One of the best car reviews I've seen on KZfaq touching on everything including brake feels, noise level, and prices. Thumbs up!

Hey ALEX Happy NEW YEAR! I swear you have to be the MOST DETAILED REVIEWER on KZfaq. You don't miss a thing! Thank You!

I own this car and it's a blast to drive. Thanks for the review!

Other reviewers (especially dealers) should take not on how this guy does reviews. When you're looking to buy a car, this is the kind of stuff you want to know. Excellent work Alex.

Our 2014 Tangerine Scream (with the racing stripes) Focus ST is slightly different. The driver's seat is powered and both front seats are heated which is very nice up here in the Great White North. The steering wheel does not have the buttons at the 4 o'clock position. Those functions are contained in the buttons at the 3 o'clock position. And we have a full sized steel rim spare with a Continental? tire mounted on it in the back, not a donut spare. The Goodyear F1 mounted Y spokes are stored away for the winter with steel rimmed winter tires underneath the ST.

Another fine review. Look forward to your take on the 2015 VW GTI...Thanks Alex.

Love the reviews! I'd love to see you get your hands on the CLA 250 Mercedes! I went to the dealer yesterday and that violet color captivated me! It's as sexy as the new Mazda 3 and 6

The rear seats do fold flat but you have to remove the head rests and flip up the seat bottom first.

I love this car. I have been looking at cars for about 6 months now and I keep coming back to this one. Now they're talking about the RS coming out, so I guess I have to hold out a little longer.

Been waiting for your review on this one. Thanks!

Good review man. I got a lot of good info out of this. Thanks

Great review, my interest in this guitar is growing.

Another great review sir, thank you.

Great matter of fact review with loads of practical stuff that's good to know about this car when out driving like 95% of the owners.

Just a truth in advertising thing here. That is NOT a 2014 ST. It is a early build 2013 evidenced by the silver clading on the intake piping. Early builds had this. Later builds in late 2012 eliminated the clading because they were coming off of customer cars. Also the steering wheel has symetrical buttons on it. In 2014 they elimiated the right hand lower buttons from the wheel and incorporated those functions on other buttons. I have 2 2013 ST's one built in Feb 2013 and one in April 2013 and neither has the silver intake clading

An excellent review.Thanks!

Enjoyed the review. Thank you.

The back seats do fold flat!!, you just have to remove the headrest and pull up on the bottom cushon first then fold the backs down!

Sounds good I like the deep sound of the exhaust.

Hi Alex. I just want to let you know about the hood and bumper spacing is adjustable to narrow the tolerance. It isn't to for cooling. My 2013 Ford Focus ST is exactly the same as the 2014 model except for the options of on the wheels, brake and pin strips. The car has 252 HP and 270 TQ at 2500 RPM not 247 HP and 266 TQ at 1500 RPM.

Alex you need better hd cameras and driving shots. Your channel is amazing and that would just set your channel on fire!

Planning on getting one.

Great review thanks

Bought mine new in November’13. Still living the dream.

do you have a video on the fiesta st?

I like the refreshed look better. I test drove a 2017 Alex is right. Its alot of fun

I had a gti they take mods very well and fun but I like the more sporty feel of the St and it's more car for same money

I really like the Focus ST. It seems really well done to me.

Love the Ray Bradbury reference!

the side air vents do close, if you move the lever all the way down the vent will lock into a closed position

im not sure if this was brought up before but almost all focus back seats fold up or come out quite easily and the back folds down just an fyi if no one knew ( 2003 focus back seats have a bar attached to it and fold up hugging the front seats 2009 focus come out and can be placed in the same spot or taken out for more room if needed again just an fyi) i could be wrong on this for the ST but assuming its been in a focus back in 2003 and again in the 09 .. only one can assume they would keep that feature

Funny you should mention the grill...its actually a major hurdle to this car for me. The rest of the car is attractive among other hatch styles. Speaking of hatches, the Scion tC latchback design is beautiful and I wish it was incorporated into many other cars today. I know of none. Its a design that was used alot in the 80s but it would be so useful to me now. Im glad to have a good manual trans option to consider in this Focus. Thanks for your reviews!

love the new aston martin grill on the front

funny how he always lays in the trunk of the car he reviews always the highlight of every video haha

You didn't flip the back seats 'bottom' and the back fully to showcase how much space there is. Unless the design is alot different to Focus Trend

Nice review, how does the Focus ST compare to the Fiesta ST? It seems some of it best competition is from its little brother.

