Why is Ford testing the Focus ST in the U.S. when the automaker made
it clear that the only next-gen passenger car to be sold in its home market
will be the Mustang?
There were also plans to bring over the Focus Active
but they got canceled because of tariffs. We don’t know why the 2019 Focus
ST is being tested on U.S. soil, but we sure hope Ford changes its mind and
brings it to the United States.
Back to the prototype now. Aside from shedding all
camouflage, it also proudly sports the ST badge on the front grille, which has
the typical honeycomb mesh and is doubled by a second grille down below. That’s
because the 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder needs all the air it can get to
cool down. The sculpted front bumper features some gloss black trim around the
grille and fog lights but beyond these changes, it pretty much looks the same
as the Focus ST-Line’s bumper.
The ST alloy wheels also look similar to what we’ve
seen on the Focus ST-Line but they feature seven “petals” instead of five. As
for the rear end, it reveals the model’s sporty character thanks to the two
exhaust pipes fitted on each side of the diffuser-like bumper trim. Everything
else looks pretty standard on the outside.
The cabin
will feature fabric sports seats with contrast stitching and ST embroidery, a
flat-bottom steering wheel, and a revised instrument cluster with new gauges
featuring red dials.
In the powertrain department, the 2019 Focus ST will
ditch the previous model’s 2.0-liter turbo-four for the EcoBoost 2.3-liter unit
that’s also found on the current Focus RS and Mustang EcoBoost in different
states of tune. On the Focus ST, the new engine should deliver more than the previous
model’s 250 PS, although it’s not expected to go beyond the 300 PS mark so as
to avoid getting too close to the upcoming Focus RS.
Cr : Carscoops
