Johnny is in Norway with the new Ford Focus ST to test it on the immense 'Trolls Road'. For more fantastic car reviews, shoot-outs and all your favourite Fifth Gear moments, subscribe to our Official Channel - / fifthgearuk
I had the 2012 Focus ST and have recently changed to the 2015 focus ST with 19'' wheels (18'' on the 2012), with the stiffer shocks, more rubber and improved software, the torque steer is now what i would call 'fun' and charismatic not a chore. The 2012 version I know a lot of people that didnt like the lively torque steer, it can be quite unnerving especially when overtaking and you feel the car lurch towards the ditch on the other side of the road!!! the 2015 version Ford though have worked hard on this and its now superb I really really like it. You can now floor it from a standing start and unlike trying to hold on for your life like it was in the 2012 this one is far more manageable and a bit of a giggle. Would the Mountune upgrade get us back to square 1? i.e the 2012 version.. hmm I would think it would personally, right now it's on the edge and hugely likeable, I wouldn't give it any more power than it comes with, for me its perfect. You want even more power get the AWD new RS.
3 doors don´t transform any powerful hatchback to a real sportscar. I don´t unstand why ppl still think it do? I would prefer 5 doors because it´s not a roadster or something, it´s a car for everyday-use.
I’ve got one it’s tough punchy and very underrated cool mine is silver. Torque steer is NOT an issue when you push the ESC button once.. much better steering feel and no problems. Mine is a stage one remap and Mountune short shift . It’s perfect
5 doors FTW! Renault Megane 2 RS 5 doors, then the Leon 2 Cupra, Mazda 3 MPS gen1 (I own one) and now the Focus 3 ST! I wish they offer the new RS with a 5 doors option! These are road cars, they have 5 seats, so 5 doors are useful. Stop criticising the utility of a hatchback, if it has more than 150bhp it doesn't mean it needs to be castrated in the back!
The Mazda 3 mps BL was a 5 door and that was a great hot hatch. Im thinking about buying one of these and this looks like a slight upgrade over my MPS in almost every way.
I have one of these. it's my company car. all i did was a green filter and a tune and the car becomes a different animal. they say 30 hp/50ftlbs on the dyno with the unleashed tune. and i believe it. it's a blast on mountain roads, it's a great commuter, overall i really like the car.
i have bought this exact car and owned it for the last week...it's smashing. I love it. Best car for the money IMHO. My Boxster was amazingly glued to the ground and so balanced - this is less so but i can fit my 2 year old in the back - looks, feels and sounds great and it costs half as much. Way to go Ford!
I have a 2014 SE Sport with a 5spd. I think it would be much better for your family if you traded your ST with me and take my SE....you know....think of the children...
Nickolas, ive been thinking about the children...appreciate your "concern" but my self-centered disposition simply says "NO"! Thanks for your considering my family here :)
lol, i was there on a holiday when they filmed this. so funny, when we arrived at the top (coffee break) he was just talking about the trollroad. when my coffee and cake was gone, and had make some nice pictures. he was still doing the same sentence lol.
dudes I have an estate St 2015.. handles amazing, torque steer was mental with the original tyres, fitted different tyres and it ain't so killer.. I've gone into a steep corner to fast before and it saved my ass big time.. handles brilliantly and holds my shit. also the estate is totally brilliant, we went and camped out below Ben Nevis, seats down and a double self inflated mattress we slept in the back with comfort... Ben Nevis climbed we smashed it home quick style.. 0-60 in fun
@@game4alaughman I did 3 weeks ago. The 2014 estate version and it`s brilliant. Very responsive, the seats are so good. Steering is quite hard but very direct. The turning circle, yeah it sucks, but its just a small thing in overall. Easly to manage 10L/100 kilometers city driving. What else, the torque steer... That electronic stuff, maybe without this it would work worse, but believe me in that car you can push the full throttle from 4-th gear without loosing traction and throwing you from line to line. Seriously :) Lot of fun to drive it as daily car.
Iv got one of these cars same year n colour. Iv had many cars. Never mind this inept review off this presenter. Put the foot down n hear that growl. Amazing.
