SA Road Tests

Welcome

This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

My most recent drive is on the home page. Archived reviews and opinion pieces are in the active menu down the left side. Hover your cursor over a heading or manufacturer's name and follow the drop-down.


Driving pleasure distilled: The 2016 Ford Focus ST3

Enthusiast's machine of choice

Posted: 20 January 2016

Quick facts
Price: R443 900
Engine: 1998 cc, DOHC, 16-valve, four-cylinder, turbocharged
Power: 184 kW at 5500 rpm
Torque: 360 Nm between 2000 and 4500 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 6,5 seconds
Maximum speed: 248 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 9,5 l/100 km
Tank: 62 litres
Luggage: 316 litres
Warranty: 4 years/120 000 km; with 3 years’ roadside assistance
Service plan: 4 years/80 000 km; at 20 000 km intervals

Badass biotches do it in screaming tangerine. Others, a little more reticent, might choose Deep Impact Blue or this year’s special shade, Stealth. It’s a non-metallic dark charcoal; like the bomber. Prefer to fly a little below the radar? Try a standard colour; Frozen White, Moondust Silver, Panther Black or Race Red.

Whichever you choose, Ford’s potent Focus ST is still tantalising close to automotive erotica. The Borg Warner blown and Bosch-managed twin-cam 2.0-litre four still pumps out 184 kilowatts and 360 Newton metres. This blasts the car from zero to 100 km/h in six-and-a-half seconds and on to its top speed of 248 km/h.

The driving position is electrically adjustable for just about everybody, although we did feel a need for adjustable lumbar settings a few times. On the plus side, its leather-trimmed sporting buckets have heating elements built in.

The steering wheel with its satellite controls for music, voice, computer, and cruise functions feels properly chunky and adjusts for height and reach. A well-placed gear lever with smooth and positive action, nicely spaced pedals, plenty of room to get the left foot down to its designated rest and the properly sited parking brake all attest to driver-centric design. While we had no real objection to the dog-legged lift-up handle in the earlier car, it was nice to get back to one that feels just right.

There are two versions – very acceptable ST1 and drop-dead sexy ST3. Recaro seats, sports instrumentation, road hugging suspension, responsive steering, decent brakes, slick-shifting six-speed manual ‘box, a full house of safety kit and comprehensive connectivity make it a true enthusiast’s machine of choice. But you know all that.

More to the point: What has changed since we last drove one in 2013? Beginning at the front, added creases give the bonnet just a hint of power bulge, headlamps are slimmer, the rectangular fog lamps are new, its narrower honeycomb upper grille sits higher and the lower intake was reshaped. ST3 also gains LED running lights and adaptive HID headlamps.

Around at the back, the bottom fascia is obviously new, but the whole rear hatch has been subtly restyled. Still missing, unfortunately, are backup warning sensors.

The most noticeable interior changes include the previously noted hand brake for both models and SYNC2® with eight-inch touch screen on ST3. An option pack priced at R6540, for the same car, gives you 19” Rock Metallic grey rims and a sunroof.

Unseen changes include a stiffer front body structure, reworked front and rear suspension to improve handling and stability, recalibrated electric power steering, revised torque vectoring control settings and Enhanced Transitional Stability (ETS). Sensors predict when you are about to get yourself in too deep, so the system can take steps to bail you out before you realise that something almost happened.
 
Our previous report, on a mechanically similar car, dealt with driving impressions and its equipment, so we’ll take a closer look at its practical side this time. Our first impression, on folding ourselves into the Recaro buckets, was that they were unduly hard but after a few kilometres they felt more comfortable.

The rear hatch, with its pair of pull-down handles, opens down to mid-thigh level and its lip is 16 centimetres deep. Two lights illuminate the practical and rectangular load space with its four bag hooks, but no lashing rings. A steel spacesaver fits into a well under the floorboard. Surrounding the spare is a plastic moulding with shallow indentations that could hold small items you might choose to keep hidden for safety. The seatbacks fold 60:40 but don’t lie perfectly flat in the way those on the 1.0-litre car do. It’s probably a feature of the Recaro seat styling and the leather covering.

Another difference between sports seats and ordinary civilian versions is that the Recaro rear bench is sculpted for two and has just a pair of head restraints, although a third inertia reel belt is fitted. In fairness, only a very small middle seat passenger could get comfortable anyway; because of the high “transmission” hump. Like the civilian seats, these do without armrest and cup holders too.

What was definitely not changed is ST’s signature character. Suspension is very firm, steering is almost uncomfortably heavy until you get properly mobile, the soundtrack is magnificent and Ford hasn’t sissified all the character out of it. It can be a handful, if you play rough and don’t know how take charge, but that’s what makes truly sporting hatches so addictive.

Test car from FMCSA press fleet



What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so they can see I do actually exist.

Comments?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you completely disagree with what I say? If you want advice or have a genuine concern, I will be happy to hear from you. All I ask is that you write something in the subject line so I know which vehicle you're talking about.