Ford Focus ST review @ 1000 miles

Shamu

Dont take my word just look at what other reviewers have said about this Ford crap box. If I was in market for 20 MPG torque steering 3200 lb pig of an econobox I'd be in line for ST for sure!

Quotes from leading car mags


The Ford struggles to get the power down in adverse conditions and tends to describe a ragged line when the visor drops, and its manual gearbox is not as efficient as VW's dual-clutch layout.


Despite these grand promises, the RS was notorious for excessive steering fight, so it does not come as a huge surprise that the ST displays similar tendencies.


The bad news is that the turning circle is more F-150 than Focus. At 39.4 feet, the ST, which is shod with eighteen-inch tires, needs three more feet to move between curbs than its lesser stablemates. The turning circle of the Volkswagen is a commendably tight 35.8 feet -- so much smaller than the Ford's that you'd even notice the difference making a U-turn in the middle of a wide-open red state.


On actual roads, you more often than not find yourself wrestling all 270 lb-ft of torque for steering superiority. In first and second gear, make sure you have some space when getting onto the gas with the wheel anything but straight. Even then, you'll want a full lane, stripe to stripe. I haven't felt torque steer like this in a very long time. In fact, I've driven GTIs with 400 hp at the wheel that were more docile than this Ford


When the car senses torque steer, it ups the steering assist in the opposite direction. It feels very unnatural and suddenly you're correcting your efforts to correct the steering to correct the direction of the car in an effort not to have to correct a curbed wheel.

You probably want to blame us, the Edmunds editors, for our long-term 2013 Ford Focus ST's less-than-stellar fuel economy. Or maybe you think fault lies with the EPA's testing procedure. We've been averaging around 22 miles per gallon, which is below the EPA 23 mpg city rating, not to mention the 26 mpg combined rating.

...we averaged just 20.4 mpg for the month on 91 octane premium.

The technology on our long-term 2013 Ford Focus ST has more than its fair share of issues. From the annoyances with MyFord Touch and pairing our phones, to the car thinking it should have a rear-view camera the audio and navigation controls and software seem to be the weak point on

Recently, I happened to notice the gap between the tweeter on the passenger side of our long-term 2013 Ford Focus ST and the door trim below it. Then, I glanced over at the driver-side tweeter. It fits tight to the door trim

Because of its swooping beltline and smallish rear window, the Focus hatchback does not provide the driver the greatest of rearward visibility. It's not terrible in the sense of a mid-80s Italian supercar, mind you, but it can make backing out of driveways or parking spots a bit trickier than I'd expect for a small hatchback

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Grant

UNKNOWN_370

D-damn!!!

Are these from one reviewer or several? You didn't quite quote and bib these.
I never really looked at the post production reviews of this car but Torque steer sounds unrelenting... When i had my Altima 3.5se, i pushed those 270hp/258lbs tq to the limits and virtually no torque steer with vdc on, mild to slightly moderate with it off. There was side to side movement with vdc on, but more than tolerable resistance which made it extremely controllable even under hard driving.

Torque steer has been becoming a historical fact in FWD cars since 2007. The only car I can think of that has harsh torque steer is the Mazdaspeed 3. But those turbos are ramped up pretty high stock and mazdaspeed hasn't been truly updated in that area. (this last statement was true in 2011 at least?) I don't know if 2014's still have that level of torque steer?

All that being said... I'm shocked the Focus ST has horrible torque-steer in 2013.

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Lug

Wow, that's got to be the most selective quoting in history. You know damm well I can show you almost every mag on the planet calling it the best FWD car out today. And all of them universally rating it over the VW and the MS3. geez.

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m4a1mustang

Agreed. Selective quoting ftl. How many bad reviews are there on the 370z?

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ZMan8

This

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jpritche

Hundreds
Zero.

Shamu

Won't find any quotes on torque steer for 370Z.

I will say that almost every review I have read on the Ford talks about torque steer issue and the crappy electric systems in place to try to counter issue. No selective editing on my part. Then all typical quality issues that go with this low quality but cheap American brand.

Don't worry I wouldn't expect someone who owns a Ford to understand. I'd create a fantasy world too if I owned a Ford to justify my purchase. Ah yes best handling fastest and high quality sedan ever!

I guess I could wait a year or two and pick one up for $12k after this Focus Boi racers resale value collapses on itself.

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Grant

Red__Zed

Nah, but you'll hear some about how there might as well be a small bus on the front axle.

If you trust reviews to evaluate a car, you're doing things very wrong.

There's no love lost between me and the ST. I've no interest in a turbo FWD car, and in that price bracket I'd be in a WRX, but it's preposterous to pick out negative comments like that.

Nevermind the fact that the interior quality is miles ahead of most other vehicles in the price range, contrary to your claims.

m4a1mustang

You're a funny guy, Grant.

First of all, I don't think I said anything denying the torque steer. Is it there? Absolutely. You can feel the computer try to compensate, but it can only do so much. But, it's not my car, so I don't really care.

With any car you can find plenty of good and bad comments from reviewers... often in the same review. If I cared enough, I could search for plenty of praise of the ST.

Low quality? Everything inside the ST feels pretty nice to me. For cars in its price range it's got to be among the better quality cars around as far as interior materials are concerned. It's well done. Doesn't feel econobox at all.

