Ford Focus ST 2019 UK first drive

So here we are, then. After our first passenger rides and test drives on the Continent, the ST version of the fourth-generation Ford Focus has finally landed in the UK, ready to battle the hot hatch world’s finest.

You’ll read exactly how it fares against the likes of the Honda Civic Type R, the Renault Mégane RS and more on this website very soon, but for now let’s see what this new hot Focus is like in isolation.

Up front, the latest Focus ST has the same 2.3-litre four-cylinder engine you get in the Ford Mustang and the previous Focus RS, producing some 276bhp and 310lb ft. Admittedly, that’s less than you’d get in both of those cars (quite a lot less than the RS’s 345bhp and 325lb ft, actually) but still good for a suitably rapid 5.7sec 0-62mph time.

That’s all marshalled to the front wheels (shod in bespoke Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber) via a six-speed manual gearbox and an electronically controlled limited-slip differential (eLSD). There’s brake-based torque vectoring, and a heavily revised suspension configuration that drops the ride height by 10mm, increases damping stiffness and beefs up the anti-roll bars. Adaptive dampers are standard, with Normal and Sport firmness settings.

Opt for the Performance pack and you’ll get Track mode, which tightens things even further, and a rev-matching function for the manual ’box. In addition to the firmness of the dampers, those three drive modes also alter the characteristics of the eLSD, the electric power-assisted steering, throttle response and stability systems.

On the road, the combined effect of these changes on the dynamic character of the Focus is marked. Our road test of the standard ST-Line X model revealed that Ford’s C2 platform already provides a fantastic basis for a family hatch with heightened levels of response and agility. The ST treatment amplifies this athletic disposition to levels that are really quite remarkable indeed.

It’s the immediacy of the steering you’ll likely notice first. Turn the wheel and the response from the ST’s front end is so sudden and dramatic that it can take a moment or two to properly become attuned to it. Once dialled in, though, it’s hard not to be impressed by the gazelle-like levels of agility the car is capable of conjuring.

A steering knuckle geometry that moves the rod attachment point 9mm forward and 6.5mm higher than that of the standard car is a key contributor to this electric response, while its Michelin tyres and diff work hard to provide effective, tenacious grip and incision through particularly tight corners.