Ford of Europe has done a good job in the past in making front-drivers and hot hatches handle, so I was really keen to drive the new
Focus ST on the track. Now they were trying to repeat the trick with a car having a big 2.5 liter five-cylinder lump right up front. Could they compete with some of the very capable hot hatches that are out there now?
Handling, brakes, steering all get a pounding in a track test, and you also learn a lot about the quality of the seat. We had a reasonable amount of time to drive the Focus ST on two different tracks at the Bedford Autodrome – a short one with many slow bends, and a longer one with faster curves, but still with a couple of slow ones.
With 225 bhp, a six-speed gearbox, big brakes, wheels and tires and Recaro seats, the Focus ST is definitely intended to be the ultimate hot hatch. A short drive to the circuit in the car confirmed that this version of Volvo's five-cylinder engine is brilliant. Ford engineers have developed a turbo system that produced maximum torque from just 1,600 rpm up to 4,000 rpm.
Very wide rev range: 2,500-7,000 rpm
So does it go like a bat out of hell from 1,600 rpm? No. But in the lower gears it pulls from 2,000 rpm with the strength that its competitors can only manage over 3,000 rpm. It starts to get interesting at about 2,500 rpm, and it continues to thrust forward very quickly up to the limiter at 7,000 rpm. It has at least an extra 1,000 rpm of really useful revs compared with its rivals, which makes it a fast road car.
There were a few wet patches on the corners, which caused the traction control to work, and caused a bit of controllable side-slip. The firm ride was evident on the bumpy roads, as was the amount of feel coming through the steering. Overall, in this short run, the car seemed nice to drive, with plenty of power.
Later, I drove the car over a new test route, and first found that at almost any speed, the Focus ST is mighty quick – the acceleration in the 30-70 mph range gets you around the place very quickly. The engine gives plenty of power from 3,000 to 7,000 rpm, with a great engine growl from about 4,000 rpm. You make just as fast progress changing up at 6,000–6,500 rpm as you do hanging on to 7,000 rpm. At low speeds, the engine is very smooth, quiet and refined.
Nor has Ford coupled the engine to any gearbox – the six-speeder has a really smooth and quick shift, and the ratios are pretty well spaced. The shift is much nicer than on the manual box of the Golf GTI , for example.
The suspension and steering are a good compromise between sportiness ands general use, the springs and dampers soaking up most surfaces very well. On very poor surfaces you know all about it, but the car itself keeps in contact with the road, giving you good control. But this is not a rally set-up – go fast over a hump and the springs can bottom out afterwards.
Learn the track first
The first track includes an S-bend, a sharp right-angle bend, two very slow chicanes and a complex consisting of a slowish left-hander, a very tight right-hander then through a curve into a wide hairpin. So can you throw the car at a corner like a rear-drive car? No, not at all. If you do, the car shows the classic front-drive characteristics, not turning in sharply enough to hit the apex, as the understeer builds up, and continues to understeer around. Lifting off improved matters on some corners. So I learned straight away that I would need to modify my technique a bit to get the most from the ST.
I was not ready for the tighter second corner on one of the chicanes – which are markerd out by bollards, so their sharpness takes you by surprise at first - so I had to lift off pretty sharply, and the car went sideways too far, requiring opposite lock, and then another correction as the car went the other way. By this time, we were going pretty slowly, but all this happened in a small space, so no problems. By now I had learned that this was a car that liked to wag its tail. Encouraging.
After a few laps, I began to get the hang of it. I also found that the stability control was a nuisance. Sure, it does reduce the understeer slightly but only by killing the speed, either by applying a brake or reducing the power the engine can deliver or both. The result is slower and messy cornering. So I switched it off and left it off for the rest of the test. I said when I reviewed the Focus ST initially that the base model, without stability control would be the enthusiast's car, and now I'm more convinced than ever.
Turn in early and smoothly
I'm used to turning in a bit early with a front-drive car, but had not realised just how early you need to turn in with this type of car, and how smoothly you need to turn in. The trick is to brake smoothly, and start to turn in just before or just after you stop braking, and then turn in smoothly – but much more early than you would with a rear-drive car.
Once I started doing this, I found that the car would not understeer as much as before, and carried its speed through the corner well, lining up for the next bend easily. On the really sharp right hander, it was a case of just clipping the angled curve before the bend, then aiming for the apex, and letting the car drift wide as I came out. With the chicane, you need to adopt the same technique, but lifting off at the second bend helped steady the car and set it up for the third bend.
