2019-10-01_CAR_UK

october 2019 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 117

Hot hatches

keep getting

better... and

more expensive

Wouldn’t under-

and oversteer at

same time, but

we tried

330mm discs:

stoppier than

a Focus RS

a Hyundai would look more aggressive than the traditionally yobbish
Ford? If first impressions are important, this is a missed opportunity.
Out on the road, though, those gripes fall by the wayside. Starting
the ST brings back memories of the previous-generation Focus RS. But
then it would, as the 2.3-litre EcoBoost turbocharged four-cylinder used
here is a detuned version of the engine found in the old all-wheel drive
hooligan. In this car it’s tuned for 276bhp, which isn’t exactly paltry, and
the 5.7sec 0-62mph time leaves the Hyundai for dust (6.1sec) and keeps it
almost level with the Golf (5.6sec) on paper.
The figures show the ST has faster in-gear acceleration than the old
RS (thank reduced weight and shorter ratios), and you can feel that when
you fully commit. It helps that the response of that pedal is sharp even
if you’re in Normal mode, but pleasingly the engine is also more f lexible
than those of its rivals, pulling happily from low revs in sixth gear.
As for the noise, it emits pops and bangs in Sport between gearchanges
to insert a fat smile on your face, even if it’s not the full assault-rif le
experience served up by the old RS. Inside, the noise is digitally enhanced
in Normal and Sport and, while it’s not entirely convincing, it sounds far
less like you’re playing Gran Turismo 2 than the sound effects of a Renault
Megane RS or Peugeot 308 GTi.
You can revel in the Ford’s early-biting, neatly-weighted clutch, and
a manual gearshift that’s happily devoid of the unnecessary resistance
offered by, for example, the Megane RS. Ford’s Performance Pack also
throws in rev matching to automatically blip the throttle on downshifts
which, for the eager but inexperienced, is handy for keeping things ⊲