COMPARISON: 2019 Ford Focus ST-Line v Hyundai i30 N-Line v Kia Cerato GT 

Strange you say that. My n-line was cheaper than cerato gt and I felt that it handled/manoeuvred noticeably better especially sharp turns or roundabouts. The GT that i tested straight after the i30 felt much bigger and didn’t rotate as quickly when taking these same turns giving me less driver confidence.

Richard Oliver Yep and it also has the multi-link rear

@@bingobongo1615 No it doesn't

@@mysterymeat5528 yes it does. Multi-Link comes with the 182hp engine.

hi richard i got a st line does my engine have the same power like ur car. got 1.5 turbo forzen white in auto

Isaac Clarke No. It. Doesn’t. Not in Australia and this is an Australian review. Totally different specs than the UK - only ST Line wagon, Active, and ST have multilink rear here. And we only have the most powerful available engine across the range, none of the lesser ones.

Does it like cold mornings or does it start up hard when cold?

Sounds like the new Mazda3 is for you. Which is one of the few new cars that comes with a manual.

@@jd3shaw I actually think they look good but the 2.5 NA engine is a bit lifeless.

Honestly the manual in the Hyundai has nothing on the manual in the Focus. You should give it a try if you haven't had the chance, it's one of the best manuals around.

@@xIcarus227 Australia has a different manual to suit our higher output cars. It's very good. The focus is Auto only here...

@@blakeharrison6327 wow I didn't know that it's auto only, thanks for the info. What OP said makes much more sense now.

For me, the hand brake isn't an issue. Neither is the sound that a lot of people whinge about. I would have liked auto wipers to complete the package but can live without it. Everything else is brilliant and I love driving it. One of the best cars I have owned. For the price, noting comes close to it and I have owned cars that cost twice and nearly 3 times as much.

I don't believe the offer has expired and probably won't for a while

Belvedere Dog So it is definitely the best value for money hey! It’s a well put together car that’s for sure...never thought I would own a Korean brand, but they have well and truly caught up...even surpassed some euro and Japanese cars.

@@simquicky3448 my ex wife bought a Kia 15 years ago and it was absolute crap. I bought a Kia 8 years ago and it was massively better. I bought another Kia two years ago and it's easily on par with the Europeans in terms of quality and refinement (but thankfully not in terms of price or snobby dealers).

@@yorickhunt3371 Totally agree Yorick and Sim. It is exceptional value for what is included in it. My Merc didn't have active cruise or some of the collision warning etc that come standard with the GT. I am uncertain what other vehicle at the price point offers so much and the build quality is also excellent. It is also an amazing car to drive. Super quick and handles brilliantly. I love it.

Belvedere Dog also they skim over the fact the the JBL sound system in it is insanely good (once U fiddle with the eq). Only oversights for me are lack of auto wipers, and wireless Apple car play! But both are non issues really. I don’t miss the sunroof option...have one in my other car...all they do is take up headroom, and raise the centre of gravity...for something U might only use a handful of times tbh!!!

That's a great story but neither car is the subject of this review.

@@MLife1972 Yep I agree...the comment is completely irrelevant to this review 😳

Australian delivered ST-Line hatch is 180hp and only comes with Torsion beam at this stage.

minimumtrade Will the Focus be upgraded to the IRS setup later in the year?

T H-L Fiesta ST has torsion beam too. What are you on about? Australia is the only market that gets the TB in this spec, and that will change by the end of the year supposedly

@@YZJB The new Fiesta ST uses IS, not TB. The standard Fiesta has a TB

T H-L no, that’s false. The new Fiesta ST uses a torsion beam with so-called ‘force vectoring’ springs. “Ford-patented force vectoring springs improve the stability, agility and responsiveness of the all-new Fiesta ST’s twist-beam rear suspension” Source: media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/feu/en/news/2018/03/12/all-new-ford-fiesta-st-offers-limited-slip-differential-and-debu.html

im looking at getting one, ill need to take one for a test drive but they look great!

Having had several Mazda's in the past I looked at the Mazda 3, car size is limited to garage size believe it or not, and test drove the GT. Game over. Saw one on display and bought it immediately. Love it and look forward to driving it as much as I can. GT wins hands down in the value for money department with all the standard inclusions.

Jason Jose Sure. But obviously they should have compared the new stronger ST Focus with the stronger engines

@@bingobongo1615 the ST isn't out yet though.

I bought the ST line 3 months ago and love it, so much I have just put my deposit down for the 2.3l ST!