So far so good, except that the Focus ST could not really handle the hairpin, which is actually not that tight, but you enter through a curve following a slow bend. It was difficult to stop the car just wallowing at the apex, as the car didn't have enough speed to wag its tail.
Now for something faster
The most interesting parts of the second track were a fast S-bend, followed by a faster right-hander, then a longish straight to the sharp hairpin. Because this was a really sharp hairpin, it was fairly easy to brake, put some throttle on as you turn in, then lift off at the apex, to bring the tail around. Then full throttle to power out. That worked well regularly. Excellent.
Understeer comes in on the faster corners
On the faster corners – 60-80 mph - the understeer did still come in quite strongly, but by turning in early and steadily, I was able to get into the corner with the understeer sufficiently under control to hit the apex. Once at the apex, I put the power in, and that increased understeer. However, just lifting off a touch at the apex, then putting my foot down again, straightened the line up beautifully, and sent the car powering off down the straight to the next corner.
I turned in early to keep the understeer down into the long, fast curve, but inevitably as you power through the curve, the understeer builds up, but quite safely. On these curves the car worked well, because although the understeer builds up, safe tail wagging is there if you need it – more easily than is common on hot hatches.
Back on the road
On the roads, a good combination of smooth fast roads, and country roads, some not so smooth, but all sporty, the suspension and steering proved a good compromise between sportiness and general use. The springs and dampers soak up most surfaces very well. On very poor surfaces you know all about it, but the car itself keeps in contact with the road, giving you good control. But this is not a rally set-up – go fast over a hump and the springs can bottom out afterwards.
Overall, this is a great car to drive fast over twisty or straight roads; on the straights you have enough power to keep up with the Joneses, and overtaking is a breeze thanks to the combination of power and a good gearbox. Do a really quick shift from first to second on a dry road and you can get a mite of understeer – impressive for a car of this size. And it keeps going up through the box.
On twisty roads the Focus ST is a joy, turning in pretty well for a front-driver, despite that heavy engine, and cornering with spirit wherever you are. Roll is well controlled, and you just turn in from corner to corner, flowing through very quick – of course if you overcook it, you can lift off and get the tail out.
Brilliant? Not quite. Although it turns in well for a front-driver, front-drive it is,m and with a heavy front end at that. So don’t expect the ST to turn in and handle like a rear-drive car. It doesn’t and can’t.
Safe handling, but the chance of entertainment
We don't drive on tracks often, so what does this mean? To start at the beginning, the combination of fairly heavy 225 bhp engine in a front-drive car is bound to create understeer, but so long as you turn in steadily and early, you can prevent that understeer becoming a problem. Lift off does allow you to straighten the car up – easily at the right speed. Mostly you lift off just a little, modulating the throttle, and the car can be cornered fast.
But what happens if you're out there on the road and the bend tightens unexpectedly, or starts to understeer more than you expect. If the power is on you will be able to lift off to kill the understeer, maybe bring the tail out . If you're still braking before the corner, you can brake and turn in to get the tires to bite. However, you do need to brake smoothly.
If you brake too sharply, as soon as you come off the brake pedal, all the weight goes to the back again and the understeer will build up.
There will be situations in which you don't have enough power for lifting off to work, and if you accelerate through, the understeer will increase. The Focus ST has plenty of grip, so in that situation, applying extra lock is likely to get you round, while slowing you down as the tires scrub off the speed. At least you hope it will!
You can't alter the laws of physics so the ST will understeer at the limit. But with the suspension set up they have engineered into the Focus ST, you'll have more fast enjoyable driving than in most hot hatches. Oh, and that seat proved superb, and everything on the cars stood up to the pasting on the track no trouble at all. The brakes worked well, the gearshift is excellent, and the steering told me what was happening at the tires. Meanwhile, the seat held me in place, and the driving position was good.
Not quite brilliant...
What are my criticisms? A pity they had to put the minor instruments between the speedo and rev-counter instead of outside them and the steering wheel is not very grippy. Also, I can't help wondering whether a two-liter 225 bhp four-cylinder engine would not have made a better package, with a lighter front end, and even more neutral handling.
It's also a pity that Ford of Europe has a blind spot when it comes to a rest for the clutch foot – these are very useful when you really get cornering.
I'd like to see the car look a bit different from the standard Focus, too, but Ford has been down that route and evidently keeping nearer the standard look sells more cars. Nevertheless, my impression after that day in the ST was that this is a great little car that will give enthusiastic drivers a lot of pleasure at a realistic price – and the seats are the best in the class
For specification, please see
Ford Focus ST.
