Focus ST -original post date 3/29/2013
I present the
2013 Ford Focus ST five door hatchback in Oxford White with 18" alloy
wheels, dual exhausts, navigation, and leather Recaro seats. This car
is powered by a 2.0 L turbocharged EcoBoost engine that's matched with a
six speed manual transmission to give
you 252HP and 270 lb ft of torque. For a car this small, that's a whole
bunch of propulsion, so it's not going to be too surprising to learn
that this little hot hatch can zoom. What's extra nice is that you can
get all this fun and performance at the same time as you get decent gas
mileage. It's rated for 23mpg in the city and 32 on the highway -unless
you drive like I do... then, knock off a few mpgs. This one in
particular, can be had for right around $27,000.
I took this little car out for a spin right after trying out the 5.0 Mustang. It may be a compact, but the Focus ST is tons of fun. I slid behind the wheel without looking around too much and only realized after I got in that I was sitting in a Recaro seat -you'll know when you're in a racing seat because it will feel like it's hugging you. These seats are a great upgrade to get because their form keeps you in place rather than sliding all over when you fling your car around curves and turns.
The ST gives you a turbo charger, which in turn means there's an extra gauge cluster mounted on the dash to let you know the Turbo boost psi, oil pressure, and oil temperature. The interior features lots of nice stuff to look at, but my favorite interior aspect was the Recaro seats -love 'em and would definitely spring for them if I was going to buy one of these cars (and I just might, someday).
The transmission was not at all finicky, and shifted from gear to gear while the engine hummed along with little rev notes. I did manage to stall it out once on the outing, because I was busy yick-yaking with Stas about how much German tourists love lift trucks (they do -they really do) when I should have been more focused (no pun intended) on driving. Stas made me swear I'd include that little embarrassment in my review, so yeah, there it is.
The Focus ST can launch itself from a dead stop so quickly, it ought to have a countdown. Aside from the turbocharger, at least partially to thank for this is the fact that the differential features torque vectoring, which one more often sees on cars with all wheel drive (AWD). Torque vectoring means your differential can adjust the amount of power that is directed to each wheel. In a front wheel drive car, there can be issues with what's called "torque steer" (where the car will veer to one side when one of the drive wheels twists more than the other, pulling ahead of its partner wheel at the other side of the drive axles). Any problems that may have existed with torque steer seemed to be alleviated by the vectoring system, as the Focus I drove had no qualm about staying on track when I floored the pedal.
Overall, I have to say I quite liked the Focus. I didn't think I would, going into it, but this little car put a smile on my face. I actually caught myself giggling while I was scooting around in the Focus. After I parked it and started taking photos for this posting, I realized that I was sizing up how well the little car would fit into my life next to my Mustang. I thought: It's a hatchback, so it wouldn't look too ridiculous to mount a roof rack for toting around my kayak (at present, I borrow my brother's SUV for this task). I'd get great mileage without sacrificing performance. I could fit the dogs in it, and the extra doors and hatch mean it would work well for hauling stuff around.
The Focus ST is a great little car that can fill a lot of automotive needs at the same time as it puts a silly little smile on your face. It's practical but fun, small, but accommodating, and quick as a jackrabbit. I think I want one.
I took this little car out for a spin right after trying out the 5.0 Mustang. It may be a compact, but the Focus ST is tons of fun. I slid behind the wheel without looking around too much and only realized after I got in that I was sitting in a Recaro seat -you'll know when you're in a racing seat because it will feel like it's hugging you. These seats are a great upgrade to get because their form keeps you in place rather than sliding all over when you fling your car around curves and turns.
The ST gives you a turbo charger, which in turn means there's an extra gauge cluster mounted on the dash to let you know the Turbo boost psi, oil pressure, and oil temperature. The interior features lots of nice stuff to look at, but my favorite interior aspect was the Recaro seats -love 'em and would definitely spring for them if I was going to buy one of these cars (and I just might, someday).
The transmission was not at all finicky, and shifted from gear to gear while the engine hummed along with little rev notes. I did manage to stall it out once on the outing, because I was busy yick-yaking with Stas about how much German tourists love lift trucks (they do -they really do) when I should have been more focused (no pun intended) on driving. Stas made me swear I'd include that little embarrassment in my review, so yeah, there it is.
The Focus ST can launch itself from a dead stop so quickly, it ought to have a countdown. Aside from the turbocharger, at least partially to thank for this is the fact that the differential features torque vectoring, which one more often sees on cars with all wheel drive (AWD). Torque vectoring means your differential can adjust the amount of power that is directed to each wheel. In a front wheel drive car, there can be issues with what's called "torque steer" (where the car will veer to one side when one of the drive wheels twists more than the other, pulling ahead of its partner wheel at the other side of the drive axles). Any problems that may have existed with torque steer seemed to be alleviated by the vectoring system, as the Focus I drove had no qualm about staying on track when I floored the pedal.
Overall, I have to say I quite liked the Focus. I didn't think I would, going into it, but this little car put a smile on my face. I actually caught myself giggling while I was scooting around in the Focus. After I parked it and started taking photos for this posting, I realized that I was sizing up how well the little car would fit into my life next to my Mustang. I thought: It's a hatchback, so it wouldn't look too ridiculous to mount a roof rack for toting around my kayak (at present, I borrow my brother's SUV for this task). I'd get great mileage without sacrificing performance. I could fit the dogs in it, and the extra doors and hatch mean it would work well for hauling stuff around.
The Focus ST is a great little car that can fill a lot of automotive needs at the same time as it puts a silly little smile on your face. It's practical but fun, small, but accommodating, and quick as a jackrabbit. I think I want one.
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