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2015 Ford Focus ST review notes: Still the hot-hatch king?

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When the latest Ford Focus ST came back to the U.S. in 2013, it had a tough group of competitors to fight with, including the MazdaSpeed3, Hyundai Veloster Turbo and, of course, the reigning champion of the hot hatches, the VW Golf GTI. Two years later, it’s looking down from the mountaintop, while a new group of hatches gear up for battle.

That’s not to say the ST bests those cohorts in all areas, but overall, there’s no hotter hatch, in my mind, than the current turbo Focus.

It starts with the steering and chassis setup. The 2015 ST gets new front springs and sportier shocks all around. It’s a little bouncier than I’d like on the expressway, but the Goodyear Eagle F1s have no problem gripping around corners, even over imperfect pavement. It’s supremely balanced for a front driver, exhibiting neither understeer nor oversteer during hard-ish cornering on public roads.

Ford revised the electronic power steering system for 2015 and it has a good weight to it now, as well as a surprising amount of feel for that type of setup. It also felt supremely short from lock to lock, which is always good when poking around a parking lot or trying to do a u-turn on a standard street.

With the traction control off you can feel the tires fighting for grip, and fighting torque steer, through the steering wheel. Ford compensates for that using torque vectoring -- sending power to the wheel that needs it -- and something called the RevoKnuckle. With the RevoKnuckle setup, the spring and damper assembly are independent of the steering knuckle. That means the steering axis is closer to the tire’s centerline, which reduces spindle length and scrub radius, which in turn reduces torque steer -- they tell us.

It hasn’t been eliminated entirely, but reduced significantly. You can still feel the tires pulling on the steering wheel under heavy acceleration, but it doesn’t threaten to rip the wheel from your hand. The tires will still grab the grooves in the road and try to follow them, so be ready for that when approaching red lights. The GTI exhibits the much less torque steer, but also has about 50 less horsepower to deal with.

Ford’s 2.0-liter EcoBoost four in the ST is strong, and pulls all the way to redline. It makes 252 hp and 270 lb-ft of torque, which is nearly the maximum you can put in a front driver without making serious compromises. On the other hand, I guess we don’t know how much this RevoKnuckle system can handle until we try it.

Turbo lag is minimal, only coming on in first gear, or if you roll out from a stop sign in second. If you keep the revs high, this car flies. The shifter has a short throw, but the feel is too rubbery to be satisfying. Plug the Mustang setup into this hot hatch with a white cue ball shifter and I’m sold.

The brakes are strong, and the pedal placement is good for heel-toe shifting, but the pads are so fresh in this car, that the pedal stops just an inch or two from the top of the stroke. It’s hard to get your foot on both pedals at once, unless you’re hitting the brakes really hard.

I spent a few hours cruising around over the weekend, and found the cabin livable, but not lovable. The seats are cool looking, with athletic-type material, and the bottoms are nicely bolstered. The back area didn’t have as much support though, and I found myself holding my body in place with my hands on the steering wheel and with my knee on the central tunnel.

I’m not a fan of all the buttons on the center console, either. They’re matte black, and feel and look a little cheap. I do like that the USB port is right up front, and that it read my iPhone quickly and continued the music through the sound system.

The ST doesn’t come with the Track Apps suite like the new Mustang does, and that’s a shame, considering this is the type of car that could benefit from g-force gauges, timers and the like. I’d guess Ford has plans to do that, if not for this car, at least for the upcoming RS model.

This particular model is basically a stripper. The only option is the upgraded wheels, which add $495. That means we’re out of the dealership for less than 26K, for a daily driver (I picked up two 10-foot 2-by-4s and transported them home) and a track-day toy.

The GTI starts at about $25,000 and you can’t get the MazdaSpeed3 anymore -- rumor has it that it might be coming back with all-wheel drive. The JCW Mini, which comes with 228 hp costs about $33,000 and the Hyundai Veloster Turbo is only about $24,000 for 201 hp. I’ll go ahead and say it. The Focus ST is the best hot hatch you can buy right now. Period.

With video game-like reflexes, the Ford Focus ST comes very close to how one would imagine its digital doppelganger acting on screen. The steering is quick, the clutch action is just about perfect, and the throttle pedal provides a very linear response, one that doesn’t overwhelm or substitute roar for performance. This is indeed a turbo-boosted car, but there is hardly any hint of turbo lag, with the Focus ST being very tidy about using the turbo to its advantage.

The suspension in this car feels well sorted and easy to predict, with the 18-inch wheels wearing summer tires striking a good balance between road feel and absorbing potholes. Overall, the behavior of the suspension is very similar to that of the Fiesta ST, which lacks the power on road that the Focus can put down. When it comes to cornering, the Focus ST has a distinct advantage over its smaller sibling just due to its width, solving corners in a split-second. It’s one of those cars that makes you go “I can’t believe I’m already through that corner.”

The six-speed manual here is perhaps as good as can be expected, with relatively short throws and plenty of power in each gear. The first gear is not short to the point where you have to shift into second as you’re still building up speed through an intersection just as the light turns green, and that is a tremendous relief. And first gear gets you rolling without that droning noise that comes in as you reach the top of the gear in some other cars. Overall, it’s a very user-friendly unit that’s easy to read and play with. The 2015 model also received an updated front fascia that upgrades the look of the car nicely, and there were a few changes to the interior as well, though nothing too crazy.

With a base price around $25,000, it’s easy to spec this car up to around $30,000 out the door, but at the same time the Focus ST does not feel expensive for what it offers. MyFordTouch and the navigation system are about the biggest expenditures you’ll feel like you need to order when checking the boxes, though since the former is bundled with bi-xenon headlights and dual zone climate control it’s not that much of a premium over the starting price. I would budget around $4,000 to $5,000 if ordering one of these new for the extras, including the $495 for the black racing stripe if you prefer to let the local constabulary know in advance that you’re coming, letting them get ready to view and evaluate your driving skills, perhaps issuing a report card with some notes suggesting areas of improvement later on.

Options: 18” premium painted wheels ($495)

By Autoweek Editors
 


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