GIVE IT SOME STICK
WITH THE ST ASSUMING THE MANTLE OF FLAGSHIP FAST FOCUS, DOES IT SINK OR SWIM WHEN FACED WITH THE TWO CARS THAT HAVE COME TO DEFINE THIS CLASS?
THERE’S SOMETHING magical about 206kW. No, really. Translated to horsepower it’s 276, or 280PS if you prefer. This was Paul Rosche’s target for the M1, BMW’s first and only mid-engined supercar. It’s the claimed power output of the Nissan Skyline GT-R and the original Honda NSX and if it was enough for Ayrton Senna to fling around Suzuka wearing white socks and loafers, it’s probably ample for a five-door Ford Focus hatcback.
This ST version of the latest Focus has some big loafers to fill. There’s no fire-breathing all-wheel-drive RS version of this generation Focus planned, so the ST now has to serve as the sports flagship, bumping power up notably from the last model’s 184kW output. But where that car was a $39K deal, the latest Focus ST jumps up in price to $44,690, placing it right into the crosshairs of some far more serious tackle. We’ve lined up two of the very finest. The last time we put the Honda Civic Type R up against the Hyundai i30N was in April 2018, when the then-boxfresh Hyundai astounded everyone by just pipping the Civic – an almost unbackable pre-event favourite – for top spot in our 12-car hot hatch megatest.
While the Civic hasn’t changed a great deal from then, with the asking price still an identical $50,990, the i30N has spawned the Fastback version we’re testing here, along with an Australiantune for its suspension and a five-year warranty that includes track usage. That sounds like a lot of car to beat for the most modest asking price of this trio at $42,910.
It’s also the car with the lowest power and torque figures, as testing at a cold and damp Heathcote dragstrip indicated. With 202kW and 353Nm at its disposal, the Hyundai, a six-speed manual front driver like both of its assembled rivals, still has trouble deploying drive cleanly. On its best run, the Vbox flashes up 6.3 seconds to 100km/h and 400m broken in 14.3 seconds at 161km/h. The Ford’s 2.3-litre four is a far torquier unit than the Hyundai’s Theta II lump. The standard-fit launch control proved functionally useless on the day, resulting in manic axle tramp and wheelspin, but the Ford’s ability to flat-shift without lifting off the gas helps it to 100km/h in 6.1 seconds and 400m in 14.2 seconds at 164km/h.
Then the Honda rolls to the line and puts some manners on both its rivals. Clearly having 228kW at its elbow helps here, but it’s still 20Nm down on torque compared to the gutsy Ford. Nevertheless, once the Conti tyres had warmed through a little, it jets to 100km/h in 6.0 seconds flat and on to 400m in 13.8 seconds at a terminal speed of 170.2km/h. That 400m time, incidentally, is exactly the same as what the original NSX achieved. How’s that for symmetry? On a warmer, drier day we’d have doubtless gone quicker but the Ford manages to land an early blow on the defending champ. Time to head for the hills.
CAN WE talk about the Civic Type R for a moment? You’ll probably have noticed that it has grown significantly from its compact FK2 predecessor. And how that car was nothing like its blobby, torsion-beamed FN2 Type R forebear? And how that one looked alien to the multi-link suspended EP3 before it? There is no continuity of development here. Every generation seems to start from a clean sheet. Both good and bad elements are ditched and Honda seems to exhibit a corporate amnesia, unable to extract any benefit from considered model development.
The reason is that the engineering genius has long resided in a business called the Honda R&D Company. It runs as its own entity, conceives and develops vehicles, and presents another firm, the Honda Motor Company, with the finished product. Its job is to sell whatever it receives. The marketing people and brand experts live here. You can doubtless see the problem with this silo approach already, but from April of this year, that has changed. The R&D Company has been brought under the same roof, so to speak, with one senior suit in charge of authoring a sensible model ‘story’, much like virtually every other car company out there. That could mean less extreme Hondas but it could also spell a coherent development path for what is, right