Ford Focus ST: A MINI Owner's Impression

Hey All. Since this is one of the vehicles that I am considering I have been spending a bunch of time getting data on them. I have heard of many MINI owners considering these and I understand why they are a good swap and/or addition to your garage.

I’m going to go over my performance and daily driving impressions of the ST in reference to my R56 MINI with Sport Suspension and OEM Mechanical LSD. I will review the features/tech as well. I will break it down into segments: Styling, Performance, Daily Driving, and final impression.

Styling: I like a hot hatch. I think it’s modern without being outrageous. I’m not a fan of bright colored cars so I’ll stay away from the “tangerine scream†(yellow’ish) or red painted models. I’m a particular fan of the dark blue color with the black (of course) being a close second. The interior is good looking; much less “whimsical†and more technical/practical than the MINI. That appeals to me. I love my MINI but I hate the “awww that’s cute†response. I bought a MINI and part of that is learning to live with that as a response. I suspect I’ll get less of that with the ST. More likely I’ll get a “Oh, it’s just a Focus.â€

As far as design goes it has nice aero/hatch looks to it. The latest gen Focus has always been appealing to me. The new rear spoiler for the ST, center exhaust, and unique grille are all nice touches to differentiate the ST from the standard models.

Performance: I’m going to skip the “numbersâ€. You can look them up. I’m giving my impression based on 6 years of autocrossing experience and 2 years of open track/road course racing/driving. They are impressive. Power comes on early and steady. Grip with the OEM suspension and tires is pretty good. There is more body roll than my MINI but it is manageable. On an open track the body roll would become a mostly non-issue.

I got to right seat a couple different STs with different level drivers at a recent autocross. For the newer driver I saw that like any decent FWD car it tends to understeer but it more forgiving to mistakes. The more experienced driver who was used to FWD was well rewarded with grip and a steady line while setting class leading times on OEM tires.

The rear sticks more than the MINI so on an autocross trying to early apex and swing the rear around won’t work. Late apexing in tighter corners is a must. The e-diff in the ST was surprising. It worked rather well. I expected more drama and spinning of the inside tire. It wasn’t there. The clutch pedal is SUPER light. Much lighter than even the MINI’s clutch pedal. I’d argue that it might be too light but I think you can adjust to it. The shifter is solid and the engagement is positive.

The Recaro race-seats are FANTASTIC. Much better than the sport seats in the MINI. They hold you in position nice and firm whilst in the midst of hard maneuvers. I will say that I am not a slim guy and I am on the upper-end of the width the seats with comfortably fit. (6’1†230lbs 36in waist for reference)

I love the steering wheel. The last time I liked an OEM steering wheel this much was my MkV VW GTI. I have one complaint for performance. The gas pedal is poorly positioned for heel-toe down-shifts. I’d consider some sort of add-on to improve this.

Daily Driving: The car is comfortable. The slightly softer suspension actually makes for a more comfortable daily drive. The Recaro seats, shifter, steering wheel, and clutch pedal also make for good daily driving. I can easily see long drives without car-induced fatigue.

The tech features are mostly a plus. The engine PCM/ECU does a great job making the car completely tame and manageable at low/moderate speeds. Key-less start/door-locks. Steering wheel controls. Bluetooth. USB plug-in for music. Sony sound system (Far exceeds the OEM and/or the HK sound systems in the MINI). A down-side is that the simpler controls are managed by the SYNC system. HVAC is all run through the touch-screen (or voice command – that is kinda cool). I prefer the feel of manual controls. I have nightmares of the system failing. Good space for stuff. The seats fold down well. There is a bit of an awkward blind spot over the right-rear quarter. The fish-eye mini-mirror in the side-view helps.

Final Impression: I like it. The Focus ST has a nice blend of things (like any good hot hatch does). Ford got the “fun to drive†thing right with it. Just like BMW did with the MINI. One thing I didn’t mention but was more noticeable once I got back in the MINI after a decent time sitting/driving/observing the ST was that the ST feels more immersive. More like a cockpit. It’s very natural. You don’t notice it’s doing that until you’re not sitting in it. That is impressive to me. The MINI felt more solid once I started driving it home. The “thunk†of the door, the lack of body roll, the jouncing over small bumps. That’s a testament to both the quality of the MINI build and my personal adjustment to a much stiffer vehicle. I don’t think the ST would do as well stiffened as it weighs so much more than the MINI. Between them, you are trading the smallness and stiffness, for more power and room.

