Test drive Ford Focus 4 doors 2001 - 2005 sedan

Fast Focus

Sports genes improve the breed

Turning from the usual Ford Focus into Ford Focus ST170, the popular car has become a real adrenaline generator. Because behind the abbreviation ST hides the Sport Technologies unit, and the number 170 modestly indicates 173 horsepower hidden in a two -liter engine under the hood.

Another figure is 8.2 seconds to hundreds, transferred from paper to the road, disperses boredom and spleen, like a strong wind fog. So my fellow traveler in the passenger seat suddenly stopped complaining about the vicissitudes of fate: it seems that one obsessive thought has remained in his head to get to the center. And to say: the road from the Moscow Ring Road in the area of \u200b\u200bAltufevsky highway to Pushkinskaya Square took 15 minutes ...

There are many focuses in Moscow. But only the trained eye will unmistakably grab ST170 from the stream. And only well -aware in the intricacies of a corporate model policy will not take him for a standard but expensive version after external tuning. Of course, the original 17-inch alloy wheels with low-profile rubber immediately attract attention. Having looked closely, it is easy to notice the moldings painted in the color of the body and the spoiler above the fifth door, white turning pointers and chrome rims around the front tumor. But to see the differences in a slightly modified form of bumper, the radiator grill and headlights is no longer easy. However, in general, all these little things make the appearance of the ST170 bright and aggressive.

But this, perhaps, is not the main thing. The whole charm of the Focus ST version is that outwardly the car did not defiantly catchy, and at the same time retained functionality. Suppose the spoiler to the front bumper may also attach a craftsman. And to ensure that this very spoiler does not tear off on the first asphalt wave or a pit, of which on our roads, alas, only competent specialists are able to do. I was very convinced very soon that in Sport Technologies everyone calculated the best way, and even at high speeds of asphalt uneven cannot leave a trace on body panels or bumpers.

The salon does not leave no doubt that they did not work on the machine in a tuning studio, but in the factory. Each detail, as they say, in place. Both sports seats with the RECARO emblem, and the skin sheathed with a special ledge for a stronger and comfortable grip. The lever of a 6-speed gearbox made of aluminum, like pedals with rubber inserts. You involuntarily begin to draw parallels with the Focus from Vsevolozhsk who has just visited editorial trials. It seems to be a very similar, but completely different car. The point is not only a special decoration, but, for example, in the juicy sound with which the doors are closed, in the complete absence of plastic noise. And the instrument panel? White dials with the inscription ST, two additional indicators on the right of oil pressure and its temperature. Looking at the tachometer, you find that the red zone begins at 7000 rpm, and the speedometer is marked up to 260 km/h. No, this is not an ordinary Focus ...

Small demon

Your will, but for most cute ladies in Focus ST170, place is not behind the wheel, but on the right, with a fastened seat belt. A good range of front seats and trunks, of course, will allow any person to get on the site of the driver with comfort. But it is obvious that the tight adhesion and the long stroke of the brake pedal few of the women will taste. Only a big fan of sports type, who knows how to manage them, will say that it should be so. He will not get tired of squeezing to the end and throw the clutch pedal, accurately dose brake efforts, appreciate the rigidity of the suspensions and clarity of the steering. He will have a mere trifle to keep himself in his hands, not too carried away by the capabilities of the car, and adequately evaluate the surrounding environment. Because at the wheel of ST it is easy to imagine that you are not on the Russian road, but somewhere on the rally highway, on the occasion of races free from dummies and idle onlookers.

Here, for example, you, like me, stand on a good day at a traffic light. And next to someone as if inviting to compete, now and then clicking on the gas. You need it? So no! Green, and you rush, only managing to climb the first, second, third, your opponent has long behind, but you are already fascinated by the special song of the engine. In each gear, it dutifully twists up to 7,000 rpm, but the bunning blood of the daring melody just starts from 4000. And here, where, from where the Tavry foreign car, in vain, trying to rebuild just in the row on which you are flying. Then to the right. The small movement of the steering wheel is enough for the Focus ST170 to jump from the strip to the strip and no body rolls or hints of loss of stability. But the maneuver was risky, it must be admitted that it seemed like a demon to beguiled. It’s good that it was empty on the right. And if there was a truck there? The brakes, of course, are good, they are equipped with an ABS and a system of distribution of brake efforts, but not omnipotent. In a word, it is better to agree with such a provocateur car immediately, and do not follow him on the occasion. And if you want to really grasp, you should move away from the metropolis.

Here, for example, is almost the deserted Ostashkovskoye Shosse. There are a lot of turns and straight lines. In the next section, the speed reaches 180 km/h, and a low turn is ahead. I drop to 140, return to the fourth, small turn of the steering wheel and again gas to the floor. The skin of the seat creaks slightly from the increased overload, but the bend is passed as in oil. The main thing here is not to overdo it: the back, the steaming pendant does not like jokes. You will cross its limit (and he, as I had already written, is very great) and uncontrollable demolition will instantly begin. And ahead of the next turn, this time cool. It makes no sense to risk it better to slow down, but before the turn, pull the handle of a hand brake to force Focus to drive sideways. Then the steering wheel in the opposite direction, the gas and the machine prescribes an elegant arc. And so a kilometer per kilometer until you get bored.

Still, Focus ST is a small demon, and pushing not too thoughtful acts. Of course, there are demons and larger, more powerful, and more dynamic. But this, as they say, do not put a finger in the mouth, it turns on a half turn.

The first ten

There are only ten such cars in Russia, and all of them are delivered, of course, to order. There is no doubt that the ST170 on our roads will be more and more, since the right to possess such a car does not require a diploma to pass special driving courses. Anyone can get this wolf in sheep's skin, laying out about $ 24,000. This amount includes, in addition to the already listed, the climate control system, electric windows, xenon headlights.

Competitors are, for example, Honda Civic Type-R, but so far there are not too many of them in the Russian market.

Andrey Osipov
Photo by the author
 

Brief technical characteristics of Ford Focus ST170
Engine volume, cubic meter. See: 1988
The number of valves for the cylinder: 4
Power, l. With. at about./min.: 173/7000
Max. Torque, Nm/at about. min.: 196/5500
Acceleration to 100 km/h, p.: 8.2
Maximum speed, km/h: 215
Average fuel consumption l./100 km.: 9.1
Fuel tank volume, l.: 55
Dimensions, mm.: 4152x1702x1460
 
 

A source: Newspaper "Automobile Izvestia" [No. 5 (29), 2003]