Ford ST

Ford Focus ST- Has The Last Laugh

I've been doing a bit of soul searching recently and decided that for many years now I've been a tad intolerant towards some of my fellow human beings. In the past I have tended to direct some of my greatest sarcasm towards the sort of individuals who loved their cars so much that they felt it necessary to join an Owner's club.

I suppose I was poking fun at the person who cleans their car at 8-00am on a Sunday morning using a toothbrush as well as every other conceivable automotive cleaning product you could imagine.

I've seen Owner's club badges in the windows of some spotless vehicles and an image of the individual has appeared in my mind. You know probably still living at home with their parents, certainly a bloke and almost definitely without a girlfriend.

Well it seems that my opinions could be somewhat out of date. I decided to confront my prejudices head-on and took a look at the Ford ST Owner's Club official site.

They seem to be a positively charming group of people from all walks of like nothing like the stereotypical picture I have painted previously.

I think the changing demographics combined with the internet of course have played a part in this refreshing new group of enthusiasts who all share a passion but above all else it's the cars.

Fast Fords have been around for a long time now. Those old enough will remember the Lotus Cortina of the sixties and who could forget the Escort RS2000 and Mexico from the 70's. The 80's and 90's followed up with the likes of the Sierra Cosworth the car criminal's favourite and culminated with the outrageous Escort Cosworth.

Not to be left out in the noughties (doesn't sound right however you put it!) Ford gave us the Focus ST a Golf GTI beater for the masses. Usually seen in bright orange the Focus ST managed to impress everyone who drove it even the likes of Jeremy Clarkson who is not known to favour cars that come in a price bracket normal people can afford.

So what's it like then. Well the latest face-lifted version still looks good despite appearing to have morphed into a Mondeo at the front seemingly in order to maintain Ford's preference for new model continuity. Still a great looking car and the performance is as good if not better than any other hot- hatch around.

Now available as ST 1 2 or 3 the differences are only on equipment level but all come with Ford's preferred 5 cylinder 2.5 litre turbocharged engine producing 225 PS. This equates to a top speed of 150mph with 0-62mph coming in 6.8 seconds. There is a six-speed close ratio gearbox and The ST sits on 18" Alloy wheels. In case you get into difficulty the ST comes with Electronic Stability Programme (ESP). The ST body kit remains with an additional 'single wing' design rear spoiler. Twin chrome exhausts finish off the look. The ST 2 has in addition Xenon front lights and rear LED's. The ST 3 has full leather Recaro seats and a 6 disc CD Auto-changer.

The ST has family car origins so remains practical to drive and has a power range through all the gears something you could try after dropping the kids off safely. When driven hard the ST shows its track potential and has excellent handling and cornering ability. Ford has also smartly priced the ST so competition watch out!

Having considered my disparaging comments about the likes of Owner's Club members in the past I feel that maybe the ST will have the last laugh on me!