Fantasy world? Hardly. I don't own a Ford. I drive one occasionally and happen to think it's a fun, well built car. Would I personally buy an ST? No. I'm not into FWD hatches, or sporty FWD cars in general. But I do understand the appeal of cars like the MS3, ST, GTI, etc. They are convenient, sporty, and fun all rolled into one and work just fine for many people.

Keep trollin', man. You do a good job.

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Ni55anPat

My friend bought an ST few months ago and loves it! Traded in his 5.0 mustang get better mpg, more room....but get a fun car.....he's plenty happy!

Lug

I just had to......

The most significant take-away from this confrontation is the Fun to Drive line in our Final Results tabulation: Note how the ST topped the GTI by two points. Considering how long and how well VW has raced slot cars, that’s a colossal achievement. Something finally caught the GTI. Car And Driver

The numbers are impressive, without a doubt, but how the Focus gets around the figure-eight might be the most shocking. Apparently, nobody told Ford that high-performance, high-horsepower front-wheel-drive cars are supposed to suffer from terminal understeer. With any luck, no one will ever tell them, because the Focus ST is one of the best-handling front-wheel-drive cars ever built. Motor Trend

For now, the car to beat in the compact hot-hatch segment for all-around value and performance is the 2013 Ford Focus ST, hands down. Autoweek

Overall, though, we think the Ford Focus ST is one of the best options available in the hot-hatch market. Its drawbacks are quite minor compared to the amount of fun you'll have while driving, and with features typically unavailable from competitors, the Focus ST will feel as if it's worth much more than what you're actually paying. Edmunds

The Ford Focus ST is the first front-wheel drive car I would actually purchase with my own cash. Jalopnik

All have different strengths and weaknesses compared to their rivals and it seems Ford found the best blend. According to them, a study by Polk found the new Focus ST was the best sold hot hatch in Europe during the last three months of 2012. Considering awareness wasn't that high for this brand new car, the results are surprising. 44% of buyers chose it, compared to only 33% for the Golf GTI, a long time leader, and just 12% for the Megane RS. Autoevolution

But I wouldn't advise you to buy a Focus ST simply because it's better than the competition. I'd tell you to buy one because it is bound to be remembered as one of the decade's great cars, a thriller that deserves to be held in the same esteem as the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. Think of buying a Focus ST as purchasing a bit of history -- except it's better, because history doesn't usually rotate when you lift off the accelerator. -- CarsAbout.com

The Vauxhall might be a couple of tenths quicker around the track, but for everyday, every-road driving, this must the best hot hatch on sale. In fact, it might be the best do-everything fast car in the world... Top Gear


Ford's new Focus ST is a starship amongst suborbital dinghies. It backs up its sci-fi looks with an EcoBoost engine that shreds time and space. It dominated every performance category in this test except observed fuel economy, and did so in a way that's both confident and entertaining. This is the new highperformance standard against which any other mass-produced car with a 4-cylinder engine will be judged.Road And Track

I could get serious and go find about 50 more if you really want!

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UNKNOWN_370

This is what i know based off the only 2 videos review i've seen. both were european vids and I was really searching the Megane.

1. On the track, Megane is 1st, Focus ST is 2nd.
2. On the street, Focus is first, Megane is second.
3. The focus has the sickest exhaust on a Front driver
4. Styling is nice but boy-racerish, but by no means bad.


This is what i learned inspecting one at the dallas auto show.
1. It's a high quality vehicle, overall.
2. the center stack kinda looks like a transformers toy and takes away from the overall appearance.
3. The RECARO's were built in HEAVEN,seating perfection and extremely high quality, only gotten by recaro.
4. Shifter placement is perfect and love the high quality look and feel of the shifter.
5. I would consider buying one as a DD for sure.

And it's not bias, because i kinda don't like Ford in general. If i went domestic, i'd look in GM companies. But it is, what it is. The focus is nice.

Torque steer to that level is not good considering most japanese and european brands have conquered it well, while GM and ford are still torque-steer junkies. But some good suspension tuning can reduce it too...

I would like to push one to the limit. I don't mind FWD sporty for DD/aggressive driving..

May i add. US and Europe used to have two different models. Ford gave the cheap one to home while blessing foreigners with the real deal. Ford finally came to their senses and gave us the european focus. All those years of us without the "real" focus, and the focus had over a decade of awards. now we finally have the car that's rightfully ours. I'm just glad to see a FUN front driver out there. there used so many and hardly any RWD, now we're missing good FWD's and have enough RWD. So lets balance it out and make both plentiful.

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Shamu

So I have sat in the car and I didn't see the "quality" you guys are raving about. Dash is a cluster. Car I sat in at show was showing wear just from people climbing in and out that better brands didn't show. It's a flicking focus. Lol!

And I love the "proof" this is a great car. It beat (well really didnt beat them)another crappy VW and a French companies econo boxes in a comparison on clearly biased car blog and magazine?

No one has sold me on this boosted fwd trash heap. Hey but it's your money guys! I'd jump in a better balanced and much lighter mini before I'd get in this 3200 lb pig. Or perhaps Fiesta ST if you want a pile of junk that is fun to drive.

I just feel sorry for people who are shelling out $24k for this car

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Grant

m4a1mustang

Enjoy your Mini.

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Shamu

Loving the Mini S. Much lighter car not too powerful - nice balance and I consistently get 35 mpg! The Focus weighs about 500 lbs more than mini.

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Grant