Hey Alex are you able to get a review on the new 2014 Honda civic? I'm wondering if they increased the rear leg room. Thanks!

Test driving one tomorrow hopefully will be no problems 40 k miles 12 grand

252 horse power*

Bro your voice have intake sistem???

Alex on Autos Whats your take on 2015 ST v/s 2016 WRX? Not able to decide between these 2 cars. Thanks

One other point, you mention the rear seats do not fold flat, and I noticed you did not pull the seat cushions up to the forward position, prior to lowering the seat back. Does the North American Focus ST not offer this function or did you over look that in your time with the ST? Example media.ed.edmunds-media.com/ford/focus-st/2013/lt/2013_ford_focus-st_crg_lt_12813_600.jpg

You can say "amusing" too often. But a pretty thorough review.

Can you confirm with Ford whether or not the gap between the hood and the front fascia is actually a vent, or just a bad/wide manufacturing tolerance?

i see it exactly the way you do

Alex, excellent review as always. I looked carefully at the ST before purchasing my MK6 GTI last spring and was impressed but not swayed enough to go for it for several reasons. A bit too boy racer for me. Of course, the vehicle is available in colors other than "tangerine scream" that Ford has made available to virtually all journalists but even discounting that I decided that five years down the road the GTI would retain its classic looks while the ST would look like a five year old car. Of course, some may say the GTI already looks like a five year old car, so YMMV. It's true that even though VW traditionally underrates its engines, the ST has more oomph in both HP and torque than the GTI. That gap disappears, however, with stage 1 tuning of the GTI. Furthermore, for real world city driving I much preferred the GTI's dimensions and much smaller turning radius to the ST. Overall, I just found the GTI a more balanced package in terms of power and handling. On a more practical (daily driver) level there were a couple of deal breakers for me in the ST. As you note, the back seat of the ST while not an afterthought is not nearly as accommodating as the GTI. The GTI's enormous interior (for the class) as well as its more upscale appointments were a strong selling point for a daily driver. It's true that the ST has some features the GTI lacks but the overall fit/finish is far better. Finally, in my case, I had to have an AT so my wife could drive in Seattle rush hour traffic. The wonderful dual clutch transmission in the GTI enables me to drive it like a manual while my wife can use it in place of our gas guzzling CUV. I can certainly understand why Ford limited the ST to a manual transmission choice but even after owning MT vehicles for 50 years, I find it don't miss it in the least. All in all, I think Ford did a great job with the ST and in several ways it outpoints the MKVI GTI (though not for me). I don't think that will be true with the MKVII when it arrives in the US later this year but the fact that there is significant competition in this segment is heartening.

The way he practically rips the cover off 1:23 😂😂😂

With a tune cold air and down pipe it’s a different animal

Alex, Full Grain is more expensive and more durable than Split Grain. What makes Split Grain better?

Why no mention of the ST's three modes of ESP to choose from? These can be selected according to weather and road conditions or simply to match the driver’s desire for help from additional driving aids. In the first instance the ESP works much the same way as the innovative system found in the base model Focus, although for the ST it is tuned to be non-intrusive to the driver. This standard mode supports the driver on all surfaces, whether dry, wet or snowy, giving them the confidence to drive safely no matter what the weather. The driver can opt to select the second mode, called reduced or wide-slip mode, in which the traction control is turned off. Traction is handled by the driver here, while the ESP is programmed to intrude only as absolutely necessary. Of course, the ESP system can also be switched off completely resulting in the Focus ST in its purest form, giving full control of the sublime chassis to the driver when is a position to exploit it, such as on a race track. Only the sub-features such as the Enhanced Dynamic Cornering Control (EDCC) remain active

That road is scary, what's with all the cliff right after the edge of the road!

Turbo delay or lag this is weird I like focus and planning to buy one when 2015 come but thus turbo issue making me not comfortable I don't want get turbo charged ride and turbo Is sick means losing hp

This car is plenty quick.

