Ford Focus ST 2019 review

Initial thoughts? The engine wants to be the centre of attention. It’s a bit ordinary in the Mustang but exerts its full personality in a humble Focus, spinning with an offbeat heave that can make it seem like there are five cylinders under the bonnet rather than four. With no active exhaust, there’s a generous degree of sound ‘enhancement’ for the cabin, but much as this will irk the purists, it’s well judged.

As now seems to be the norm with European fast Fords, there is also quite a bit of flywheel effect when you lift off the accelerator, but response is otherwise conspicuously good for such a large unit, and after hitting like a sledgehammer between 2500rpm and 4500rpm, it revs freely to the redline. The powertrain gets a big tick.

The next element to vie for your attention is the steering, which is quick. With a ratio of 11.3:1, it’s quicker than that of the Ferrari 488 GTB, in fact, and takes a moment or two of acclimatisation for its off-centre response to feel less nervously joystick-like and just clinically direct. In terms of feel, it’s not quite got the grit of a Renault Sport Mégane or the gloriously natural heft of Honda’s Civic Type R but has a clean and linear elasticity that’s similarly involving.

The accuracy of the rack then allows you to explore the Focus ST’s handling, which you’ll want to do often. Track mode untethers a playful side but disable the stability control and the ST becomes as wildly flamboyant as you can handle.

It’s recognisably Fiesta ST in this regard, with the grip generated by the front Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres providing the foundation for controllable lift-off oversteer. On a trailing throttle, you might get some rivals – notably the Hyundai i30 N and the RS Mégane – to behave in this way, but none does it so neatly or with such a basic and natural enthusiasm.

The positives continue. Mid-corner stability is very good, if not quite a match for some of the more hardcore hot hatches, and body movements are nicely controlled. Through quick direction changes, it can seem as though incipient pitch and roll motions – and, it must be said, the Focus can at times feel a touch too nose-heavy – will develop into something quite substantial. It rarely gets that far, the suspension acting forcefully but deftly, and you’re left with a car that fluidly communicates any remaining reserves of grip and balance through its stance but rarely becomes too much of a slave to the physics. In short, it’s good, quick, confidence-inspiring fun, and while the new electronic differential is effective, never is it overbearing.

Testing on UK roads will paint the full picture, but on the tougher tracks at Ford’s Lommel proving ground, backing the dampers off also reveals ride quality that is unquestionably a match for the Volkswagen Golf GTI – something for which you can thank all those Welsh development miles.

The price is £31,995, on top of which we’d spend £800 for the Performance pack, if only for access to Track mode. Perhaps that all sounds a bit expensive, but this is now the going rate for a top-tier front-drive hot hatch, and if you regard the RS Mégane and Civic Type R as being worthy of that outlay, the same most certainly needs to apply to the Focus ST.

Consider also that because eight in 10 owners of the previous car opted for equipment-rich ST-3 specification, that is now the only trim on offer.

But forget the numbers for a moment, because this new Ford feels a lot like it could be the missing piece of the puzzle in a closely fought segment. It isn’t the sharpest-handling hot hatch or the easiest to live with, but it blends those conflicting worlds skilfully and with considerable charisma.

Ford Focus ST specification

Where Lommel, Belgium Price £31,995 On sale Now Engine 4 cyls, 2261cc, turbocharged petrol Power 276bhp at 5500rpm Torque 310lb ft at 3000-4000rpm Gearbox 6-spd manual Kerb weight 1468kg Top speed 155mph 0-62mph 5.7sec Fuel economy 34.4mpg CO2 179g/km Rivals Honda Civic Type R, Renault RS Mégane, Volkswagen Golf GTI