I wonder just how many STs have been chipped or modified by now? As you may already know, it’s possible to get 300bhp+ from the ST, and having followed discussions on the Focus ST Owners Club forum (www.focusstoc.com) it seems that many have gone ahead and got an upgrade.

Having had the ST for a few months now, I can see why. When you have a car that seems to be so good in so many ways, you start to become greedy. And with such a good platform to start with, having more power seems the next logical step, particularly as it doesn’t appear to compromise the car’s behaviour. With lots of companies now offering more power, how long can Ford go without producing its own aftermarket upgrades?

I’ve now clocked up 11,000 miles in our ST, every single one of which has been great fun. Now it’s time to book it in for its first service. This will be the first time I’ve had to go to a Ford dealership whilst at evo, so it will be interesting to see how the service compares with others.