On an autox course the MINI trounces the ST (just have a look at the SCCA classing Focus ST G-stock; MINI Cooper S D-stock) but it doesn’t trounce it my as much as you would think. On a road course, the softer suspension and more power would win out for the ST. In daily driving it’s another trade-off. More comfort in the ST, better features, more room for stuff. However, it’s worse gas mileage, and more difficult to find a decent parking space. In the end I would say that one really isn’t better than the other. They are different and depending on your needs and wants one may be more suited to your needs. If you are already looking at an ST, like I am, then it may be that it’s time to trade-off the smallness and stiffness for more room and a gentler ride.


Feel free to comment/question/berate my findings.

 

Partially related update:

I have been surfing Focus ST related forums looking for any early adoption issues. I found two. One of which is valid and has a reasonable solution. The other us R56 (and related Turbo engined Mini) owners will find funny, at least I did anyway.

There is a mechanical Achilles Heel: The rear motor mount (Folks call it RMM for short) is the same as the base level Focus. It is too soft and causes poor traction and wheel-hop on hard acceleration and cornering. There are already TONS of aftermarket units from a bit stiffer to metal to metal (not really but close). Prices vary from $100 to $200 The most reasonable solution is buying the Focus Electric RMM for $60 from Ford. It mounts right up and offers a good add of stiffness for the engine without hurting driveability (NVH).

Second, is the age old carbon build-up on the backsides of the valves. To hear these guys talk it sounds like they just discovered something and/or it's somehow different from the Audi/VW/BMW/MINI issues. Lol. Same story over in that camp: Oil Catch Cans, Seafoaming, meth injection, etc... I, frankly, find it more humorous than anything else.

On a side note I will mention there are MANY former Mini owners with STs. Mostly citing the reason for the swap was either reliability and/or a need for more room without sacrificing fun-to-drive factor.

 

I highly recommended a test drive. People are gonna feel differently about it.

Yeah, if you get Plan A pricing you can get a helluva deal on one.

 

I have a few confirmed issues with Sync being iffy on cold mornings right after start. Otherwise fine. Most of the "problems" reported are people who don't know how to use the system and complain to CR/JD Power/Forums/etc...

The e-diff thing leaves me feeling a bit like you do. I'd rather have a helical or Torsen style differential upfront. It does actually work though.

The Recaro's come on the mid and upper level STs so you'd have to buy a base model to avoid them. That's not necessarily a bad thing depending on what you want.

 

Futher notes for the aftermarket crowd:

Since I am in Austin and they seem to be the most prolific tuner for the Focus ST I went to an open invite even at Cobb Tuning's headquarters. They have almost completed the finishing touches on their third stage tune/set-up for the Focus ST.

I spoke with Braden who is the chief tuner/engineer for the project as well as an owner of an ST himself. He had tons of info which I won't go into great detail here but it was surprising how much more could be wrung out of the ST as far as power is concerned.

The Stage 1 tune can be had with no modifications from stock. It gains you 15 peak HP and 38ft-lbs at the wheels. There is more torque and HP across the rev-range as well.

The monster stage 3 tune gets you 46 more HP and 58 ft-lbs to the wheels. This requires upgrades to the intake, intercooler, and exhaust.

Fairly impressive. I am still waiting on more suspension details but those will be coming soon.

Lowering springs can be easily had by the major names: Eibach, H&R, etc... But true progressive stiffer springs and matched shocks/struts are a bit harder to come by.

Like any FWD car rear sway bars are plentiful as well.

Given what I saw an intercooler/cat-back/intake along with a RMM and a stage 2 tune would be very good bang for the buck. It actually reduces component wear during DD and gives you a great sounding car that will push the limits of the FWD system for road racing.

Here is some detail on the Cobb stuff from the Focus ST forums: http://www.focusst.org/forum/cobb-tuning/2988-cobb-staged-packages-available-immediate-pre-order.html

 

Braden was telling me about Tanner's visit a couple weeks back. I kinda suspected this would result from what he was telling me.

 

No different than the Shelby/Roush/Saleen Mustangs.

You hit the nail on the head Jason: FoMoCo and the dealers all win in the profit department. :thumbup: