Having changed jobs at the end of 2005 I was able to take a company car, but only if it was a 'sensible 4 seat saloon' so the VX220 had to go. A sad day for me. However, the Focus ST is strangely classed as a 'sensible' car by my employer and after a test drive at high speed in Redditch (really), I was hooked on the turbo punch and engine roar! Since the ST had only just been launched I was told "no discounts" and a 4 month wait by the Redditch garage, and had similar responses from 4 other Ford dealers in the Birmingham area; but thanks to some friendly folks on the Focus ST forum (isn't the internet great), I was able to drive my new ST away just 2 weeks later with a sizeable discount thrown in.

 

You probably have read all this before, but from my perspective:-

ST good points;

Engine roar - those 5 cylinders sound fab, turbo punch, broad torque spread, driveability, traction (for a front wheel drive car), grip, solid feel and NCAP5 if you put it in a ditch, steering wheel feel, dashboard design and instrument clarity, seats, xenon headlamps - really good, very quiet when not pressing on, in fact car has a split personality - can pick up the kids from school and also have great fun on a B road!, price, and also pretty cheap servicing and parts!

ST bad points;

Doesn't have a 'sense of occasion' like the VX, more common than a VX, car feels heavy compared to the VX (most cars do TBH!), stereo should really have a line-out (I cannot add an amp/sub and I don't want to use high level inputs - so I have had to change the head unit), mpg (see below), exhaust (sounds quite good for a std exhaust but what infuriates me is how low it is - there's a good deal of wasted space there and it could have been done so much better),

MPG!!

Well, I used to think the ST mpg was pretty poor, but over the last 10 tanks I have averaged 30.7mpg (without trying to drive economically!), which really isn't too bad. The VX had 145bhp, and weighed a lot less than the ST with similar performance, and I got about 30-32mpg. So the ST delivers about 50% more power, shifts about 50% more weight and uses just a bit more petrol, that's not unreasonable is it?!

For more "Focus ST in Norway" - click the image above!