25 Oct 05
Standard-fit eight-way manually adjustable Recaro seats keep you comfortably in place under high lateral g-forces, but don't hug or pinch excessively - good to know if you're not exactly a honed racer yourself. The rest of the cabin is suitably sporty too, with aluminium drilled pedals, leather steering wheel, black headlining and colour-coded flashes on the seats.
The dash itself, however, is a big swathe of blackness and some extra colour wouldn't go amiss here. It differs from the regular Focus thanks to the addition of a three-dial instrument pod in the centre, facing the driver. These read the oil pressure, oil temperature and turbocharger boost pressure, so you can keep an eye on the state of the engine when thrapping along. Mind you, the turbo boost gauge is a little pointless: if you can't feel when the turbo is delivering a full bar of pressure, you shouldn't really be driving the ST.
It goes without saying that electric windows, mirrors, remote central locking with an alarm, air-con and a decent CD player are all standard fit on the entry-level Focus ST 1 at £17,495. An extra £1,000 gets you a Focus ST 2, which has an MP3-compatible CD player, Xenon headlamps, heated front windscreen and (switchable) ESP. The ST 3 (for another £1,000) get leather Recaros for all passengers (10-way electrically adjustable at front) and a six-CD autochanger.