Great review. I couldn't agree with you more regarding the 3 door! I'm living in the US and the little brother to this car "the Fiesta ST" (much smaller car) doesn't even come in a 3 door... wrap your brain around that Europe. The Focus and Fiesta are distributed globally and some how North America got screwed with the 5 door (only!) family sedan look. I have chosen to stick with VW gti's for this reason.
I love how everyone talks about the "torque" steer on this car. While test driving it twice I didnt notice anything while flooring it. people must have noodle muscles.
@@totov7325 sport mode reduces the brake vectoring which is what causes the torque steer to be so bad at times. Car loses traction on one wheel so the other wheel hits the brakes.
Had the old st-2 , loved it, didn`t like the look of the new one, and the fact it only has four pots,.... test drove it , now own one. Fantastic car, bit of a head scratcher smaller engine, with more power than the old boy, better fuel consumption you can literally boot the arse of it and you`ll not need a fuel stop escaping from mother in law`s. Yes it torque steers, but with that much power from front end what do you expect? personally for me it makes the car feel more alive and exciting to drive. As for it`s looks, some say it`s let down by the fact it has 4 doors, utter s***e it done the M5 no harm, besides iv`e a toddler daughter and well say no more. The price alone is a no brainer, when you look at it`s rivals, Golf Gti...... sorry forget the golf "run rings round it" Astra vxr , bonkers car also had one ,loved it also great car fun fun fun, but handles like a PICKLED snot!.. The new focus St is definatelly not perfect but i love mine..
I agree with the 5 door thing. I think this car pulls off the 5 door look really well! Better than the old one. It's also nice not having people treading behind the seats when getting in.
As much as I would like to have a 3 door, like a Megane RS or a VXR the reality of it is 5 doors and practicality sold this car to me. I also remember arguing with someone about the 3 door issue and said that yes, in an ideal world you can have a sleek 3 door but in the real world people usually buy a hot hatch so they can have their cake and eat it with performance AND practicality. In the end the need to not bundle or extract my aging mother/grandmother/friends/kids unceremoniously into the back seats through a hole in the front two doors is important for a lot of car owners over the age of 30. It's a car with mature driver appeal.
I own one too. Don't care about the looks - its fine with me. Just drive it and you'll find: great chassis! That balance!! However, I couldn't live with the torque steer. I had a Quiafe put in: problem solved. It's absolutely brilliant now. Changes the car completely. Makes you wonder why Ford didn't put it in from the factory, that's how good it is now. I also changed the Rear Motormount, put in a short-shifter (2 must do mods) and fitted a Milltek resonated cat back exhaust (not necessary) because the stock exhaust is just to damn quiet.
Fail whine about 3 door cars, "hot hatches" are meant to be practical so they can be an every day car for the family as well as to suit the enthusiast.
Just imagine driving a buss up that road and meeting a truck... several busses drive up there every day during the summer. Some trucks driver up there too every day.
Why do people like 3-door versions more? It's the same size of car - you only have "nothing" behind the giant impractical front door. Just a big sea of metal. At least with the 5-door style you get some details there. Just look at a C-class coupe or 4-series for example. It looks like a frickin stretch limo with the giant wheel base and about a meter of nothingness between the door and the c-pillar.
love my ST if you make it stage 3 with a stage 2 cpe engine mount, no torque steer and even more horses, 23psi instead of 18 stock. it rocks. i beat a la ferrari in a track race with it. just playin, i dont even have enough power to power the la ferraris wiper blades lol
Nicholas I didn't say it was garbage just don't like the look and I've had over 150 cars so I do know what I,m talking about I own a mk2 St at the moment
I wasn't in the market for one of these, indeed I don't know now if I am. But I've been to try one today & what I will say is I feel it's golf territory. New Type R & that Astra VXR are ugly as hell in my eyes. The Honda particularly looks just so ridiculous. I went hoping to see a Mk2 Type R, looked smart. Price wise, that was a shock. ST3 fully specced up in Tangerine Scream for that money is one hell of a bargain.
2:50 torque steer? Get an LSD, even the 1.5 has the torque steer problem. 4:10 5 doors? So what the Civic R has it but was not on the market yet. 3 door cars suck for daily driving and doing groceries.