@@jonnyfreeman9361 did they say anything about when you're expected to get it? I'm curious as to what the release date is as I'm watching that car. Only thing that's probably gonna miss from it that I want are ventilated seats.

I’m expecting July, however I’ve not been given a proper date. I was just told ‘summer’

Eh, I like it. It's practical and stands out in person. I have one :)

I have a 2011 cerato and i dont like that they increased the length. Im moving to inner city and an increase in 40cm can be a make or break difference in a parking spot. Im considering the GT line Rio but it has less power/weight than the base cerato (all ceratos use the same engine apart from the GT). I can live with that though - the main thing thats bumming me out is that it does not have climate control. It sounds pedantic but setting the temp in .5 degree increments (AC on or off) is a great thing to have that i use constantly. I think its a deal breaker. If i want that i have to go with a cerato. They shouldnt have made it longer. It was already the perfect size for its class, with more than adequate boot space and passenger room, and easy to park. Now i want to upgrade and stay with kia but theres no choice for me.

Who'd you get to do the sunroof?

@Mike Costello Concur with David. Brilliant car to drive and stunning value for money. The sedan, which I bought, has a bigger boot space than the hatch. Excellent warranty as you mentioned. If only it had a speed warning on the sat nav which is audible, it would be sensational.

@@belvederedog3015 I heard you can use the audible speed alert through waze when using Android auto or Apple carplay from memory.

@@aidanpapa6565Yes you can and I do use it along with the sat nav on the display. The maps on the sat nav are much better than waze. No one from Kia has yet told me if the function is or is not available. Great car, pathetic service

@@aidanpapa6565 Indeed you can but shouldn't have to. The actual sat nav maps are great compared to Waze and should have the functionality associated with it.

I tried to explain that to friends before, but it doesn’t work. To most people, they get in and see the PRND and treat it as an auto. Petrolheads know, but for the most part most people aren’t really bothered.

Agreed totally. That was the reason I bought the GT apart from it having more features as standard and bang for bucks

Noticed this as well, it's a pretty big slip-up especially since they heavily criticized the car because of it.

In AUS this model definitely has torsion beam! It is only the wagon and active models in AUS that get multi link. Pop in to a local dealer and take a look if you doubt me. Might be different for o/s markets.

@Mike Costello wtf why would they do that? Props to the retarded execs who thought that was a good idea.

Australia is the only market in the world that has torsion beam with this engine. They say they’ll fix that before the end of the year

@@YZJB and no manual.

Mark Rocque unless the Australian model is different from the UK (which I doubt) any Focus with the 1.5 ecoboost has IRS. I have the 1.5 ST line x 180ps as my daily drive here in the UK and it has 100% got it. The Focus is a real fun drive and I have never been left wanting more power. The Kia and Hyundai just don’t appeal to me style wise though I’m sure they drive great.

@@Quagmire925 Hi Chad. In Australia our model range is slightly different. All hatches and estates have the same great 1.5 turbo from the base model to the ST Line. That's the good news. The bad news is that all hatches, including the ST Line have the cheap suspension. Bizarrely, the only Focus that has IRS is the ST-Line estate. Personally, I don't see the point of the ST-Line hatch in Australia as it's got the same suspension and engine of the cheaper model. The ST-Line here is just different wheels, lowered suspension and a load of badges. Enjoy your Focus - hopefully Ford Australia reconsider because I wouldn't buy our version.

Mark Rocque thats such a bad decision from Ford. Whoever made that decision needs a kick in the arse!

Can do ebrake turns with the Kia. ;)

Wait, the Kia doesn't have auto wipers even as an option? Wtf?

@@xIcarus227 Auto lights yes but no auto wipers, not a deal breaker for me as it does come with heaps of fruit still, just a silly ommision in my opinion.

@@mga71 yeah I can see how it's not a deal breaker for some but I fully agree that it's a silly omission. Just like the normal Focus doesn't get ventilated seats, only the Vignale version does. I can kinda understand that option being reserved for the highest trim level, but what pisses me off is that the 280HP ST probably won't get them. Having the most expensive Focus without ventilated seats will be a retarded oversight. The ST, for all intents and purposes, will be the most expensive version until the RS comes around. It should have all the options available to it.

@@mga71The Kia dealership I bought mine from didn't know it didn't come with auto wipers ! I had to tell them.

It's listed in the article at 7.4 sec

I’ve timed my Cerato GT at 6.9sec I posted a vid that’s around the 7sec too. Great fun car to drive. N unless they’ve changed it recently...it was 31990 DRIVE AWAY not plus on roads.

