TESTED 7.7.22, WARWICKSHIRE ON SALE NOW
The headline news about the new facelifted Ford Focus ST might be that you can no longer buy an orange one. If you want bright, you can now choose from a few more pleasant (if prosaic) shades of red or have virulent Mean Green instead. Shame: there was something special about a Tangerine Scream Focus.
The car has some fresh styling features for the new green to draw your eye to, plus the usually enlarged radiator and bumper grilles, side sills, and spoilers. A couple of new alloy wheel designs finish it off, although, as a result of a thinning of the UK line-up, we only get the bigger (19in) one finished in Matt Magnette grey.
There’s also now only one model variant available to us, the ST-2 and ST-3 versions having bitten the dust.
Every UK-bound Focus ST comes fairly generously equipped, then, but they’ve also been subject to close to a £3000 price hike, making the regular manual hatchback a near-£35,000 car and the automatic version tested here another £1450 on the top.
The Volkswagen Golf GTI remains slightly pricier, but if you like your performance value, the Cupra Leon and Hyundai i30 N cost notably less.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Poster car that went from rusty to trusty
One evening, two years ago, George Pappas was being driven down his local high street by a mate and mulling over whether to replace his Mk4 Golf diesel, a recent purchase that was boring him to death, when his girlfriend, also in the car, spotted an old BMW 3 Series at the side of the road with a 'for sale' sign in the window.
THE SEVEN-SEATER THAT VOLVO DARE NOT KILL OFF
The current-gen XC90 has been on sale since 2015 for good reason
GENESIS ELECTRIFIED G80
Where the story begins, in the Hyundai premium marque’s luxury saloon
LEXUSLBX
Can you shrink premium quality to fit an SUV this small? We now know
Rolls boss ready to 'define the next chapter'
Nine months into the job, Rolls-Royce CEO and car guy Chris Brownridge tells STEVE CROPLEY what he's learned and where the firm's heading
Once more, with feeling
AC Cars' recreation of the classic MkII Cobra is at first glance a faithful facsimile of a 1960s performance benchmark. SIMON HUCKNALL drives it
MERCEDES-BENZ CLE
Does a PHEV set-up work in a coupé that exudes such old-school vibes?
ANALOGUE SUPERSPORT
Lotus Elise specialist uprates 1990s icon with an eye on track days
ALPINE A290
The hot hatch is alive and well, and living in France. On both road and track, there's much to savour`
UK HANGS ON TO OLD CARS
Average car age climbs as high prices dampen demand for new models