What's there not to like about the ST ? so it has a bit torque steer it's a fwd with 250bhp . That's Standard procedures . And personally I couldn't give a flying F@*k about 3doors that's just making something to complain about for self importance when there's nothing to complain about . I like the 5door for its practicality personally I feel the 3door becomes a nuisance after the novelty wears thin.
The car looks great for what it is...a car that you can haul the kids around in, pick up the groceries...or take a detour down a curvy road and have a blast, it's not a full on sports car...OBVIOUSLY!
Str4vv Oh it's to do with cars made before June 2014 something in regards to the clutch line , however that said it turned out Mine Needed a new clutch. Which ford did the ford stealers I bought it from fixed for free since I'd only just bought at the time and I slagged them off on Google reviews . But the Facelift Models are a lot softer . Somehow the seat also feels better bizzare
I was contemplating getting the estate (Wagon) version on this when I changed my Company car. Unfortunately they're only good for around 30mpg (if driven carefully!), which sort-of rules them out then they emit 150g/km (or so). I do 30k miles a year, so it works out really, really expensive!
i wish we got more wagons here, i loved my volvo 850 turbo wagon(just wished it wasn't FWD). i just don't understand what the american public is thinking when people buy pickup trucks but don't use them for what they were intended for, but shun wagons. complain about fuel economy but shun diesels. i want a fun and practical car, give us the ST wagon(estate), wrx wagon, jetta sportwagon with some actual SPORT and not just a bodykit perhaps a golf R in a wagon etc etc. i know about the mazdaspeed 3 but i detest big power in FWD.
you cant expect power from a average naturally aspirated engine. its a good start but you need to learn to keep up the rpm if you want to get the most out of it. currently i have something like your car its a suzuki fwd sx4 2008 1.6l manual of course and it needs to be revved waay up to get it going and downshift a lot to keep the rpm up. one of the first things i learned was how to carry the speed trough the corners.. a lot of pedal work at first :) or you need to lighten the car to make up for the lack of power
***** yeah :) but if you master it it will be a lot easier to jump on the next best thing , you will know the most important thing how to control your car somewhat more confident and without any big surprises. i live in shitodonia (macedonia) and we cant really get the good hatch backs or average street race cars so we have to enjoy the most of our family mediocre cars. just for perspective i work as an it technician/administrator support and i get 250euro a month :(
Having owned all these Golf, Astra & Mazda 6 MPS. Found the focus by far the best to drive handling and l@@ks. Golf better built, Astra just too heavy although more power standard and the Mazda timing chain issue's and cost of spare parts eye watering. The Ford as an allrounder powerful, fun not to bad on the pocket but horrendous on fuel! Renault can't comment never owned one. But from my previous experience of owning Renaults is anything to go by? I'll pass on that thanks!
"If only they made it with 3 doors". But isn`t it a fact, that virtually nobody actually BUY 3 door hatchbacks any more? So maybe Ford have just taken the consequence of this fact and stopped making cars, which nobody would buy anyway. And one can hardly blame them for that. Its a sound business decision. In extension hereoff, Renault doesn`t make the new Clio as a 3 door either, not even in the RS version. So Ford is not alone in making this decision.
Why 3 door? 5 door is MUCH more practical and not very unpractical. 3 door with passangers makes it feel so 90'2 because of the mechanism to open to the backseats.
Agreed don't like look at all,old ones much better does look like an hot hatch at all,I've driven one torque steers like mad,vxr is better golf and megane better still Big let down this time ford,I mean come on 5dr hot hatch.Everytime I see one of theses on the road it just doesn't look sporty one bit
I need some funding to fix my dream car, which was ripped off from the dealer. Seeing it broken depresses me daily. As a family man, I only have enough money to support my family, so any help would be greatly appreciated.
Let me suggest a rule for YT: any guy making anything anywhere resembling a car-themed video, MUST be able to pronounce "Lancia" properly. Or get the video deleted. Forever.
You're a fucking plank. That's like me saying the St3 isn't fast because I've got a K7 track built bike that's got more bhp than this focus has.. Doesn't detract from the fact that the St3 is fucking fast for what it is!
Crap looking car, I mean 5 door Eco boost engine... Go buy a Prius least it doesn't torque steer like a badly engineered ford... I mean seriously front wheel drive come on don't think people are stupid
