Ford ST: The Muscle Car In A Hatchback Body

Last week I voiced my thoughts on the impressive Fiesta ST. I thoroughly enjoyed the vehicle, except for some minor details. Since I had my mind set on a small vehicle for D.C. roads, I felt compelled to only look at the Fiesta, but I was happy my rear end found the more muscular Focus ST.             My time in the Focus was even shorter than in the Fiesta, but it left a lasting impression on my, which I felt compelled to share. Think of this as part two of Ford’s newest hatchbacks. Right away, it’s easy to see how the Focus ST can be seen as a muscle car trapped in a hatchback’s body and at the end of the day, I was stuck with a difficult decision.              The newest rendition of Ford’s hatchback is discretely large. Let me explain. From outside of the vehicle, the Focus ST looks pretty small, especially for the available space inside, but from the driver’s seat it feels like a wagon. While its size doesn’t seem like a lot on paper, a quick peek at the rearview mirror reveals a never-ending backside, which may take time to get used to. When compared to its competition, there’s roughly an extra foot of space.             Again, an extra foot may not seem like a lot, but you would be mistaken. There’s plenty of room in the Focus ST, especially behind a taller driver. Making the Focus ST a vehicle that could be used for a long road trip. With the back seats remaining upright, there’s a copious amount of room for a trip to Home Depot – vital to any hatchback owner.             I didn’t get to play around that much with the audio, but the Focus ST boasts a 10-inch subwoofer in the back. And it’s integrated nicely into the trunk, not like some teenager’s trunk with a subwoofer simply lying there. I didn’t get to use the navigation system either, but the screen is bright and large. My only gripe lies with how the Sony audio dash system appears. It looks cheap, feels cheap and while there are only a handful of buttons to control the system; it’s confusing to use.             The Focus ST that I drove came equipped with the ST3 package, bringing the MSRP of the vehicle up to an entry level $30,000. Quite frankly that’s a lot for a hatchback, but it’s the only package I’d have. The all-leather Recaros are a nicer place to sit than the regular partial-leather Recaros. They’re also not as bolstering, which makes them better for longer drives. And, if you needed any more encouragement, heated seats only come with the ST3 package. There’s a dial to control how badly you wish to get burned, which is a nice touch, since they warm up quite quickly.            The ST3 package also adds electric seats, which make it easier to get into a comfortable driving position. With the partial-leather Recaro seats, I felt like I was sitting higher up then normal, but the full-leather seats are able to nuzzle down into the vehicle.             While the front seats are amazing, the rear seats feel and look bland. The ST3 package wraps the front seats in comfortable leather, but in the back it looks lifeless. A little too much black if you ask me. I’m not sure if it was the vehicle that I was testing, or just something that Ford doesn’t do well, but the rear seats had a lot of wrinkles in them – something that doesn’t happen in the partial-leather seats. There’s plenty of room in the back seats, easily enough to fit three full-sized humans in comfort without sacrificing trunk space.             Ford did a great job with the amount of gizmos inside the Focus. There’s a usb port and some auxiliary ports crammed into the center console, while multiple outlets are easily accessible from the drivers seat.             The Focus isn’t Ford’s top-of-the line vehicle, so the leather that wraps around the entire vehicle is cheap and flimsy. It’s a nice thing to have leather in certain areas, but the leather isn’t nice to touch or look at. Enough with how the vehicle looks, let’s get onto the meaty part: the driving.             It may look like a hatchback, but the Focus ST is a true muscle car. The 2.0L-EcoBoost engine pumps out 252 hp and 270 lb-ft of torque, enough to propel the car to 60 mph in under six seconds. Which seems slow on paper, but it feels a lot faster in the car. Turbo-lag is kept in check, but the vehicle feels alive after 2500 rpm when the engine pins you back into the tight Recaros. The car sure doesn’t feel slow.             The torque is truly impressive. There’s wheel spin and torque steer coming back to you from a thick, meaty steering wheel and it’s absolutely delightful to try to tame the car. Putting the window down reveals glorious induction noise with the turbo coming into song higher in the revs. The exhaust gives off a crisp note that’s truly a pleasure to listen to.             The steering wheel is a joy to manhandle and provides a good amount of feedback. The turning radius was really tight, which I found interesting, since it got me out of a sticky situation during the test drive.             Ride quality is very good; the Focus glides over the small bumps and is capable of handling Washington, D.C.’s worst in stride. On bumpy, curvy back roads, the Focus ST could use a firmer setting, but on the highway it’s nice not to be flung around the vehicle. It’s a really good setup: firm when you need it and squishy when you don’t. It’s uncompromising, I never really felt like I would trade for a different suspension setup because Ford’s got it spot on.            The handling, while it wasn’t a surgeon’s scalpel, was quite impressive. I felt right at home in the Focus and was even able to scare my passenger on some back roads. Turn in was good, the front-end communicated through the steering wheel well, which gave me a lot of confidence to put the vehicle through the corner. The tires had a lot of grip – a lot more than I dared to try in a vehicle that wasn’t mine – and understeer was nonexistent.             That last bit really surprised me. I’ve owned and driven front-wheel drive cars before and understeer is not only prevalent, but also comes in massive doses.  Not in the Focus ST. The car just felt ready to turn in, like it was meant to corner and enjoyed doing it. Which is truly a special quality.             The engine in the Focus ST is downright too powerful for the vehicle. There’s violent torque steer in the dry, the electronic gizmos to keep the front wheels in check can’t cope with the sheer torque during launch, causing massive amounts of wheelspin off the line. While these are a bit nitpicky, they take away from the joy of driving the vehicle.          There’s a certain aspect of a wild creature needing to be tamed that draws me towards the Focus ST. But there’s also the idea of tiring forearms after a spirited drive down some back roads that pushes me away from the vehicle. Other things that I’m not a huge fan of include a nonexistent rearview camera, the on-average interior quality and incredibly small gas tank – approximately 12.5 gallons.             Without a doubt, the Focus ST is a great everyday vehicle. Maybe even one of the best on the market today, but it’s a medium-rare steak when you really ordered a medium. It’s so close to perfection that it actually slightly bothers me. If Ford were to place a rearview camera and dial out the vehicle’s aggressiveness I would hop on board the hatchback wagon and put my money down for one. Even though they didn’t, I’m still here contemplating getting one and that says a lot about how good the Focus ST really is.