Alex I have read that the GTI is underrated from the factory and it may be making around 230hp. Have you come across such claims?

I was hoping for an ST review not a comparison vs GTI.

Great car

Why am I seeing the Lexus spindle grill in the black eggcrate grill? Notice it Alex?

Definintly a cool car. Me and my bro hit 140mph in it. Pretty fast!

isn't the HP 252 and Torque 270??

What would be your chances of getting a GT-R, Alex?

hood gap is for the bug deflector clips. saving paint.

Alex, it's 252hp w/270 ft lbs tq.

Who is this mystery 6'5" passenger?

As far as I am concerned the gap in the front has been fixed

Have you tried out the Fiesta ST yet? I've driven both the Focus ST and Fiesta ST, and I have to say I like the Fiesta ST a lot better than it's Focus counterpart. Despite the smaller engine and lighter profile, the Fiesta ST is a bit better experience. It handles better than the Focus ST due to its lighter profile in my opinion. If you haven't tried it yet, you should. I think you might like it better.

front end looks a bit pissed off

Wich is the road you're driving in?

The Ford-Focus St I drove a few hours ago, looked WWAAYYYY better than this 2014 model. Even the steering wheel control buttons looks very remedial than the one I saw. Also, the front and back rear bumper looked nothing like this!! This guy probably received one of the very first models for him to review. I think he reviewed the 2013 model!!

So how reliable is this car and how much will maintenance cost?

Helpful review . My , you can talk . Drop the amused and amusing comments . They don't come across very well , for you . Still a very good job . Thanks

Front grill ANGRY FACE! Love it :)

Love the front end, but a license plate ruins it IMO

6'5" is not an average height so thats a bad demonstration of the back seats

It has 252 hp

I'm curious why the mini cooper s is usually left out of comparisons with cars like the Focus ST, VW GTI, and Fiat 500. As far as fun factor, the cooper at least matches or beats most hot hatches. It's not the fastest or quickest hatchback, but it's got a ton of character, while still being more refined than the Fiat 500 in my opinion.

The rear seats WILL fold flat. You have to flip the seat-bottoms up and forward, then remove the headrests from the seat-backs and the seat-backs will then fold flat. Yes it's a pain in the @$$, but it can be done.

Good review, But to much talk of the GTI.......From my experience, VW's always tend to be a little underpowered......With a few exceptions....

This dude reminds me of Jared Fogle.

I, I, I...really dislike hard plastics everywhere!

Would u let us listen to that engine? ...or speak forever?

Like the civic si this car should be offered in a automatic. Not many people drive manuals anymore and honda and ford would get more sales

The front end looks.. so sad... like a sad ..catfish

I guess im one of those guys that doesn't like the front. It looks like a fish with an open mouth. But this car is way better than a civic si

Herd gti more than st.

Volkswagon ("VVVVVVVVagon"... NOT "w"agon. They are German cars, pronounciation counts).

It looks decent, but Immature. I would prefer a more aggressive styling rather than a smiley face.

A BMW ? Lol nah

i dont like this review....

The front of the car is awful. It really reminds me of a fish. The rest of the car isn't that great looking either, and I hate what ford is doing with their cars now. I loved my best friends 2010 Fusion but we got into an accident on Friday and I'm almost sure the car is totaled (airbags deployed) but thankfully everyone was fine.

SO many factual errors in this review. Spare tire is NOT a donut, it is a full size tire at 215/55/16. Door inserts are NOT soft touch plastic, they are FABRIC. Side vents DO CLOSE when you slide them all the way down. The suspension went under significant changes from the base focus with revised spring rates, steering knuckles, stabilizer bars (front and rear), control arms, bushings and rear stabilizer mounting points in addition to the revised dampers. AND SHUT UP ABOUT OTHER CARS IN REVIEWS. Hot damn you talk about the GTI nearly as much as the focus in this review! Thumbs down, will not watch again.

the st may have more power but is ugly as fuck...i dont know how they can design such a bad looking car...i think it cant compete with th golf7 gti which is years ahead on every aspect...

that gay accent is really annoying though