So just got home from driving a family friends' brand new Focus ST (has less then 600km on it), which was fully loaded. This is a short review as weather here is pretty poor (icy roads, fresh snow fall, freezing cold out).
Exterior
The car looks way better in real life then it does on the internet. The car was painted in Ford's "Tangerine Scream" color, which I found an eye catcher but not that all in your face as I was expecting. Cool things like the rear exhaust and gas door with lights molded around it were nice touches. The big gaping mouth at the front takes a bit of getting used to but it works when you see it. I think a nice intercooler sitting there would be a nice touch.
Interior
The last focus interior I sat in was an 2004 ZX3 Focus. This is steps, big steps, above the interior of that old car. Nice to look at and nice to the touch I found. The Germans have been doing it so well for such a long time, Ford is catching up now, which is a good thing. The seats were my favorite part of the interior, very large bolsters and nice leather. The seats I believe not meant for large people (weight and height wise). I found them to be very comfortable and supportive. The nav system I didnt play with, but as you drive on the large screen it displays the current street you were on, found this a bit odd but I can see this being useful. Didn't get to use the SYNC, but the owner said the reviews about it are true (slow to respond, not user friendly, etc). The trunk lost ~4 inches of space due to Ford placing a full size spare in the rear and needing to raise the floor for it. Overall the interior was nice, but it felt slightly cramped due to the layout of everything.
Performance
Being the ST I was expecting alot from it, I think it dealt with these expectations very well. Acceleration was pretty good, being on icy roads and narrow snow tires didnt help, but when on somewhat dry roads the ST hauled past traffic. Again with the roads and slimmer tires, there was some torque steer induced when you mashed the pedal. I believe this would be pretty much non-existent had the summer tires been on and it had been dry roads. The ride was a bit harder then the GTI's but very nice and it never really felt out of place going over snow ruts or taking icy bends. Braking wasn't really tested since it wasn't my car I slowed down far away from other drivers. The clutch is light and VERY short. At first I thought it would be hard to use compared to the GTI, but once I was behind the wheel for a couple minutes it felt pretty natural. The gear box I found to be very smooth and was easy to use when putting around in or flogging it. I did find one odd thing though, when doing ~110KMH in 6th gear I found it to be at a higher rpm then I would be in the GTI (forget the actual number, but it was above 2500 rpm). I don't think I was shifting into 4th by accident but its possible.
Value
For the money, I think it is on par with GTI in some aspects. If you want a more sporty hot hatch then the GTI, the ST would fit the bill nicely. I would have a hard time choosing between the two if I was shopping now for a vehicle. If I wanted a car to not be tinkered with much I would get the ST, but if I knew I was to tinker (which at some point I do) I would stick with my GTI. If Ford keeps improving their car line-up like this I may have to cross shop them more with the Germans in the future.
Hope you enjoyed this small review and get the chance to test drive your own ST one day.
Exterior
The car looks way better in real life then it does on the internet. The car was painted in Ford's "Tangerine Scream" color, which I found an eye catcher but not that all in your face as I was expecting. Cool things like the rear exhaust and gas door with lights molded around it were nice touches. The big gaping mouth at the front takes a bit of getting used to but it works when you see it. I think a nice intercooler sitting there would be a nice touch.
Interior
The last focus interior I sat in was an 2004 ZX3 Focus. This is steps, big steps, above the interior of that old car. Nice to look at and nice to the touch I found. The Germans have been doing it so well for such a long time, Ford is catching up now, which is a good thing. The seats were my favorite part of the interior, very large bolsters and nice leather. The seats I believe not meant for large people (weight and height wise). I found them to be very comfortable and supportive. The nav system I didnt play with, but as you drive on the large screen it displays the current street you were on, found this a bit odd but I can see this being useful. Didn't get to use the SYNC, but the owner said the reviews about it are true (slow to respond, not user friendly, etc). The trunk lost ~4 inches of space due to Ford placing a full size spare in the rear and needing to raise the floor for it. Overall the interior was nice, but it felt slightly cramped due to the layout of everything.
Performance
Being the ST I was expecting alot from it, I think it dealt with these expectations very well. Acceleration was pretty good, being on icy roads and narrow snow tires didnt help, but when on somewhat dry roads the ST hauled past traffic. Again with the roads and slimmer tires, there was some torque steer induced when you mashed the pedal. I believe this would be pretty much non-existent had the summer tires been on and it had been dry roads. The ride was a bit harder then the GTI's but very nice and it never really felt out of place going over snow ruts or taking icy bends. Braking wasn't really tested since it wasn't my car I slowed down far away from other drivers. The clutch is light and VERY short. At first I thought it would be hard to use compared to the GTI, but once I was behind the wheel for a couple minutes it felt pretty natural. The gear box I found to be very smooth and was easy to use when putting around in or flogging it. I did find one odd thing though, when doing ~110KMH in 6th gear I found it to be at a higher rpm then I would be in the GTI (forget the actual number, but it was above 2500 rpm). I don't think I was shifting into 4th by accident but its possible.
Value
For the money, I think it is on par with GTI in some aspects. If you want a more sporty hot hatch then the GTI, the ST would fit the bill nicely. I would have a hard time choosing between the two if I was shopping now for a vehicle. If I wanted a car to not be tinkered with much I would get the ST, but if I knew I was to tinker (which at some point I do) I would stick with my GTI. If Ford keeps improving their car line-up like this I may have to cross shop them more with the Germans in the future.
Hope you enjoyed this small review and get the chance to test drive your own ST one day.