Friday night I took my wife out for Mother's Day since she is working all day today. On our way home, she wanted to stop at our local Ford dealer to see the Focus ST I'd been talking about for a while. Now, I know, there are those who will see this and think I'm plugging for Ford but truly, I'm just relaying my experience. I am not, nor have I ever been a Ford guy. I grew up a GM guy, I went to GM schools for brake repair and service, electrical and engine diagnostics. I have never been a fan of Ford products...until now.

This all started a year or so ago when a kid brought a Focus ST in for an oil change. Now, I'd never seen one before then and I thought it was a pretty nice little car. It was black with a black leather interior. Kid told me it was a turbo and made 235 HP. A mechanic I worked with had just bought a Dodge Dart Rally edition and it only made 185 HP so I was intrigued. Fast forward to this past Friday and my wife and I drove in to our local Ford dealer. Right in front of us was a Focus ST in white with red stripes. A salesman came out and asked what we were looking for. I just point to the ST. My wife asked if she could test drive it, and without hesitation, the salesman said sure. He went to get some paperwork and we checked the car over.

Everything had a nice solid feel to it. Something I didn't expect for a small compact car like that. The seats were Recaro up front, and it had a six speed manual. Right off the bat I noticed there was an instrument pod on the dash with a turbo boost guage along with oil pressure and temperature. Nice. We went for a test drive and I asked the salesman for details on the car. He didn't have a bunch but he did bring the spec sheet so, I went over that. Turns out the 2015 has 252 HP and 270 lb/ft of torque. After my wife drove, we swapped seats and I gotta say, I was impressed as hell.

Acceleration is brisk, if not violent. It will break traction if you're too aggressive with the clutch. Once rolling though, that turbo kicks in nicely. Smoothly too, there isn't really a violent surge when it's on boost, but you do feel a good deal of pressure on your back as you're pushed back into the seat. Handling was far beyond anything I expected. It positively snaps into corners and once in, a good bit of throttle can be applied without the thing stepping out. It transitions from left to right quickly too, and can do so while hard on the gas. It was a whole lot of fun. Then I had to get on the brakes.

What a shock! The brakes were better than anything I've ever experienced save for the anti-lock Brembo's on an AC Schnitzer tuned BMW M3. Even then, I'd say they were as good. They were incredibly powerful, and bite is immediate. As in, as soon as your foot touches the pedal you can feel the brakes coming on. Modulation is easy and pressure required is very light. Not like mushy power brake light, but direct like this much pressure equals this much stopping power light. A heavy foot will put your head into the dash.

All in all, I think Ford has a winner on their hands with this car. The salesman told us they can't keep them on the lot. They already sold their initial stock and they only get one every couple of months. We just happened to get there while they had one. He said when they do have one, it only lasts a week before its gone. I can see why. The car we drove was being sold for just $22K. At that price, I don't know of anything else that performs as well. My wife has been busy ever since trying to figure out how we can afford to get the car. I think we might end up leasing this thing before this coming week is up......sean

 

I don't think you have anything to apologize for- Honda is sorely missing a car in this space. With the demise of the Prelude and the Integra Type R (heck, even the GS-R), Honda/Acura doesn't have any sports coupes that can let it rip (don't get me started on the current Civic Si- the last good Si was the 1999-2000 model). I'm hoping the Civic Type R fixes this but we'll see. My Accord coupe (which I love) is a grand tourer, and the V6 is powerful, but it's not a track day car.

I've also heard good things about the Golf GTi (not that I would ever want a Volkswagen) and the current Subaru WRX. We'll see if the Civic Type R gets Honda back in this category.

 

I myself wouldn't own a VW but only because I've worked on them and absolutely hate doing so. Everything is densely packed like a BMW...only not engineered as well. IE everything is difficult to reach and unlike BMW, you cannot simply remove large assemblies to reach where you need to reach. Also, all their plastic seemingly self destructs as soon as you touch it. And it costs a small fortune to replace any that breaks.

My experience with Subaru is limited but similarly, I'd never own one either. They're not as cramped to work on as a VW, but the engines are pretty fragile from what I've seen come through the shop. I've seen one that dropped a valve at just 67K and it destroyed that engine. Bent the crankshaft, cracked the block, piston and head where the piston slammed the broken big end of the valve right into the top of the combustion camber. When the engine was removed it took a long time, and a lot of cursing before it finally came out. The number of vacuum lines was absurd as was the wiring harness. I'm just glad I didn't work on it....much. I had to help out from time to time but it was just completely ridiculous. Having helped out, and watched the dis-assembly I was impressed enough to know that I'd never spend money on one.

Timing belts alone are a complete nightmare. One we had to replace the belts because we were already in there replacing a faulty tensioner bearing. It sounded like there was a bird under the hood. What a nightmare that job was. Never again. Next time one came in the door for a similar job, I just pointed to the gate and told the owner to take it to Subaru because I didn't earn enough money on the job to make up for the frustration of doing it. There are few other vehicles in this world I feel that way about. So, while it might be fun to drive, I have to work on them if I own them. And that isn't happening. Ever.....sean

 

Do your homework about reliability on this car. Perhaps I got unlucky with my Fiesta, but Ford can and does make awful cars.

 

Never been a Ford fan, like I wrote previously. This car though....I don't know what it is about it but I've liked it since I first saw one. Not a lust, like I get with a really, really sweet motorcycle but a definite like. Talked to a friend about one a day or two ago...he had a Mazda Speed 3 and says the ST is the same car. Basically, anyway. If that is the case, I've worked on a Speed 3 and honestly, it's a gem of a car. Easy as hell to work on....maybe not mid 90s Honda easy, but definitely easier than any Toyota or VW made this century.

I can't count how many awful Fords I've worked on....lost track a couple of decades ago. Even one Mustang we owned was a real heap. We sort of inherited it, and I hated working on it. It finally blew the head gaskets and I scrapped it. It was pretty awful...unfinished metal seams underneath cut my hands up every time I stuck a hand in to turn a screw or nut. I never once worked on it without bleeding on it. It blew the head gaskets as soon as I got the thing reasonably reliable too. Honestly, would never even look at another one, save for this particular Focus. Heard a lot of good things about it too.....just don't really want a car or lease payement at the moment....haven't had one in years and enjoy not having one....sean