First Drive: 2021 Ford Focus ST Review

Any new Ford Performance product brings with it a huge expectation. Accordingly, the new Focus ST comes in all guns blazing, bristling with new chassis technology, driver modes galore and ambitions to go beyond the previous version’s warm hatch billing and into proper hot hatch territory.

This is promotion from the Championship to the Premier League for the Focus ST, with ambitions to mix it with hot-hatch front-runners like the Hyundai i30 N, Megane R.S. 280 and, inevitably, the Golf GTI. A bold move, even for Ford. And one expressed with characteristic swagger, especially in the latest expression of what Clarkson dubbed ‘ASBO Orange’ in a previous ST era.

The new Focus ST has the biggest engine in its class in the 2.3-litre, 280PS (206kW) EcoBoost four-cylinder; others may have more horsepower but in torque terms it punches harder than its closest rivals and has the cachet of being derived from the motor in the previous Focus RS. Like most of its rivals it’s still front-wheel-drive, though in the modern way it features fancy torque-shuffling technology described as an electronic limited-slip differential but actually distinct in mechanical terms. Without getting mired in engineering semantics it basically means the Focus can proactively send drive torque to the wheel that can benefit most, the i30 N and fancier Golf GTIs using equivalent technology. Ford will argue it’s a more sophisticated solution than the mechanical diffs used by the Megane R.S. 280 and Civic Type R and it comes paired with other on-trend technology like self-adjusting dampers, all of which can be adapted via the driver modes.

The EcoBoost motor isn’t as charismatic as the five-cylinder that made the ST of two generations ago such a hit. But such is the way of modern engines. It gets the job done, responding quickly to the accelerator and able to maintain boost in on-off throttle situations with a version of the anti-lag technology used by rally cars. In Normal mode it’s reasonably refined, with a pleasingly authentic rasp from the exhausts and a softer throttle; hit Sport and you get piped in noise and more decisive response. An extra £250 buys the Performance Pack with an additional Track Mode, launch control, rev-matching throttle blipping and another level of sharpness for the ultimate fast Focus experience. Most will consider this a no-brainer, given the cost.

Indeed, the transformation from the standard driving modes to Sport and Track is sufficiently dramatic as to make it feel like you’re getting two cars in one. And by sharpening damping, response from the ‘eLSD’ on the front axle, steering weight and throttle mapping the ST morphs from merely a fast Focus to a properly assertive one. Suspension that feels a touch brittle at town speeds reveals itself superlatively composed at B-road pace, the clever damping coping with cambers, surface changes and even hard-edged bumps and potholes with utter composure. Confidence in the front end gives you options galore too and, at least on dry roads, you never once feel the need for RS-style four-wheel-drive. 

At just two turns lock to lock the steering is already super sharp; in the sportier modes the tweaks to the diff, dampers and weighting unleash additional feel and response, the power delivery aggressive enough in Track to have the wheel sniffing out cambers and wriggling in your hands under power in the way older fast Fords always used to. Back then you were stuck with it whether you liked it or not – the technology in the new Focus means you can calm it for everyday driving and only need tighten your grip on the wheel when the mood or situation takes you.

The ST launched with a six-speed manual gearbox, though a seven-speed automatic is now available. Enthusiasts will like the manual though, its short, chunky throw dialling you into the car. The rev-matching function is a neat feature and means you can perform seamless downshifts without having to tap dance around the pedals in Sport and Track modes. For anyone but self-important motoring journalists this will likely be considered a plus, though it seems strange there’s no option to switch it off if you are blessed with the footwork skills to want to do it yourself.

It has the tech any modern hot hatch needs but comes at a cost, the five-door petrol version of the ST knocking on £32,000 before options. This is Golf GTI money, something to raise eyebrows given Ford hot hatches have always traded on affordability. Ford will argue the car is well-equipped as standard – and it is – but with Hyundai offering an equivalent mechanical package for well under £30,000 the ST faces additional scrutiny. The diesel version has a simpler spec and is actually a little cheaper to buy but, from the outset, all eyes will be on the petrol and its ambitions to capitalise on the Golf’s pending retirement and assume its position as the class benchmark.

Good news? Once you’re done with the number crunching the Focus ST demonstrates Ford’s long-standing knack for transforming mainstream hatchbacks into performance heroes is as strong as ever. And there is a return on the additional investment.

The Ford engineers are unapologetic, keen instead to discuss how they’ve expressed the acclaimed feistiness of the Fiesta ST into the more mature and sophisticated Focus. That may be so but by relying on technology to do so they’ve made the car heavier and more expensive in the process. You can’t help but wonder if keeping it simpler, using their undoubted set-up skills and sticking to their value-for-money guns might have been more authentically Ford. But it’s hard to argue with how they’ve applied the hardware and the Focus ST’s ability to morph from refined and sophisticated modern hatchback into properly exciting performance car at the press of a button shows impressive depth of character. This is a fast Ford playing to a bigger and more demanding audience than ever. And capable of delivering the goods, albeit at a price.