Facelifted Ford Focus ST

Ford announced the run-out ST500 special edition of the old Focus, today it's shown the new one.

Now the Blue Oval has released the first details of the new ST, with a refreshed look to emphasis its sporty position at the top of the Focus tree. There's a new bumper, much shallower grille and more rectangular, swept-back headlamps at the front, giving a more technical look. The rear has been refreshed, too, but the changes are less noticeable.

This is a cosmetic nip 'n' tuck only, so the five-cylinder 2.5 turbo is unchanged. That means a 222bhp large-capacity engine in a compact hatch body, for lazy performance and a rally-inspired, Volvo-esque warble.

Performance is unchanged, with 0-66mph in 6.6sec and top speed around the 150mph mark. The Focus has been one of our favorite hot hatches in recent years, vying with the Golf GTI and Civic Type-R for class honors.

Prices of the ST are a couple of hundred less than before, now starting at £17,995 for a basic three-door - but it's still more than the Honda and several grand less than the VW. Ford has kept the ST, ST2 and ST3 trim levels, priced accordingly and topping out at £20,595 for the top-spec five-door.
The facelifted Focus range lands in dealerships in January 2008, priced from £11,945. That's £250 more than the previous incarnation, but ESP is now standard fit across the range (previously it cost, you guessed it, £250). Buyers can pick from Studio, Style, Zetec, Titanium and ST trim ranges.

Although the facelift is mainly cosmetic, there's a new twin-clutch automated manual gearbox. It seems that the Volkswagen group really set the cat among the pigeons with its DSG transmission, and manufacturers are now falling over themselves to offer rival systems. Ford's new box is called PowerShift, and it was developed with Getrag.