Sim Quicky sounds like a very good package. If the exhaust sounds better, it would be a perfect package.

@@simquicky3448 take a look at pdrivetv youtube. 0-100 under 7 sec.

Wow... impressive with Kia. With similar price and similar figure of 0-100, VW polo GTI, Renault Clio RS or Kia creators, which one would you pick?

How are you finding the car since you received it? I love mine.

MrSNipeSKater not in Australia you don’t, they are specified differently here to Europe and UK and only ST Line wagon and Active (and ST of course) have multilink rear. We do get the 182hp engine as standard on every Focus though, so that’s nice 😊

@@sjb2471 ohh okay, that's tough luck... Thx for the update anyway 👍

Kevin hello idiot they are not comparing specs they are comparing similar prices

Wrong. They paid the extra for specs to line it up

you are right, proceed is the wagon version, it has more space, better engine etc. but it has a hunchback and it makes it pretty unattractive compared to forte5/cerato hatch

Marek J The Cerato GT and N-Line are both trim levels as well, not standalone models

As an old focus owner, never ever Ford again :)

Geo Dl in Australia we get the torsion beam with the 1.5T. We are the only market with this combination for whatever reason, but they are supposedly giving us the multilink later in the year

Yep, Fords are great if you always wear a jumper and are the habit of trading/selling your car after twelve months (before it starts disintegrating). Toyotas are great if you wear a cardigan and can't fathom the idea of getting a speeding fine. People who otherwise would've bought a Volvo 240 if it was still available continue to have options.

I think you haven't a clue Toyota corolla is the world's best selling car in the world and focus is right behind and focus don't desgrate great car and why do you need a jumper are you a cold person

@@williamdeasy7507 yeah, and Trump got the most votes - does that mean he's the best person in the USA?

@@yorickhunt3371 you should know that ford and Toyotas sales speak for themselves but everyone has there favourites and therefore don't like the others and I guess you like hyundai or Kia but they are far from the best I had a ford for 10 years so what you said about every 12 months I don't agree

@@williamdeasy7507 I've owned two Fords, three Nissans, four Mazdas, a Citroen, a Mitsubishi and two Kias (one of which is my current vehicle). I've also driven over a dozen assorted company-supplied vehicles, most of which were made by Toyota. I have absolutely no bias for or against any particular brand of car - the fact of the matter is that Ford doesn't care about its customers (and has been losing its grip on reality for quite a few years) and Toyota's sales prowess comes from the fact that most people are boring and want boring cars. A boring car in itself isn't necessarily a problem, but we're talking about three "warm hatches" here. I would suggest that it's _you_ who is biased in your view of brands and therefore aren't able to accept a vehicle on its merits.

'Lairy' - meaning a bit flashy. :)

@@Drivecomau ah thank you... 👍

Not sure if you’ve changed car in the end as I’m replying a year late, but the ST is in auto now which could work

@@IronDrummer91 Thanks for the info, however we've literally just changed to a Skoda Karoq SUV due to space issues with the grandchildren! Bit of a step down for driving fun, but it's very comfortable and lots more space....

Indeed, indeed. They should've used the $40K optioned-up Ford - you know, the one with the driveway warranty - to compare against the low-$30K Koreans.

@@yorickhunt3371 that sounds like a better idea

@@edward2030 whoooosh!

@@yorickhunt3371 was that ment to be a compliment, I am not upset, just curious

@@edward2030 it was meant to highlight the fact that you didn't recognise the sarcasm in my original reply. The comparison was made on similarly-priced and similarly-specified vehicles that were made available to the reviewers by the relevant manufacturers (or rather, distributors). If they were to keep juggling prices/features to make things seem "more fair" (in some eyes), they'd pretty soon be comparing the Focus ST to the i30N and the Kia would be left out altogether. Whilst I agree that the i30 should've been shown in a "less-premium" grade, the Kia is an all-or-nothing proposition with the only option available on the GT being metallic paint. The ultimate choices though were made by Ford/Kia/Hyundai, so that's what the reviewers had to play with.

KIA GT just go test drive one and im sure you'll buy it

Thanks, i bought Kia proceed gt 2 weeks ago and boosted my Baby to 340hp ☠️

voices i think so. i own focus st line its great. I just saving up for led headlights. ford said when u ar ready come down i love led lights. yea. Joe

@Mike Costello alright nws

It brings more practicality, yet, sacrifices aesthetics in doing so.

