6/23/2023 0 Comments Xplan ford focus st![]() You can thank both the engine size and turbo for that. The Focus ST isn’t a car that you need to rev hard or continually row the transmission (but because it’s such a short and inviting throw that’s no hardship if you do). Oh, and the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres are a joint development between Ford and Michelin to suit the Focus ST. Then there’s an electronically controlled limited-slip differential as well as brake-based slip control, there’s lowered suspension with adaptive dampers, and the brakes are boosted with an electric pump to compensate for fade on the track, the steering is quicker than the old ST and there are now driving modes accessible via an S button on the steering wheel. The engine is actually the “same” engine that’s in the Focus RS with a couple of mechanical differences like a different turbocharger, for instance. This starts with an embiggening of the engine, a 2.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine mated to a six-speed manual transmission (or automatic) and thumping out 206kW and 420Nm of torque at 1800rpm. No need to worry, though, because Ford Performance made sure they pilfered enough of the good bits and pieces from the Focus RS parts bin to give the ST a fighting chance of grabbing hot hatch fans by the short and curlies. So dropping the Focus RS and leaving the ST in its place could be seen as being a little, well, disappointing. Now, historically, ST models haven’t necessarily been what you’d call HOT. So, yeah, for me, the Focus RS is/was da bomb… do the kids still talk like that?Īnd that brings me neatly to the Ford Focus ST. When I drove the Limited Edition Focus RS back in 2018, I said, according to my notebook, “oh my, there are few vehicles on the planet that can get close to its corner carving capability…” the rest is illegible because I was shaking so much with excitement. This is staggeringly shocking news because, and I’ll go out on a limb now, the Focus RS was, in my opinion, the most exciting performance car of the decade. And, no, this isn’t Ford playing possum with us…there will never again be a Focus RS. It pumps out 276bhp and a healthy 420Nm of torque on overboost, no doubt thanks to the ST’s extra capacity over 2.0-litre rivals such as the Hyundai i30 N.The 2020 Ford Focus ST arrived in Australia two years after going on-sale OS, we took it for a fang on our favourite roads to see if it was worth the wait. Underneath the bonnet is the same 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine that this generation of hot Focus made its debut with. Mechanically, there’s not much different with this facelift, but the recipe didn’t need changing in this respect. Where the ST really excels is how it drives. Yet it’s a match for rivals such as Volkswagen’s Golf GTI, which should arguably be a more premium product. While the materials are robust and there are some leather-wrapped soft-touch points such as the steering wheel and a few other areas, on the whole material quality is acceptable but not outstanding. Quality is the same as it was in the pre-facelift model, so it’s good but not great the interior is functional rather than flashy. Yet responses are good and there are lots of features, such as wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard, plus sat-nav, a B&O Premium audio system, wireless phone charging, a rear-view camera, full keyless go and a 12.3-inch digital dash. Like its predecessor’s tech, it works well, but isn’t the flashiest-looking set-up. There’s also a new 13.2-inch infotainment set-up that has Ford’s SYNC 4 operating system.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |