Road test: Ford Focus ST170

By Feann Torr

The Ford Focus took an inordinate amount of time to arrive in Australia and, for the most part, this can be attributed to the car's standout success in Europe and America, where it was the first four wheeler to ever win both the North American Car of the Year (2000) and European Car of the Year (1999) awards.

Suffice it to say, demand for the Focus has been unprecedented for the last four years, but back when this car won such awards the competition wasn't as tough, and today there's a lot more pressure in the small car market.

So, here we have the Focus ST170, the flagship model in the range, the hot hatch, the model that all Focus's aspire to. It's also related to the Focus WRC, a turbocharged 4WD World Rally Car that makes almost 600Nm of torque and goes off like a frog in a sock.

But can the sporty ST170 deliver when the competition is so fierce, or will it triumph over other go-fast four-cylinder cars like the Clio Sport and 206 GTi? Let's find out...

Make: Ford
Model: Focus ST170
Price: $37,000
Transmission: 6 speed auto
Engine: 2.0-litre, inline four-cylinder, VVT, electronically fuel injected
Fuel Consumption: City cycle - 9.5-litres/100km, Highway cycle - 6.6-litres/100km/h
Seats: 5
Safety: Driver and passenger SRS airbags, ABS, T/C, front side (thorax) airbags

Drive

Ford Focus ST170 - that's 170 brake horsepower

Powered by a specially-built 2.0-litre, inline four cylinder engine, the Focus ST170 promises much, the specifications indicating boldly the car's 127kW of power - three kilowatts more than the current King of Kompact, Renualt's Clio Sport.

After plonking myself into the fairly hard cushions of the ST170's sports seat, I gave the two-door hatch a bit of rev, noting the fuel injection mapping was nice and responsive, but without being too snatchy through the first few degrees.

The Duratec ST engine produces 127 kW @ 7000rpm and 196Nm of torque at 5500rpm, is an inline four cylinder motor, with belt-driven DOHC, four valves per cylinder, variable valve timing, a cast-iron block and aluminium alloy head, with a compression ratio of 10.2:1.

With a top speed of 215km/h and 0-100km/h time of about 8.5 seconds (we recorded a rather hazy 7.11 second time using gyroscopic aids), the ST170 is no slouch.

First things first, I plopped the smooth shifting Getrag six-speed manual transmission into first (noting the well-sprung clutch feel), then stomped on the loud pedal, watching expectantly as the the traction control fought with front-wheel torque, yanking the wheel left, then right.

Not happy with the car's take-off, I switched off the T/C and wound out 1st gear [peak 60km/h], then second gear [peak 103km/h] and wasn't exactly blown away with the car's performance.

The engine has a lovely note when from outside, with quite a hairy scream when you hit the 7500rpm cut-out, but is well damped inside the cabin (perhaps too much for my liking). But even with a fat 'zorst, the tuned and tinkered 1988cc engine really takes it's time to build up engine speed: There's a fair hole between about 2500 and 4000rpm that's probably a side effect of adhering to noise and harshness levels.

It's a willing engine, eager to rev past 7000rpm whenever you fancy a quick frap, but one wonders if the engine's internals (con-rods, piston crowns etc.) are a smite heavy to deal with such high levels of reciprocation.

The ST170's engine has a stroke length of 88.0mm, and at 7500rpm the little pistons are moving at incredible speeds, the end result is that the tacho needle takes its good sweet time arriving at the power band, which hits between about 4500rpm and 7200rpm.

Another factor that hampers the sporty Focus's velocity is it's rather bulky kerb weight. Shifting 1283kg poste haste is no easy task, and if the Focus lobbed in at under the magic 1000kg mark, like the Clio Sport, it'd be an absolute ripper.

Great wheels, nice bodykit and the exhaust note is one of the best in the small car genre

Still, it's not all doom and gloom for the feisty Ford; the engine is wonderfully smooth, the sound delightful and the gearshift via the six-speed manual 'box is precise, if a little long between gates and somewhat light underhand.

The engine is also particularly thrifty, highlighting Ford Europe's impressive variable valve timing system: 9.5-litres of fuel is drained for every 100km travelled in the stop-start city cycle, while just 6.6-litres of petrol is consumed for every 100km travelled while out on the open road.

When the ST170 is pushed to full tilt the intake valves are going absolutely bananas, actuating like it's going out of fashion.

Plonk the two-door Ford into sixth gear at 60 kays however, and it'll pull smoothly from über-low revs while affording brilliant fuel efficiency, thanks to the VVT.

If nothing else, the engine is supremely tractable, happily pulling from low revs in any gear, and able to do so without shuddering like a cold and wet toddler. It's hard to bog the engine down, and this makes for a confidence-inspiring drive, particularly when the motor is wrapped up in a Rally-bred chassis.

Fair dinkum, this hot hatch attacks corners with so much composure that the lacklustre engine performance (almost) pales into insignificance after throwing it into a good number of tight corners. While it never feels quite as fleet footed or rapid as the 206GTi or Clio Sport, it takes a lot more will power to push this puppy beyond the limits of adhesion.

The car turns in with alacrity, and feels solid and planted when cornering at speed, rarely dipping its nose over one front wheel and pushing wide of the mark, which is sometimes the case with juiced-up front wheel drivers. Even in damp conditions, the ST170 dragged it's lardy body around corners with such tenacity it was a little shocking at first - it's has outstanding balance and huge levels of grip.

The chassis really is a work of art and not only makes the Focus a demon in the twisty stuff, but helps keep things entertaining, it keeps the driver involved, if you will. Going fast on a long straight can be enjoyable, but carving the perfect line is better, and the ST170 delivers with an involving drive.

Sitting on 17-inch alloy wheels, the Focus's kick-arse chassis makes the most of the 215/45 R17 tyres, and while the suspension is stiff enough to provide adequate feedback via the steering wheel and hold a tight line through a corner, it still has enough rebound and compression damping to keep those who are less attracted to "goin' hard" happy.

Those who want a 'designer' hatch will find the ST170 more than adequate

Deceleration is pretty good, almost up to the ST170's handling standards, with strong initial bite from the calipers and only low levels of brake fade as the discs heat up after heavy footed used. A little dab on the anchors mid-corner didn't even upset the car's attitude either.

In the city and on the highway the Focus exhibits very fine road manners, the suspension working effectively over larger pot holes and even those jarringly nasty staccato undulations.

While the steering feels better at higher speeds, offering quicker inputs and more precision, it nonetheless works well at lower speeds, though does feel a little doughy when changing lanes at low speeds.

With a turning circle of 10.9 metres, both Commodore and Falcon aren't far behind, which is a little worrying. Such a turning circle is pretty weak for a short wheelbased car, but on the road it doesn't feel like it, and has no trouble squeezing into fiddly parallel car parks for example.

Exterior

The Ford Focus isn't exactly a cutting edge design, first launching in Europe in 1999, but even in the face of time and its inexorable nature, the Focus ST170 looks very modern, dare I say focussed?

The shape is traditionally Euro, with lots of a major-league curves punctuated by sharp and often angular features, such as the lights and grille, yet everything's rather orderly in spite of its somewhat radical overall appearance. It has a distinctly 'advanced' or avant garde image, if you could call it that.

Surprisingly, the ST170 didn't turn as many heads as the feisty Clio Sport, which was quite strange, though sources with their hands on the current social pulse put it down to a negative shift in Pluto's atmospheric polarity levels. Simple really.

While the ST170 wasn't the 'look at me' champion I thought it would be, it's still a very appealing car. To start with, there are those touring car-inspired multi-spoke, 17-inch alloy wheels, shod with grippy 215/45 R17 tyres and, for a hatch at least, 17-inch alloy wheels are big - it's like having 20-inch wheels on family-sized car, and the result is highly satisfying.

The brakes actually look pretty good too, their large size filling out the mag wheels well: There's nothing worse than seeing big 17 or 18-inch wheels mated to piddly little disc brakes - or worse, drum brakes.

