Sharpen Up And Focus

Downsizing be damned, as inwood hops into the Fiesta’s big bro

- Alex Inwood

This is something of a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ situation. Regular readers will know I’ve been running a Performance Blue Ford hatchback with an ST badge on its rump for the past four months. And now… I’m running a blue Ford hatchback with… well, you get it.

However, take a closer look at the image above and you’ll notice some important distinctions. That’s right: I’ve traded up. Literally. Where once sat the pint-sized Fiesta ST, there is now a Focus ST. Physical dimensions aren’t the only things to have grown. Performance is up by a considerable margin (206kW/420Nm plays the Fiesta’s 147kW/290Nm), and so too is the price. Now that Ford has repositioned the ST as the flagship of the Focus range, it carries a sizeable $44,690 sticker. That’s a hefty $12,000 more than the talented Fiesta.

I’ll admit to having mixed feelings about the switch. Whereas the Fiesta ST has been earmarked for entry into the Hot Hatch Hall of Fame, the reaction to its bigger brother hasn’t been as rapturous. Wheels compared the manual version of the Focus ST against the Civic Type R and Hyundai i30N in our last issue and the fast Ford finished last.