FORD FOCUS ST-LINE
A Focus on good looks alone. The big news from Ford in the closing days of March was the simultaneous release of the Endura we should have had in the first place, and the multi-award-winning Ford Focus range.
The 2019 Focus range covers four models: a wagon and three hatchbacks.
For our money, this hatch – the first ever Focus St-line – is the pick of the bunch for specification, driving dynamics, performance and any other category you can think of, except entry level price.
The St-line is the performance variant (for now; there is a true ST at stage left), though the St-line description suggests little more than a collection of cosmetic bits over the regular model.
As such, the St-line sports a modest body kit, beautiful 17-inch alloys and a subtle underlying wolf-in-sheep’s- clothing attitude. Did I mention it sounds good too?
In power and torque stakes, yes, the Focus St-line uses the same engine as every other Focus hatch: a turbocharged,1.5-litre, three- cylinder with single cylinder shutdown to optimise fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.
As part of this last, the St-line features selectable Start/stop functionality, but three- cylinder engine configurations do not lend themselves to consistently smooth restarts; though Ford’s system is more refined than others.
This is however, the only detractive element of the engine’s otherwise exemplary performance and indeed, it is one of only two aspects which, for me, counted against the Focus.
What was the second? That would be the new, rotary dial e-shifter.
A dial replaces the stick, and that does make for a cleaner cockpit, but if you are looking to make snappy shifts between reverse and drive for instance, the dial won’t be your best friend.
On the plus side, the Focus does have flappy paddles for those ‘let’s be a Formula One driver’ trips.
While the rotary e-shifter does take some getting used to, the actual shifts do not. The massively flexible eight-speed transmission has been enhanced for super smooth shifting.
Ford has developed optimised adaptive shift timings and compensatory clutch pressures to further enhance the feel of the transmission operation.
And on the subject of ‘ feel,’ the ST
Line’s sports suspension tweaks are significant, with the Focus’ precise handling characteristics overridden by a hint of torque steer when the taps are opened.
It’s not enough to give you the willies as of performance Foci of the past; rather more a gentle hint that you might want to think about this; sort of a Microsoft “Are you sure?” suggestion.
Naturally, you have a suite of fauxmandatory safety features including autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control with Stop & Go to allow for creeping driving situations, lane centring and evasive steer assistance. St-line also takes blind spot monitoring as standard.
New to the safety list are the pre and post collision braking systems, designed to minimise collision damage/injury in the first instance and prevent a secondary collision after the first, in the second.
I don’t usually comment on rear seat accommodations, but after transporting someone of six feet of height, I feel compelled to congratulate Ford in inner-space considerations.
This praise extends to the boot where, if you compare the Focus to its competition, the Blue Oval’s bum more than measures up, with 443 litres of boot-space in ‘road-march with five’ configuration, or 1320 litres for ‘carrying all that’ trips.
If Ford has nothing to say for the rest of the year, the brand has delivered the goods for 2019 with the Focus range and can honestly say it’s done its job well.