127kW is good, but 157kW would be better...

There's a fairly impressive aero body kit as part of Ford Europe's "ST" range of cars, including side skirts and a fettled front end with a deeper chin spoiler, while a lower rear apron, bigger exhaust pipe and roof mounted spoiler finish off the rear end.

The standard Ford Focus 'look' works well with the body kit extras, it's headlights given more prominence thanks to the addition of stylised spotlights and a lower, bigger front air dam, while the wheels better fill out the arches thanks to the lower stance and skirts.

Being a two-door hatch, the ST170 has a good level of class, but class may not necessarily help with the all-important young-to-middle-aged male demographic the car is clearly aimed directly at.

On a level playing field however, the sportiest Focus offered in Australia stands out remarkably well against the likes of the 206GTi, Clio Sport and Corolla Sportivo, with much more eye candy and perhaps even a little more flair.

Interior

Three words: Head room aplenty. The Focus isn't the tallest small car in the yard, but it cleverly maximises what space it does have, with above average rear seat head room too.

Legroom in the back leaves a little to be desired, but seating four adults won't be cause for too much frustration, as can often be the case with driver-oriented three-door hatches.

The driving position is remarkably well sorted: Not only is your view of the road ahead above par in comparison with Jazz, Clio, 206 and many other small cars, but it's also a very conforming cabin, and it didn't take long to get that integrated feeling where you're completely comfortable with feet-from-pedal distance, under thigh support and steering wheel position.

Seat quality and general interior upholstery is pretty good, but for $37,000 I was expecting more than just a leather/cloth-type mix on both the front sports seats and rear bench. The colour co-ordination is good, but when you consider the Corolla Sportivo costs 30,000 clams and provides 100% leather seating, it's hard not to feel just a little short-changed.

All ancillary controls and buttons, such as the radio, heater and so forth, feel great - their soft rubber composition offering a very tactile and pleasing feel. The four-spoke leather wrapped steering wheel is a little chunky (thank the airbag), but it has a smaller-than-average diametre, which combines with the sharp turn-in and confident grip levels to provide an involving and indeed spirited driving experience.

The interior is a little confronting at first, but far from generic

The tacho/speedo dials look nice and sporty in white, and their bright green glow when the sun goes down is unusually striking, and let's not forget the performance-inspired oil pressure and oil temperature dials either.

Sure, they're kind of useless unless you're really storming along, but little touches like this help elevate the car above the dross.

The stereo is a six-stacker in-dash type, with four speakers and the sound sampling is pretty good, with impressive treble and acceptable bass.

Electric everything, like windows, partial seat movement, mirrors and even boot opening make the cut, as do safety measures including ABS, traction control plus four airbags [front driver/passenger & front side (thorax) airbags].

Boot space is neither good nor bad - at 350 litres, it'll hold a trio of medium sized suitcases or a couple of golf bags, and while the cargo net is a nice touch to stop the groceries from rolling around, cars like the Corolla and Golf better this.

At the end of the day however, the Focus ST170 offers a more distinct and roomy interior when compared to its closest rivals, and though more leather would have been nice, the end result makes for a nice place to spend your driving time.

Overall: 3/5

While the German-built ST170 doesn't provide the instant 'go' that's now a Clio Sport trademark, it's a bigger, roomier car that will suit those who prefer more show than go.

It would have been interesting to see the RS Focus released here - a 4WD, turbocharged, Rally-homologated beast of a hatch - but the ST170 can still hold it's own in the current hot hatch climate, providing moderate acceleration with brilliant handling characteristics.

The car looks nice, is well packaged with good levels of fit and finish (it is built in Germany), and is hard to fault when the road starts to curve, with the big 17-inch wheels gripping hard and the rigid chassis affording pinpoint accuracy in all but the worst of conditions.

The Focus ST170 just missed out on a 206 GTi-equalling 3.5 out of 5 score, largely due to the higher price of admission, but make no mistake, if it's the thrills of spirited driving that motivates you, the ST170 won't disappoint. If the car was a little lighter, and a little cheaper, it'd be unstoppable.