I really wasn‘t sure it would be my kind of thing. The Ford Focus ST has built a bit of a reputation for itself over the years for being bold, brash and well, a bit of an animal. It‘s a reputation for which it makes no apology, what other car is available in such an aggressive colour as bright orange? If I was so unsure, then why was I anticipating its delivery with such enthusiasm?
Well, at least the one I was getting wasn‘t bright orange – I checked with the logistics company that was delivering it two weeks in advance but it was a perfectly civil silver. The ST Orange just reminds me of a dodgy fake tan – an ill-advised unflattering belly-top and a tattoo just above its bum might complete the look.
Okay, maybe I‘ve been a bit harsh – the orange is popular but I‘m 38 (yes ladies I know - I wear it well). I have to admit, it looks good and its suits the aggressive snarly look of the car; it just doesn‘t suit a man that‘s staring down the barrel of forty.
The interior is neat and pleasing – I loved all the sporty little touches and trim; the oil pressure and boost gauges that sit in the middle of the dash are a cool touch.
The tested car was the ST2 variant, propelled by a Volvo-sourced 5-cylinder, 2.5-litre lump that knocks out 225 BHP and paired to a great 6-speed manual ‘box with nice snappy travel and perfect ratios. The already excellent suspension from the previous generation has been stiffened and tweaked to further improve handling and there’s a very satisfying 0 to 60 time of 6.8 seconds.
My journey home on the night the car was delivered to the office provided very little opportunity to test the incredible performance dynamics promised by the stats; it was miserable. It did however serve to convince me that the ST can be a well-mannered everyday hatchback when you want it to be.
On a straight, major road, it feels quick and there’s plenty of grunt but at first it all seems to be low to mid-range torque. It doesn’t rev through the roof like a Civic Type-R or snap your neck back from standstill like a Golf GTI. There’s a nice blat out of the tailpipe and you’ll overtake most things with ease but until you get the hang of it, the ST2 seems a bit tame compared to the screaming enthusiasm of the Type-R.
My advice is, take a shortcut home on a couple of familiar back-roads and give it some welly – this is where the ST comes into its own. If you drive it skilfully, there’ll very few unmodified production cars that could keep up. There’s a nice bit of controllable torque-steer present, even when the traction control is on – drivers aids are all nicely balanced on the non-intrusive side. Grip is amazing but when you push your luck a bit, it won’t just let go altogether - it will slide predictably and as long as you know what you’re doing, you won’t end up in someone’s living room. For a front-wheel drive car, the entire set-up is sensational - I felt as if I could give an Evo a run for it's money.
You should begin to learn the way the Focus ST works before very long. It’s more about smooth controlled power-bands than just delivering everything in one big lump and screaming about it. It’s not any less tame than the Type-R, in fact it’s just as quick – it’s just more controlled about the way it transfers power to the road.
The exterior styling has received some very subtle revisions for 2008; some might say too subtle; considering it doesn‘t look awfully different to the outgoing one. Get this car in the right mood and there‘s damn all that‘s subtle about it – especially if it‘s got blue over-bonnet racing stripes or Dayglow orange paint.
The ST makes no apologies for what it is and I like that in a car. It‘s following the tradition of the bygone Fords that I grew up with and get misty-eyed about; the RS2000, the Escort MK1 Mexico and the Capri GT.
The Ford Focus ST2 is sheer pumped-up, Brut 33 macho hedonism and I love it.
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neiljaxx
One, they get nicked and burnt out..... or
Two, they rust quickly and fall apart within a year. (Not very appealing)
To be honest I was becoming a bit disappointed with the Megane 225 with its rubbish handling, dodgy steering, poor build quality (I suffered many many faults) and the fact that the cars panels in bright orange paint, were fading at different rates which annoyed me a great deal. Therefore, I looked around at various cars. The Civic Type R, but I'm not sure about the look, the Golf GTi which is way over priced for a hatch back (don't give me the rubbish about superior German build quality) and I also looked at the Astra VXR but I heard bad things about the handling and we have Astra cars in work which are simply rubbish! Incidently, handling is very important to me, more so than 0 to 60 times as I don't like driving a barge and I don't want a car which corners like a shopping trolley with a dodgy wheel.
