Attempting to pair a new phone or a previously paired device did nothing. The Bluetooth function of the MyFord Touch infotainment system failed. It took less than two weeks for the young ST to throw a tantrum, albeit a small one. Our Focus rang in at just under $30,000, near the top of what most consider affordable performance. For $375, the car had gray painted wheels of the same design and 18-inch diameter as the base wheel. Besides the seats, bixenon headlamps and a navigation system were also part of the $4435 Equipment Group 202A. We received an almost fully loaded ST with the full-leather, heated Recaro buckets, which, unlike the partial-leather Recaros in lesser STs, are solid black instead of two-tone and don’t scream “import racer” quite as loudly. Ford, fortunately, sent us a new long-term Focus, but instead of another mainstream model, it was the race-red ST seen here. The damage was significant enough to abort that test. We started a long-term test of a regular SE hatch, but a few months in, it was forced off the highway in rural Colorado and onto an impromptu Baja 1000 stage. This ST wasn’t our first extended waltz with the third-generation Focus. Still, the Focus is a genuine gem that makes our palms sweaty, and we were excited to discover what 40,000 miles with this hooligan had in store. To add insult to injury, the ST’s 10Best slot was seized last year by an even more affordable and equally boyish Ford offering, the Fiesta ST. The VW offers all the performance of the ST but with the refinement befitting its price. Its reign as the C/D hot-hatch champ came to an abrupt end in July 2013 when we got our hands on the new GTI. It’s got the goods: a potent 252-hp turbo four, a slick-shifting six-speed, and a near-neutral chassis capable of making high g’s. We weren’t too surprised when the ST punched its way onto our 2013 10Best list after a comparo win against the sixth-generation Volkswagen GTI. Of course, it’s the ST’s best attributes that bring out the worst driver behavior, which makes it our kind of car. This, the hottest Focus, will turn any driver, especially one with little to no self-control, into a juvenile neighborhood terror. Hand a 16-year-old the keys to a new Ford Focus ST and odds are the kid will be relegated to the bus by the time he’s 17. From the February 2015 issue of Car and Driver
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |