d motorofficial f motor_mag^33BELOW
Amongthenumerous
newtechnologies
incorporatedinthe
newSTisa system
thatreducesthe
effectoftorque-steer
feltthroughthewheel
will develop into something quite
substantial. It rarely gets that far, the
suspensionactingforcefullybutdeftly,
andyou’releftwitha carthatfluidly
communicatesanyremainingreserves
ofgripandbalancethroughitsstance
andrarelybecomestoomuchofa
slavetothephysics.Inshort,it’sgood,
quick,confidence-inspiringfun,andthe
newelectronicdifferentialis effective
andneveroverbearing.
FordsaystheFocusSTwasprimarily
developedforroadusebutshouldn’t
feeloutofitsdepthatthetrackdays
manycustomersfrequent.
Thebrakes,withtheirlargerdiscs,
aresaidtoresistfadefourtimesbetter
thantheoldcaranduseanelectronic
boosterthatadjuststhebitingpointto
keeppedalfeelconsistent.It alsohasa
‘torquedisturbancereduction’system
thatdialsouttorque-steerbycounter-
torqueingthesteeringcolumnwhen
thee-diffgetspunchy.Bothelements
seemdecentlybeneficial.
TheengineersadmittheCivicTypeR
developsmassive,nailed-downstability
andis bettersuitedtotrackwork,but
they’vedeliberatelyplotteda different
course.Nimblenessoverstability,and
useabilityoverlaptimes.Thetwocars
willinevitablybecompared,butthey
espousecontrastingapproachestothe
hot-hatchrecipe.
Crucially,theFocusSTis an
extremelyrounded,practicaldevice–
a keypartofthebrief,butonethat’s➜by the front Michelins provides the
foundation for controllable lift-off
oversteer. On a trailing throttle, you
might get some rivals – notably the
Hyundai i30 N and the RS Megane –
to behave in this way, but none does
it so neatly or with such a basic and
natural enthusiasm.
Mid-corner stability is very good, if
not quite a match for more hardcore
rivals, and body movements are nicely
controlled. The Focus does feel a
touch too nose-heavy, and through
quick direction changes it can seem as
though incipient pitch and roll motions
THE ENGINEERS PLOTTED A
DIFFERENT COURSE TO THE TYPE R.
NIMBLENESS OVER STABILITY, AND
USEABILITY OVER LAP TIMES
sometimes missed in this category. The
boot holds 375 litres, there’s near class-
leading passenger space, and backing
the dampers off reveals ride quality
that’s a match for the Golf GTI.
Ford Australia has yet to determine
local specifications, but has confirmed
it will arrive here in early 2020.
The new Focus ST might just be the
missing piece of the puzzle in a closely
fought segment. It isn’t the sharpest-
handling hot hatch and perhaps not the
easiest to live with, but it blends those
conflicting worlds skilfully and with
considerable charisma.