send up to 50% of torque to
whichever front Michelin Pilot Sport
4 S s t a nd s t o b e ne f it mo s t.
Even on the roundabouts leading
up t o ou r r e nde z v ou s h i g h i n t he
terrain farther along our route, it’s
generating an electronics-aided level
of pa c e t h at fe e l s a s t hou g h it m i g ht
just see off a Ford GT – y’know, the
homologation special Ford built to
w i n at L e Ma n s.
L at e r t h at d ay, up on t he mou nt a i n ,
it prompts encouraging words such
as ‘involvement’, ‘feedback’, ‘playful’
and ‘mischievous’ from the judges
of t h i s c ont e s t , k now n i n for m a l l y
a s Ju n ior Ha nd l i n g Day. T he Ford i s
w e l l l i k e d , a lt hou g h i n t he pa s t t h at ’s
never alone been enough to secure a
win in this contest – or even passage
through to the final shootout.
Another mischievous car, albeit
one that won’t make it through,is Abarth’s refreshed 595
Competizione. With aubergine
paint and an exhaust system
that sounds as though it’s
attached not to a 177bhp
1.4-litre four but a Maserati V8
t h at ’s dow n a ba n k of c y l i nde r s ,
this is a difficult car to dislike
but one that’s impossible to love.
Not even Alcantara-trimmed
Sa b e lt buc k e t s e at s , K on i F SD
dampers and Brembo brakes can
change that. “It’s so far adrift of the
rest of the field objectively that it’s
hard to take seriously,” says road
t e s t e d it or Sau nde r s. Tomor r ow at
Llandow Circuit, he’ll describe the
A ba r t h a s “a mu si n g l y out of it s de p t h
although still engaging to hustle”
and “every bit as quick as you’d want
it t o b e ”. It ’s a v ie w sh a r e d b y mo s t
here: the ride is too lively, the driving
p o sit ion mor e bu s d r i v e r t h a n r a c e
driver and – final nail incoming – it’s
more expensive but less practical
t h a n l a s t y e a r ’s Ju n ior Ha nd l i n g Day
winner, the Ford Fiesta ST.
NINE START, THREE FINISH
M é g a n e i s b ette r o n
track than the road,
the i30 good on both
ABARTH 595
COMPETIZIONE
MATT SAUNDERSNot that quick on the
road – enough to make
you say ‘wee’ as the
turbo spools, but not
nearly enough to risk
inadvertently doing
one – and yet every bit
as quick as you’d want
it to be. Amusingly outof its depth on track.
Price £25,950
Engine 4 cyls, 1998cc,
turbocharged,
petrol
Power 228bhp at 5200rpm
Torque 236lb ft at 1450-4800rpm
Gearbox 6-spd manual
Kerb weight 1235kg
0-62mph 6.3sec
Top speed 153mph
Economy 38.7-40.4mpg
CO 2 , tax band na
MINI COOPER JCW