The Ford Focus remains the most entertaining regular family hatch to drive but recent arrivals from VW, Vauxhall and Honda have run it increasingly close. The ST battles for fast hatch class honours in a segment full of talent. Hot hatches now pack 200 plus bhp in their pseudo shopping-car body shells and levels of performance have never been higher in this price bracket.
The previous generation Focus RS was a belting car, but came at the end of the Focus’ life and was a limited run car that Ford reputedly lost money on. This new-generation Focus has a range topper very quickly after launch. This ST boasts over 50 more horses than the previous model’s 170bhp, although the omission of the RS moniker may be a key tell-tale for the future.
The Focus Wagon is Ford’s compact wagon, that is also available in three other bodystyles: 3-door hatchback, 4-door sedan, and 5-door hatchback. The Focus was first introduced in 1998 in Europe and for the 2000 model year in the U.S.