I’ve driven the new Ford Focus ST – it’s incredible in every way but Ford is axing it anyway

WHEN I started on local papers I used to type out the obituaries.

Some with hundreds of mourners, all scrawled on A4 paper.

Another job was to search the archives for “Those Were The Days” — revisiting stories from that week ten, 25 and 50 years ago.

Then before I knew it, I was doing “death knocks”.

A horrible but also essential part of being a journalist.

It would be disrespectful to write about someone’s death and not contact the family. To check facts. To give them the chance to pay tribute.

I was reminded of all that grounding this week after driving the Ford Focus ST.

Fabulous, fabulous car. Looks good. Drives even better. You’ll always go the long way home.

But then it dawned on me: This is the last one.

FOCUS WILL BE AXED IN 2024.

Another much-loved family motor on its last legs. Fond memories

So I got on the blower to Ford and they all but confirmed it.

The Focus plant in Germany will shut in 2025.

There are no plans to further electrify Focus.

Only Puma, Kuga, Mach-E, and two electric crossovers sitting between Puma-E and Mach-E, are confirmed from 2025 onwards.

Oh no, FoMoCo.

That’s three bread-and-butter Fords scrapped in the space of three years.

Mondeo went earlier this year. Fiesta is going next year. And now Focus.

According to my research, we’ve bought 6.2million Escort/Focus motors since 1968.

That’s a lot of cars.

And a lot of fond memories for you lot.

At least Focus will go out on a high because the refreshed 2022 model is absolutely the best of breed. Especially this ST.

It’s got all the ingredients you’d expect from a fast Ford: Speed, grip galore, razor-sharp handling and noise.

It’s a car that begs to be driven when the road opens up in front of you.

You can trace the ST’s lineage all the way back to the Escort Mexico in the Seventies, through to the XR3 and XR3i in the Eighties and Nineties, and then the very first Focus ST170 in 2002.

That’s 50-odd years of engineering excellence all poured into this 2022 car.

Yes, we know the ST is slightly less specialised than RS models of old but it is still proper fun to drive with a limited-slip differential and Track mode.

It is also very sensible.

This test car had pop-out door-edge protectors, adjustable cup holders, a Quickclear heated windscreen and clever Matrix LED lights that don’t dazzle oncoming traffic.

I was driving up the A1 at 4am on Sunday and they work a treat.

Special praise too for the super-wide SYNC4 touchscreen.

It works very well and the reversing camera is crystal clear.

You also get adaptive cruise control, head-up display and wireless phone charging to make life easy.

The Ford Performance seats are surprisingly comfy.

To sum up, then.

The Focus is a polished, practical everyday car.

The Focus ST is a polished, practical everyday performance car.

When they go, the mourners list would fill an old BT phone book.

Most famous Escort of all

SURELY the most famous Escort of all is Princess Diana’s 1985 RS Turbo.

Interestingly, S014 requested it was painted BLACK for discretion when all the other models were WHITE only.

It is expected to fetch a six-figure sum at auction at the Silverstone Classic on August 27.

If I was William, I’d buy it now.