Ford Focus ST secures second place at MOTOR’s Sports Car of the Year 2022

Surprised? So were we. The Ford Focus ST blitzes more hyped rivals to secure second place in Sports Car of the Year 2022.

Subtlety can be both a blessing and a curse. The ability to fly under the radar is a boon for many performance cars, earning them the fabled sleeper moniker and with it piles of praise. Others, like the Ford Focus ST, that operate without putting on a grandiose show, conversely go under-appreciated in the wider zeitgeist.

That’s before you consider the fact the ST stands slyly in a shadow cast by the previous generation Focus RS. The Orange Fury paint is as close as the Focus ST gets to being ‘shouty’ – a vast departure from the RS’s rat-a-tat acoustics, flared arches, and nanny-state aggrieving ‘drift mode’. None of that has returned with this generation, instead the ST opting to do its talking with sublime dynamic prowess above all else.

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Initial interactions with the Focus are when you first realise that this is a car that has had serious thought and a measure of knowing nuance built into its engineering. From the weight and feel of the wheel at walking pace, to the progressive throw of the clutch pedal and smooth slide of the shifter.

The driving position of the ST hits the ‘just right’ sweet spot, and the standard Recaro bucket seats provided fantastic support during hard driving, without being a chore to get in and out of.

With most modern hatches either capping engine capacity at a neat 2.0-litres, or downsizing in both size and cylinder count, the Focus ST’s 2.3-litre four-cylinder stands out from the crowd. It gives the Ford a muscular feel at slower speeds, with a wave of torque following you through the rev range.

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The mid-range response is fantastic, with a thick band of power that is readily deployable. This tractability means you aren’t as reliant on finding the right gear through a bend. Perhaps the only downside to this is the fact that the upper echelons of the rpm range can feel underwhelming in comparison, even if it isn’t necessarily lacking in outright punch.

Where the Focus excelled against a stacked field of competitors was corner entry. The judges raved about the ST in a way that not even the category winner could compare with when discussing how each SCOTY contender fared in the initial phase of turn-in. Initial rotation is exemplary, giving the car a fantastically playful feel.

Despite the unburstable strength of the front-axle, which is enough to turn the ST on a dime, the rear-end is keen to play on lift-off. Keep it buttoned and there are enough reserves of grip for confidence-inspiring high-speed cornering stability. The most regular piece of feedback for the Focus was that its chassis was equal parts engaging and capable. There’s a slight rubberiness to the steering’s assistance and control weighting isn’t altogether consistent but little gets in the way of the fun.

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Phillip Island doesn’t work the brakes too hard, but our resident racing driver did notice a touch of fade on his second flying lap. Those wanting to regularly take their ST to the circuit would do well to invest in some high-performance track-ready pads.

Luffy heaped praise upon the ST after driving it on the road loops, and his admiration only grew on the fast flowing tarmac of Phillip Island. “The Focus changes your perception of a front-wheel drive car, because from mid-corner to exit you can just feel that when you get back on the throttle this thing just steers its way through,” he reported. “There’s virtually no mid-corner to exit understeer, provided you can get the rotation phase of the corner done well. It’s very playful in the rear end, but without being too over the top.”

Affat was particularly enamoured with the way the car interacts with, and rewards, the driver. “It encourages you to keep prodding, keep poking, and keep pushing,” he said. “It delivers a huge dynamic payoff at really accessible prices and speed.”

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For Andy, it was the fact that the Focus was as enjoyable in transit as it was when . “The Focus is as fun to drive slowly as it is to throw down a road, and there aren’t many hot hatches you can say that about,” he explained. Trent’s assessment was as brief as it was astute, stating “this car makes you wonder if you really need an all-wheel drive RS”.

Anyone who thinks of the ST as an underdone follow-up to a cult hero is doing themselves a disservice. At its core, the Focus ST is a love letter to front-wheel drive hot hatches from Ford’s engineers.

It is crafted with love and care, and is then offered to customers at a relative bargain price filled to the brim with clever, well thought-out engineering. The hype train may have left the ST at the station, but it was the Blue Oval’s hero that left its SCOTY hatch competition reeling at the end of our testing.

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The judges’ comments

Alex Affat

“There’s an immediacy and responsiveness that makes every drive in the Focus ST an event.”

Ranking: 2nd

Andy Enright

“Throttle-off antics are utterly addictive. Control weights are odd but somehow it works.”

Ranking: 2nd

Trent Giunco

“Never gets the limelight it deserves. It deploys its 206kW so cleanly via that diff and clever geometry.”

Ranking: 2nd

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Cameron Kirby

“The ST is filled with so much joy. It does so many things so right at a winning price point.”

Ranking: 2nd

Bernie Quinn

“A very pleasant surprise to me – much better than expected. People should be raving about this car!”

Ranking: 1st

Luffy’s view

“Really lively at the rear but not too lively. You can do so much with the ST without it – or you – feeling nervous.”