2013 Ford Focus ST: Hot Hatch Kingslayer

The days when European hot hatch fans got all of the best toys to play with are coming to end.  The realization that North American enthusiasts are willing to pay a premium for a fun-to-drive compact car has companies scrambling to fill a void in the market that for years has been dominated by stalwarts like the Volkswagen Golf GTI and the Subaru WRX.

Enter the 2013 Ford Focus ST.  Although a newcomer in Canada, the Focus ST has long been a favourite of drivers across the Atlantic, who appreciated its practical hatchback body style, its nimble handling, and its straight-line performance.  The decision to import the Focus ST is a wake-up call in the small car segment, for while there have long been turbocharged, high-horsepower front-wheel drive machines available for Canadian drivers - witness the MAZDASPEED3 - few have presented the same kind of all-around game offered by the Ford.

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Snappy Styling For The Boy-Racer Crowd

There's no mistaking the cues that set the 2013 Ford Focus ST apart from standard versions of the Focus hatchback.  To begin with, the car's gaping honeycomb maw is blacked out and features perhaps the only subtle aspect of its styling: a discrete 'ST' badge on the lower left corner.  The rest of the car is as extroverted as one would expect a turbocharged performance hatch to be, with a rear spoiler extending from the roof, a center-exit exhaust framed by a pair of diffuser-style bumper cut-outs, and attractive five-spoke rims.

The interior of the Ford Focus ST is just as flamboyant thanks to the presence of standard Recaro leather sport seats.  I can't possibly say enough about how comfortable these thrones truly are, and the amount of lateral support they provide is befitting such a performance-oriented automobile.  All of my passengers during the course of my time with the ST immediately commented on how much they loved the seats, even those who didn't get a chance to sample their track-ready charms.  The vehicle I drove also came with a thick, meaty steering wheel, a set of auxiliary gauges (keeping track of boost and other vitals), and the MyFord Touch system, which didn't include the dash-mounted LCD screens but did offer a touchscreen interface on the center stack.  The Focus ST's busy but engaging interior design, and long list of features, are major points in its favour when compared against most other quick compacts and help deliver a premium feel that matches its price point.

A New Performance Standard For Compact Hatchbacks

Earlier on I mentioned the Volkswagen Golf GTI as being the model most frequently crowned king of the hatchback hill when it comes to speed and agility.  VW's complacency in updating the GTI's skill set has finally come home to roost, as the Ford Focus ST surpasses it in almost every visceral dimension.  Where the Volkswagen offers a composed, almost GT-like driving experience, the Ford explodes out of the gate with startling acceleration from its 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder engine.  252 horsepower and 270 lb-ft of torque managed by a slightly loose-feeling six-speed manual transmission might sound like too much for a front-puller to handle, and in certain driving situations, it certainly is: on Montreal's broken pavement, and in the wet, the Focus ST is all-too-willing to have its drive wheels deflected and pulled by imperfections in the road.  An active anti-torque steer system is present at all speeds, and it can be felt working its magic through the wheel as it attempts to mitigate the effects of so much power being dumped to the forward axle.

Although a constant presence, Ford's torque-steer fighter doesn't really intrude much into the car's handling, which is another area where the Focus ST excels.  Again, electronic magic is worked via a torque vectoring control feature that makes use of the car's brakes to help eliminate understeer and sharpen the hatchback's cornering ability.  After driving the car with its electronic stability and traction control set to normal, Sport, and switched completely off, I can honestly say that the Focus ST is a compact with a lot to offer drivers willing to explore the limits of its stiffly-sprung chassis.

Ford has also made sure that all senses are stimulated by the Focus ST by way of something it calls an 'Active Sound Symposer.'  This is a tube that connects the passenger compartment to the engine bay, passing through the firewall to open at certain rpms and fill the cockpit with the sweet tones of the busy little turbo four under the hood.  At idle the effect can catch you by surprise if you rev the motor past 4,000 rpm, but while underway it does an excellent job of sweetening the aural pot and goading you to engage in the kind of hooliganism that this hot hatch was designed for.

A Daily Driver With A Dark Side

I want to end this review by underscoring just how easy it is to live with the 2013 Ford Focus ST on a daily basis.  The car offers ample cargo room accessible via a large rear hatch, and passengers in the second row will also be content with the amount of space available for their legs and shoulders.  The car's suspension, while tuned for performance, never felt harsh while running errands, even when the tires broke free in the wet, and the vehicle was also surprisingly easy on fuel.  In fact, the gear ratios provided with the Focus ST are very well thought out, with the cruising along when a lower cog is selected without kicking back through the drivetrain.

Put the pedal down, however, and the 2013 Ford Focus ST will instantly drop its Clark Kent impression and burn through undulating corners at a track or on a back road with the kind of tight responsiveness that has been slowly bred out of the Volkswagen Golf GTI and which never really existed in more brutal options like the MAZDASPEED3.  To know that this kind of potential is lurking beneath skin of a perfectly acceptable commuter car put a smile on my lips as I stalked the highways and byways in search of easy prey - and curvy roads.  The Focus ST is to the GTI as the GT40 was to Enzo Ferrari: a slap in face, and a drop of the glove.