The European division of Ford simultaneously presented a test drive in the Croatian city of Split and its environs of two of its own models at once — the Ford Raptor and the Focus ST. We have already presented the first car, and now it’s the turn for the second, which, as before, turns out to be a car only for connoisseurs.

Like the smaller Fiesta with the same addition of two letters in the name of the car, excellent handling, emphasized design with sporty notes and good detailing. Add to that 280 «horsepower», 420 Nm of maximum torque, sports suspension, sharper. steering, steering, additional Track Drive mode and it will become clear to you that this car will attract …

The untrained eye is unlikely to be able to catch what this machine hides under its “skin”. But there are different front grilles, a rear spoiler, larger wheels — 18 or 19 inches, and brakes painted red. Added to this is the choice of just seven colors, and it is believed that Performance Blue and Orange Fury will be the most popular with buyers. Inside, in addition to the seats, the sporty character is emphasized by the aluminum lever handle, sports pedals, ST tax letters placed in many places, and a large upholstery seam. Navolana is mounted on the right, a new mode switch plus a separate Sport button.

Another surprise is the offer to choose an engine between a gasoline spark plug of the specified power and a diesel one, which is the most powerful in the history of the model with the ST designation — 190 hp. It is from the EcoBlue category, two-liter, with a maximum torque of 400 Nm. Diesel is definitely more economical — the one presented by the manufacturer consumes an average of 4.8 per 100 km, and gasoline 7.8.

The gasoline uses technology developed for the Ford GT and Raptor to avoid loss of throttle power in Sport and Track Drive modes. The eLSD (Borg Warner Differential Lock) system is not available for the diesel. Since the drive is only to the front wheels, this lock helps to maximize the use of torque in all modes — both when accelerating from a standstill and when passing tight turns on the track.

The difference between the two modes for more «harsh» driving — Sport and Track — is quite small. The latter disables the stallion’s electronic «hold» systems, the steering becomes a little more responsive, the eLSD becomes stiffer in its duty as it makes the engine and car more aggressive.

In general, different modes change the operation of many systems — the differential lock algorithm, adaptive suspension, power steering, throttle sharpness, stabilization system and even electronic engine sound amplification. Ultimately, in top-end hardware, you have the choice between four modes — Slippery/Wet/Slppery/Wet/, Normal, Sport, and optional Track/Track/.

For the first, the speed increases smoothly, the gear shift is “smooth”. The situation changes drastically as we rise in modes. In Sport, the engine sound changes — louder with cracks in the muffler, acceleration from standstill to 100 takes 5.7 seconds.

An interesting point is that the car’s suspension is not too stiff, thanks to adaptive shock absorbers you do not feel discomfort from road bumps. Basic normal car mode is convenient for everyday driving. The only thing that spoils the comfort a little in this situation is that the steering wheel response is quite harsh due to the short gear ratio, allowing the wheels to be fully rotated from end to end in just two partial revolutions of the pretzel. The power steering wheel, called EPAS, is 19% more agile than a regular Focus.

All the beauty and dynamics of riding this animal requires serious taming, and it is — the front discs are 330 by 27 mm, the rear ones are -302 by 11 and are really very effective when needed. Focus ST stops just fine — energetic, fast, precise, without trajectory and traction.

Like any pleasure in life, owning such a racing car is cheap but worth the money — the petrol version starts at BGN 63,900 with VAT, while the top version costs BGN 72,200. Diesel starts from BGN 66,000 and goes up to BGN 70,800. In both options there is an icombi version for which there is an additional fee of 1250 BGN.

http://www.fordbook.ru/en/focus/2 — second generation Ford Focus repair manual.