Skip advert
Advertisement

Ford Focus ST review (2011 - 2019) - design

Ford’s facelift has tightened the Focus’s lines and done away with excess visual weight.

Evo rating
RRP
from £25,735
  • Storming performance, price undercuts most rivals
  • Can become unruly with torque steer, cheap-feeling cabin

Design

With that new nose and general tightening up, the Focus has drastically improved its chances of attracting buyers focused on looks. Where the Golf GTI goes for a subtly fancier plain wrapper, the ST’s gaping mesh grille, 19-inch alloy wheels and wilder colour options - Tangerine Scream orange being perhaps the most retina threatening – sell its performance credentials without ambiguity.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Compared to previous ST generations, the current car has a convincingly lower, broader-shouldered stance with a more obviously sculpted bonnet and sleeker, slimmer headlamps. Other sporty touches include twin-hexagonal centre tailpipes, black lamp bezels, no shortage of ST badging and, if you option the, a set of rather handsome 19-inch ST Design alloy wheels. If pulsatingly orange paintwork is just too much, there’s a dark grey exterior paint colour called Stealth exclusive to the ST.

The ST is arguably more attractive in estate form. The elongated bodywork balances some of the ST's more awkward details and the simpler rear-end treatment works better too. Our "stealth grey" long-term TDCi Estate certainly looked menacing and the current "deep impact blue" petrol estate is striking, yet both slide under the radar better than a bright orange example might... 

 

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

£15k off Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio super SUV
Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio
News

£15k off Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio super SUV

If you have to have an SUV, a Stelvio QV is acceptable. Now it's being heavily discounted.
8 Jul 2025
Ferrari F80 2025 review – near-1200bhp tech tour de force tested on road and track
Ferrari F80 review
Reviews

Ferrari F80 2025 review – near-1200bhp tech tour de force tested on road and track

Maranello’s latest hybrid hypercar and successor to the LaFerrari blends mind-bending capabilities with deeply intuitive character
10 Jul 2025
New cars at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed – all the debuts from Aston to Zenvo
Festival of Speed 2025
News

New cars at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed – all the debuts from Aston to Zenvo

The 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed is underway. Here’s what’s in store from the biggest British motoring event of the year
11 Jul 2025