Short Take Road Test
Despite what the place mat in the Chinese restaurant tells us, the Ford Motor Company has decreed that 2005 will be the year of the car. Well, okay, the year of its cars. Having spent almost all its time in recent years engrossed in its nicely profitable trucks and SUVs, the delinquent parent now promises to provide some guidance for its neglected and nearly moribund line of automobiles.
The 2005 Focus is the first of Ford's cars to be hit with the defibrillator. Although we won't get Europe's all-new 2005 Focus, we do get reworked sheetmetal and plastic that relies less on Ford's late-1990s "new edge" styling and is more in line with the conservative duds worn by the upcoming Five Hundred sedan. And there's an obvious contradiction in the notion that Ford is now glued to its car operations, because the home office recently killed one of its best-performing examples, the SVT Focus. So to fill the big hole in enthusiasts' hearts everywhere, Ford has whipped up the four-door Focus ZX4 ST, which has performance that rivals that of the SVT Focus without the purebred single-mindedness and price.
The reason Ford is pulling the plug on the SVT Focus lies in the heart of the beast. With no Zetec engine remaining in the Ford order books-a result of Ford's decision to eliminate the Zetec in favor of the Mazda four-cylinder as its corporate four-banger-the high-revving 170-hp SVT version of the Zetec is too costly to justify. Fortunately, the new Mazda four-cylinder (that's a Duratec to you) is a performer. The ultra-clean 2.3-liter four-cylinder introduced last year boasts six extra horses for 2005, bringing the total to 151. So, the 2.3-liter gives up 19 horsepower to the SVT mill, but the ST is just a minuscule 0.2 second slower in the sprint to 60.
What one does notice is the relaxed way the ST makes its power. Although the smaller-displacement SVT engine had to spin to 5500 rpm to achieve its 145 pound-feet of torque, the 2.3-liter doles out 154 pound-feet at a more useful 4250 rpm. The broader torque curve renders the SVT's close-ratio six-speed unnecessary as the new engine deals with the five-speed's gaps admirably.
All Foci are engaging front-drive cars because they respond enthusiastically to commands, like a soldier fresh from boot camp. In a nod to the excellent SVT chassis, Ford bestowed on the Focus ST the SVT's stiff dampers. The coil springs, however, have a softer rate and provide more wheel travel than those on the SVT. No doubt chosen to improve ride comfort, the softer springs increase body roll and dull some of the responsiveness of the SVT. Smaller 16-inch cast-aluminum wheels shod with 205/50R-16 Pirelli P6 all-season tires replace the wider summer-only tires of the SVT, and ultimate grip falls from 0.87 g to a more pedestrian 0.81 g. However, the predictable nature of the ST chassis allows for easy exploration of the limits-even on public roads.
External changes to the 2005 Focus are limited to a handsome nose job and a reshaped rear end. Up front, taller fenders merge into less radical headlamps with expensive-looking clear lenses that frame a larger, more substantial grille. In back, new taillamps blend with a decklid design that has a cutout for stubby U.S. license plates. The previous model kept the European decklid that was designed to frame the longer, narrower European plates and consequently left our chubby plate hanging awkwardly. Gone are the discordant cuneiform shapes that gave the Focus an unresolved and untailored look. Now the Focus has a more simple, crisp contour.
After stepping into the redesigned interior, we think the outgoing model's IP looks like a confusion of intersecting asymmetrical shapes, ovoid vents, and cheap plastic that offends geometry as well as taste. The simple symmetrical shapes and higher-quality plastics may be a bit too conservative, but used daily they're easier to deal with than the psychedelic pastiche that made every trip a bad one. ZX4 ST models enjoy a few special trim pieces that separate the performance model from the dowdier offerings. The ST's instrument cluster gets a silver-hued background, the center stack that houses the radio and climate-control knobs has a faux-carbon-fiber finish, and red stitching on the leather-wrapped steering-wheel gives the interior some much-needed flair.
Fit and finish is likewise improved, but the Focus still trails the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla in NVH. Once you hear the engine buzzing behind the new dash, you'll realize that the makeover is only skin-deep.
On paper, the ST seems to be an unworthy successor to the heralded SVT Focus. However, despite being shorted one letter and a handful of horsepressure, the ST holds its own on the track while adding some class and maturity. If you still pine for an SVT, buy the ST. At $18,250, you'll save $1625 over a 2004 SVT Focus ZX5. You can then use the extra dough to ease your longing in a variety of ways.
