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If the ST170's steering response isn't quite as dartingly incisive as it might be, and if its performance lies on the brisk side of rampant, well, that's because Ford needs to keep something back for the RS, which promises to be still more of a rocketing, high-precision drive.
Why are we waiting so long for the RS? Because Ford found that its fabricated exhaust manifold kept breaking, so it had to tool up for a more substantial cast iron item. And while it was at it, it refined the engine management's control of the turbo to make it more protective of the engine's internals, because turbochargers generate a fair bit of heat and pressure stress. We will, finally, be able to buy an RS Focus in late summer, and we can buy an ST170 right now.
So why have we had to wait so long for these performance Fords? Well, you may remember, during the height of the joy-riding epidemic, that hot hatches became unsaleable because they had turned near uninsurable. So plenty of car makers struck these models from their plans, including Ford. Trouble is, Ford was too slow in reinstating them when insurance premiums fell again. Martin Leach, Ford's product development chief, reveals that there was an impasse between sales and marketing, who didn't want the cars, and product development, who did. The marketing types said that product development wanted the hot Fords only 'because they like building race cars'. Leach, determined to go ahead with the new models, suggested that Ford might need to look for a new product development chief if he didn't get his way. So these latest hot Fords, the Focus ST170 and RS, and the Mondeo ST220, are the progeny of a corporate spat. Which matters little to you and me. Instead, we can be pleased that in the ST170 there is another fine hot hatch to choose from among the breed's fast-swelling ranks.
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