Used Ford Focus ST Edition (Mk4, 2021 - 2025) review – a Honda Civic Type R rival for £20k

Despite its strong stats, the fourth-generation Focus ST never quite garnered the same excellent reputation as its smaller (and now-defunct) Fiesta sibling before it too was pulled from the market. A sharpened ‘Edition’ variant designed to bring it in-line with more accomplished rivals was first launched in 2021, and while it has since gone through numerous (and admittedly confusing) name changes, the car we see here is a familiar proposition.

The ST Edition took a different approach to the hot Focus formula than the RS500 of a decade earlier, with fewer cylinders, a more restrained look and more sophisticated dynamics. We were left a little disappointed with the ordinary Mk4 Focus ST when it was launched in 2018, but three years later a handful of chassis and design tweaks helped bring the Edition version up to speed with its hot hatch contemporaries.

> Used Ford Focus RS500 (Mk2, 2010 - 2011) review

Like the excellent Fiesta ST Edition that had arrived the year before, the fettled Focus received new KW coilover springs and two-way adjustable dampers at all four corners – with 12 settings for bump, 16 for rebound – alongside lighter flow-formed multispoke wheels (19 inches here, an inch bigger than the Fiesta’s), reducing unsprung mass and improving visual appeal. From the factory the Edition sat 10mm lower than the standard ST, with a further 20mm of manual adjustment also available. Offered only as a manual hatchback in bold Azura Blue and with black contrasting trim and a black roof, it’s hard to miss.

The ST Edition feels surprisingly robust inside, with thoughtful useability touches, a quick 13.2-inch infotainment display and, thanks to tactile physical steering wheel controls, a relatively easy-to-navigate 12.3-inch digital dash. The standard Ford Performance seats are the kind you get in the ordinary ST, but they’re impressive nonetheless, with positioning and support you’d usually expect from a car with a much higher price tag. Materials aren’t particularly premium but, faux-carbonfibre trim aside, intelligent design, strong build quality and good ergonomics make it a pleasant place to be. 

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As we saw in the ST Track Pack that came before it, uprated Brembo front brakes come as standard, with four-pot calipers gripping 363mm discs (up from 330mm as standard) and a bespoke Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyre. Add these to the KWs, with their 12-click bump and 16-click rebound adjustment, the 10 percent lighter 19-inch wheels and the ST’s boisterous 2.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine and electronically controlled limited-slip differential, and you can see where the Edition gains its extra focus.

With its lower ride height and 50 per cent stiffer spring rates, it’s no surprise that the Edition is firmer than the standard car. While damping is of good quality and rarely crashy, it can become a little tiresome for everyday, low-speed runs, especially if you need to carry passengers who might be less sympathetic to the ride:handling trade-off. Increase the pace, though, and ride improves markedly, with the ST Edition comfortably covering hundreds of motorway miles during our test.

> Ford Focus ST Track Pack v Honda Civic Type R: sharpened Focus tackles the hot hatch king

The real positive of the suspension changes is just how connected to the road the ST feels, more eager to turn into a corner and more adjustable once you’re partway through the curve. The Focus Edition encourages you to drive with real flair. It’s not all for show either, with the Focus ST Track Pack (essentially the same car, on paper), achieving competitive lap times at Cadwell Park for evo’s 2024 Track Car of the Year group test. The judges even placed it ahead of the class-leading Honda Civic Type R in terms of outright thrills (though the Civic’s best lap was around 1.7 seconds quicker). The uprated brakes inspire great confidence, too, with excellent stopping power and a progressive pedal that’s easy to modulate. 

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What hasn’t changed are two key flaws that have always blighted this ST: the engine’s characteristics and the steering. Taking the EcoBoost motor first, it’s certainly not short on urge, as its 276bhp, 310lb ft and the 0-62mph time of 5.7sec that it delivers all attest. But the calibration feels all wrong for a hot hatch, the bias very much towards torque; there seems little point in revving much past 5000rpm, and the sudden rush of boost at low revs is difficult to modulate. A tight, precise gearshift is one saving grace, with the auto-blip function also a nice to have, but its powerplant simply can’t match the very best. 

Combine this with a hypersensitive quick-rack steering set-up, at just two turns lock-to-lock, and you end up with a nervous, pointy sort of car – one that can be hard to string a series of corners together in smoothly, and that torque-steers more than most of its rivals, particularly in inclement conditions. Off-centre response is excellent and this character is addictive when the time is right, but it can be a little much for when it’s not.

Its chassis tweaks make it less refined and compliant for everyday driving than you might expect from a Focus, but if you’re willing to compromise on this front, the ST Edition is an incredibly capable car on Britain’s roads. The improved damping quality gives the chassis a new lease of life and unlocks truly impressive grip in the right conditions. The steering lacks the clarity you’d hope for from a car with such a tight chassis, but there’s no knocking the performance on offer overall.

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What to look out for

The Mk4 Focus ST hasn’t been on the road long enough for significant long-term reliability issues to rear their heads just yet, but there are a few items to be aware of when buying one used. While the ST avoids the expensive head gasket failure issue of the related engine in the Mk3 Focus RS, some owners have reported issues with wiring looms on early cars, with loose oil filler caps and wonky fuel filler doors also a problem for some. Build quality is strong on the whole, but listen out for squeaks and rattles.

What to pay

Ford revived the ST Edition as part of the Focus facelift in 2024 shortly before pulling the plug on production entirely – just 300 examples of the last iteration were produced, with even fewer registered in the UK. If you'd like one of the latest cars you will still pay close to £40,000 as a result, but if you’d like much the same for considerably less cash, the pre-facelift from a few years prior is a great alternative. Scan the classifieds and you’ll find numerous examples with reasonable mileages for just over £20,000, rising to just shy of £30,000 for the lowest mileage cars. 

Ford Focus ST Edition (2025) specs