which, again, is fully tuneable via the black
boxes according to driver preference, mood
and the surfaces on which you’re driving
on. This is the cherry on top of the quality
suspension hardware you’d expect of a
Focus, conventional McPherson struts up
front paired with ‘Short Long Arm’ multi-
link rear. Unless you really think you can do
better than Ford’s suspension engineers
save the money you were going to lavish on
blingy coilovers and spend it on extra power
instead...
Then there’s the super-fast steering,
geared to 11.6:1 and just two turns lock to
lock, which are the kind of numbers you’d
usually associate with a Ferrari or similar.
This would be wasted if you didn’t have the
suspension geometry or tyre grip to make
good use of it – as above though the ‘diff’,
dampers and associated control systems
have you covered while the Michelin Pilot
Sport 4S rubber has already demonstrated
its worth on the Fiesta and updated
Mustang.
All of the above is controlled by driving
modes familiar from various other Ford
Performance products, ranging from
Slippery/Wet to Normal and then Sport, the
engineers responding to customer feedback
and making the step from Normal to Sport
more decisive than ever before. There’s
even a Sport hot-key on the steering wheel
to get straight to the good stuff.Still not enough? Chip in for the
Performance Pack and you get an even
sharper Track mode with another level
of damping stiffness, looser leash for the
ESC, super aggressive map for the ‘diff’
and sharper bite still for the steering and
throttle. In addition to the standard flatshift
function you also get rev-matching for
downshifts, launch control and – wooh –
ambient lighting. Given it costs just £250
extra anyone who orders a new ST and
doesn’t tick that box needs their head
examining. The only things missing are a
configurable mode and ability for heel’n’toe
masters to switch the rev-matching off in
Sport or Track modes – no apologies from
the Ford guys for either, given they think
they’ve settled on the best combination of
settings for getting the most out of the car.
Appetite suitably whetted you’re probably
screaming “shut up and tell me how it
drives!” by now. OK then...
Gripped in part-leather Recaros the
interior is perhaps a little sober but feels
well-built, the fat steering wheel and stubby
little gear lever letting you know you’re
in something a little more special than a
regular Focus. There’s certainly plenty of
standard kit (and buttons) with SYNC3 and,
in the case of the launch cars, optional Head
Up Display. The only bits you’ll really want to
know about are that Sport button and mode
switch, both now on the wheel and no morethan a thumb stretch away.
Left alone and the ST feels, well, as
Normal as the mode setting suggests. Sure,
the ride feels a little choppy at town speeds
but is way better than a Fiesta and the
throttle and steering have enough ‘slack’
in their response to mooch about on the
commute, school run or motorway without
feeling you’ve compromised too far in
usability. Dare we say ‘mature’ in the context
of a Ford Performance product? Possibly so.
Fear not though. Because there’s a whole
different Focus a button push away. You
feel it first in the steering, which snaps
to attention and immediately makes the
ST feel alert and ready for action. From
the numbers you’d fear it might feel a bit
nervy and twitchy but not a bit of it – it’s
fast, smooth and responsive but there’s
no danger of the rest of the car being left
behind. Chatting with senior engineer Stefan
Muenzinger he highlights the steering as his
favourite bit of the car and what elevates it
over the SEAT Leon Cupra, Golf GTI, Hyundai
i30 N and Civic Type R they benchmarked
during development. What does he know?
Well, he’s got a Mustang GT350 and a mint
Mk2 RS he bought from new and upgraded
to RS500 tune in the garage at home. Good
to know the guys building fast Fords are, as
ever, the kind of guys who might read Fast
Ford magazine too.
The piped-in engine sound in SportThe Sport button and
mode selector are now
within easy reach on the
steering wheelѰ FAS T FOR D SEPTEMBER 2019WHAT'S NEWwhich, again, is fully tuneable via the black
boxes according to driver preference, mood
and the surfaces on which you’re driving
on. This is the cherry on top of the quality
suspension hardware you’d expect of a
Focus, conventional McPherson struts up
front paired with ‘Short Long Arm’ multi-
link rear. Unless you really think you can do
better than Ford’s suspension engineers
save the money you were going to lavish on
blingy coilovers and spend it on extra power
instead...
Then there’s the super-fast steering,
geared to 11.6:1 and just two turns lock to
lock, which are the kind of numbers you’d
usually associate with a Ferrari or similar.
This would be wasted if you didn’t have the
suspension geometry or tyre grip to make
good use of it – as above though the ‘diff’,
dampers and associated control systems
have you covered while the Michelin Pilot
Sport 4S rubber has already demonstrated
its worth on the Fiesta and updated
Mustang.
All of the above is controlled by driving
modes familiar from various other Ford
Performance products, ranging from
Slippery/Wet to Normal and then Sport, the
engineers responding to customer feedback
and making the step from Normal to Sport
more decisive than ever before. There’s
even a Sport hot-key on the steering wheel
to get straight to the good stuff.Still not enough? Chip in for the
Performance Pack and you get an even
sharper Track mode with another level
of damping stiffness, looser leash for the
ESC, super aggressive map for the ‘diff’
and sharper bite still for the steering and
throttle. In addition to the standard flatshift
function you also get rev-matching for
downshifts, launch control and – wooh –
ambient lighting. Given it costs just £250
extra anyone who orders a new ST and
doesn’t tick that box needs their head
examining. The only things missing are a
configurable mode and ability for heel’n’toe
masters to switch the rev-matching off in
Sport or Track modes – no apologies from
the Ford guys for either, given they think
they’ve settled on the best combination of
settings for getting the most out of the car.
Appetite suitably whetted you’re probably
screaming “shut up and tell me how it
drives!” by now. OK then...
Gripped in part-leather Recaros the
interior is perhaps a little sober but feels
well-built, the fat steering wheel and stubby
little gear lever letting you know you’re
in something a little more special than a
regular Focus. There’s certainly plenty of
standard kit (and buttons) with SYNC3 and,
in the case of the launch cars, optional Head
Up Display. The only bits you’ll really want to
know about are that Sport button and mode
switch, both now on the wheel and no morethan a thumb stretch away.
Left alone and the ST feels, well, as
Normal as the mode setting suggests. Sure,
the ride feels a little choppy at town speeds
but is way better than a Fiesta and the
throttle and steering have enough ‘slack’
in their response to mooch about on the
commute, school run or motorway without
feeling you’ve compromised too far in
usability. Dare we say ‘mature’ in the context
of a Ford Performance product? Possibly so.
Fear not though. Because there’s a whole
different Focus a button push away. You
feel it first in the steering, which snaps
to attention and immediately makes the
ST feel alert and ready for action. From
the numbers you’d fear it might feel a bit
nervy and twitchy but not a bit of it – it’s
fast, smooth and responsive but there’s
no danger of the rest of the car being left
behind. Chatting with senior engineer Stefan
Muenzinger he highlights the steering as his
favourite bit of the car and what elevates it
over the SEAT Leon Cupra, Golf GTI, Hyundai
i30 N and Civic Type R they benchmarked
during development. What does he know?
Well, he’s got a Mustang GT350 and a mint
Mk2 RS he bought from new and upgraded
to RS500 tune in the garage at home. Good
to know the guys building fast Fords are, as
ever, the kind of guys who might read Fast
Ford magazine too.
The piped-in engine sound in SportThe Sport button and
mode selector are now
within easy reach on the
steering wheelѰ FAS T FOR D SEPTEMBER 2019
WHAT'S NEW