The all-new 2019 Ford Focus ST will go on-sale in Australia in early 2020 with both 205kW petrol and 140kW diesel variants available.
The all-new 2020 Ford Focus ST has been revealed with Ford Australia saying we can expect to see it here in early 2020. Pricing and final specifications are being kept under wraps until closer to the local launch.
Compared with the standard Focus, the Focus ST gets unique styling, suspension, braking and powertrain set-up. There will be two engines available, a petrol and turbo-diesel engine, although the diesel has yet to be confirmed for Australia.
The engine we’re likely to see Down Under is the 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol making around 205kW at 5500rpm and 420Nm of torque from 3000-4000rpm. It’s expected the Focus ST will hit 100km/h in less than six seconds. This engine borrows from the Ford GT and F-150 Raptor with the use of anti-lag technology to ensure near-instant power delivery in Sport and Track modes. What anti-lag does, says Ford, is keep the throttle open even when the driver lifts off the throttle; this keeps the compressor wheel spinning to maintain boost pressure.
The engine will be offered with either a six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic transmission. The manual (petrol variant only) will be offered with rev-matching like the Mustang EcoBoost as part of a cost-optional Performance Pack.
As far as handling is concerned, the Focus ST gets a multi-link rear end and runs the same spring configuration as the regular Focus, however damping has been increased by 20 percent and ride height is 10mm lower. Focus ST will also be available with adaptive dampers (cost optional) and an electronic locking differential (petrol models only). According to Ford, “the system uses hydraulically activated clutches to limit the engine torque delivered to a wheel that has reduced traction on the road surface, and redistributes up to 100 per cent of available torque to the wheel with more traction to counteract wheelspin”. The diesel variant gets torque vectoring instead.
The steering set-up has been taken from the Fiesta ST with the steering response now 15 percent faster than standard Focus. The tyres are bespoke Michelin Pilot Sport 4S and the brakes have been made bigger and are now, says Ford, four-times more fade resistant than the previous-generation Focust ST.
Beyond the standard driving modes, Slippery/Wet, Normal and Sport, the Performance Pack adds Track mode which adjusts “eLSD, CCD, EPAS, throttle mapping, automatic transmission shift scheduling, electronic stability control, electronic sound enhancement (Ford says it’s enhancing genuine engine noise and not piping in fake sound) and climate settings to suit the driving scenario”.
In terms of the looks, the Focus ST gets a new, more aggressive look and, on the inside, gets a sports steering wheel and Recaro seats. Then there’s the usual contrast stitching and unique badging around the cabin.
In terms of active safety, the Focus ST continues with the suite of safety features offered on Focus, including autonomous emergency braking, lane keep assist, evasive steering assist and more.
