The hot hatch fights for its life
It’s Ford’s new Focus ST and, in the crossover corner, VW’s feisty T-Roc R. Fight!
FORD FOCUS ST
The third-generation fiery Focus comes from a long bloodline of fantastic fast Fords. The last one was excellent but played second fiddle to the straitjacket-meriting RS. Available this summer as a hatch or an estate, it comes with
twin tailpipes, big wheels and an aggressive front end. The ST’s 2.3-litre EcoBoost turbocharged inline four is much like the one used in the previous-generation Focus RS and current Mustang. A seven-speed auto is now o ered alongside the classic six-speed manual, and there’s a manual-only diesel that fortunately isn’t called STD. Phew. Front-wheel-drive ST’s petrol engine has 276bhp (up 29bhp on its predecessor) and 309lb ft (up 59lb ft) for a sub-6.0second sprint to 62mph. Rev-matching is o ered as part of the optional Performance Pack for manual versions; it also brings the red brake calipers. No one will buy the 187bhp
diesel for its sprint time. Crucially, the petrol ST has Ford’s first-ever front-drive electronic limited-slip di , with the diesel option using torque vectoring by braking instead. Sport and Track modes allow a fruitier tone from the exhaust system, and
there’s launch-control tech – just like the hot Fiesta. Do the maths and the Focus ST adds up to a very attractive proposition. Almost every version of the current Focus drives beautifully, and the Fiesta ST’s standout brilliant. So this should be great, and yet… And yet we find ourselves
counting down the days until the T-Roc R arrives.
VW T ROC R
Essentially a high-rise Golf R, the T-Roc R is a crossover that’s eaten a couple of cans of Popeye’s spinach. Arriving in the UK in September, it’ll double VW’s R performance range from one (exceptional) car to two. Angrier styling, quad exhausts and R badging alert innocent bystanders. Just one engine here, and it’s essentially the Golf R’s: a 2.0-litre turbo four with 296bhp and 295lb ft mated to a seven-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic and all-wheel drive for very rapid, fuss-free on-road performance
regardless of the weather.
Just the one engine, as with the Golf R, so no diesel to muddy the waters. VW claims a 4.9-second sprint to 62mph, and it will keep going to a 155mph electronic bu er. To put that in context, that’s 0.3sec slower than a Golf R, but quite a bit quicker than the Focus. (Ford hasn’t yet quoted a top
speed for the ST, but expect it to match the T-Roc.) Race mode via the T-Roc’s twiddly drive mode dial and launch control for the drag race enthusiast included alongside vast brakes nicked from the Golf R Performance Pack, fat 18-inch wheels and stability control that can be
switched o . Good.
Are you kidding? The Golf R is a car so outrageously talented it’s taken all the fun out of working out what your next car should be – it’s a Golf R, obviously. Except now it might be a T-Roc R, not least because it means you can have
your crossover cake and eat hot hatch.