Therefore, I traded my rattle infested Renault in for a Ford Focus ST2 in bright red with white side stripes. Its the closest thing I could get to a Ford GT40 as the public sector wages don't help much in the desire to fund a supercar! (I don't think robbing a bank would help much either - they've all gone bust!)
The first thing I noticed about the Focus ST2 was the noise from the exhaust - even at low revs - it sounds like a burble from a rally car. (Which is great, bring on the roar!) Having run the engine in gently and properly I decided to build up to my normal driving style - I was determined to look after this Ford/Volvo engine! I'm glad I did as the car drives great, handles great and delivers smooth acceleration. Cornering is a joy and I have a lot more confidence in the handling of this car than any other vehicle I have driven. The interior is also to my taste, I love the black head lining, the good Sony stereo (very suprising!), boost gauges, Recaro seats and bits of alloy trim here and there. Incidently the seats are comfortable and you don't need spinal surgery after a long run. (Peugeot take note as the 206 made me ache!)
External styling is also to my taste and I think the snow flake alloys are great and indeed look like those on the Lambo Supercars! The car stands out but not too much to make you look like a complete idiot.
There are rumours going around that the Focus ST2 needs an oil tanker in tow as it's a bit heavy on juice. Well, let me tell you from personal experience that the car is indeed very heavy on the 'go go juice' and on my weekly cycle I appear to be using more fuel than the Starship Enterprise. Well, between 20-25mpg to be exact - something I will mention when service time arrives. But I'm not sure they can do anything as that appears to be 'normal'. At this point you are probably thinking the economy is putting me off the car and I'll pack up and sell it but you are wrong. True, the fuel economy is rubbish but the interior, exterior looks, handling, image and engine torque make up for the fact that you need shares in ESSO to run the car. Afterall, don't buy any sporty car if you are allergic to petrol station visits. Its not for you if you're a tight fisted scrooge and your wallet never sees the light of day!
The build quality is good too and not what I was expecting - I thought it might rattle like an 80 year old with false teeth in a freezing January gale in the Arctic Cirle, but compared to the Megane the Ford is solid as a rock with no rattles that I can speak of. The turbo is quite violent too when it flips around to full boost at about 4500rpm. To explain this a little better, I would say the turbo in the Ford appears to act like a traditional turbo car with a bit of
lag low down rather than the electronic trickery they have put into the Megane RenaultSport 225 to 'smooth out' the turbo lag. You get the impression the Megane would be ever so 'slightly' quicker off the mark but the Ford would murder the Renault and probably most hot hatch cars for sheer overtaking power once its within its torque range. The torque delivery is pretty much in the same style as a big turbo diesel which makes it very driveable on my daily commute through the twisty roads of North Yorkshire and once your moving the turbo lag isn't a problem.
Overall the Ford is a great car and probably the best car I have ever driven up to now. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to enjoy their driving rat race to work and if you want to join the Playstation Gran Turismo party but can't afford that Subaru STi. Remember, the Ford ST isn't that expensive when you compare it with other hot hatches, infact its probably the cheapest of the lot. However as mentioned above, beware of the fuel costs and don't buy the car if your called Swampy and you live in a tree. The CO2 rating of 225 makes it an enemy of the green brigade and a bit of a money spinner for the tax man. Yes, its one notch away from the big bucks tax bracket!
Paul Green
I look forward to reading more of your thoughts about cars.
P.S. I think this is a great candidate for our first "official" user review. Do you mind if we make a bit of a feature out of your report too?
Bob Hume
On the car:
Press cars are always filled to the brim by manufacturers and if I'm careful I can make them last the week. The ST2 used a ful tank in 3 days but to be fair I was ragging it a bit - well a lot.
Well okay an awful lot.
The styling is class, the interior is solid and the performance dynamics are truly magical.
Funny thing about the Renaultsport Megane 225 though - I liked everything except for that handbrake. It's a rev-monster like the Type-R and you really feel the benefit of that diff in the front - at the time I'd have rated it higher than a Mk5 Golf GTI.
Stick with DriveWire Neiljaxx - you're our kind of user!
Thanks a million
Bob
Editor
Paul Green
Bob Hume
neiljaxx
Paul Green
Glad to hear you're happy for us to add it to our, now amusingly named, readers' drives (geddit!? :mrgreen: ).
Keep the reviews coming! :)
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