Couldn't agree more. Wouldn't spend money on s thing looking so awkward

CJ lancer and Cruze hatches looked horrendous, the Focus is a little plain, but is not ugly.

Flash Mcnash In Australia we only have one engine, the 1.5 EcoBoost. Every variant except the ST-Line Wagon gets torsion beam rear suspension. We are the only market that has the 1.5T/torsion beam combination for whatever reason

Ash Cosmo Lol. The new Focus is from 2018 and has no problems yet.

Yeah, that's just not true: www.reliabilityindex.com/manufacturer Also, the RS has had a recall and the gasket issue was fixed. Do your homework better next time.

​@Vinnisl a "I've been married a month and my wife hasn't cheated yet?" @@xIcarus227 where on that linked page is mention made of the Focus range?

@@yorickhunt3371 it doesn't have to, it includes Ford and the Focus is their best selling car. By extension, the Focus being 'next level unreliable' would have easily eliminated them from the top 10. On top of that, cars coming from the same manufacturer share many parts between them. You rarely have a single model which has an engine problem since said engine is usually shared across their entire lineup. Same goes for other components.

@@xIcarus227 I don't think there's any question that Ford's sales figures in the USA (which is the market to which the linked report relates) would dwindle to irrelevance if it wasn't for the F-series utility vehicles they sell in that market. I'm also willing to perform an autoorchidectomy if anyone can show any relevant parts-sharing between the Focus and the F-series "trucks."

Yes, how dare he have a different opinion, shame on him. This sort of behaviour should be banned.

Yeah I hate how so many people slam torsion beams in cars like these but never mention them in cars like the Megane RS, 308 GTi etc.

That's weird, cars usually need a service once every 20.000kms. Definitely a good thing to know.

I do roughly 25000klms a year and have the SR (superseded N-Line). Most cars require 12 months/15000klms but the Kia and Hyundai are 12 month/10000klm. Based on the amount of K's I'd be covering, the i30 was still cheaper to service than the Mazda 3 and Kia Cerato over 5 years. Taking in to account the extra cost of 95 premium fuel, the focus would be the most expensive to service/run!

@Ronald MacKay compare the cost of servicing before making your decision. Kia and Hyundai both do capped-price servicing for the length of their warranties so you can see exactly how much the regular services will set you back for the next five or seven years.

Yorick Hunt Yes absolutely - when you take the new model Corolla each capped service is less then $200 for 75000kms......it would likely cost me $1000 more over the same period for one of these or any other vehicle in this class.....at this stage I’m leaning towards a corolla or Camry.

the Cerato GT and Focus ST-line are auto only, the N-line is the only one with either choice, as for your second part your wrong most people will choose the automatic not the manual.

Iain Beard how long did this process take and what car did you get afterwards?

Huge issues with carbon buildup on the intake valves with this engine. Focus won’t be affected because it has direct and port injection to keep the valves clean

Hayden Howard ... I bought the car New in April 2018.... after just 600kms (3 weeks), the warm start began happening. This was checked at the 1 month checkup.... but the dealership couldn’t replicate. Between May and July the car went in a few times as the problem became more frequent... I started videoing the problem as it happened and the pattern became predictable. Injectors were replaced in July on technical Korea’s advice. Warm start seemed to be resolved. Shortly after the injectors were replaced, the indling started to become lumpy... a software upgrade only seemed to make this worse... then the power steering started make a grating/grinding noise.... car went into the dealership in December.....6 weeks later, still not fixed ... I was offered a replacement car or a refund. As I felt Hyundai Australia really had no idea what the issues were and didn’t seem to keep the dealerships in the loop with issues etc... I took the full refund. So all in all I had the car for 9 months, the car with in the dealership for c12 weeks and I had just 2 weeks trouble free motoring. I’m waiting on the new Fiesta ST to be launched in Australia... but in the meantime I’m using my 6 yr Old Prado

I've had my I30SR for 18 months, the only issue has been a loose carpet stud (rectified). Shame you got a lemon, mine's the best car I've owned in 45 years of driving.

Gab4moi .... yes it was definitely a lemon. What I found more disappointing was how hyundai dealt with the matter initially. I had a “lemon” Citroen in the UK years ago and how they dealt with the matter kept my faith in the brand... I bought 3 more Citroen’s. I don’t think I would trust hyundai again.

@S G Does that put the Mazda 3 in a class above?

They're only reviewing cars that have a reasonable chance of outlasting their warranties. That's not something you can really expect from a French car.

Only the driving position changes. You accelerate using the right foot.