RE: Ford Focus ST Mountune m330 | PH Review

RE: Ford Focus ST Mountune m330 | PH Review

Sunday 24th May 2020

Ford Focus ST Mountune m330 | PH Review

For £600, the front-drive ST gets RS-grade power courtesy of Ford's perennial tuning partner. Bargain?



We’re well aware just how good the chassis of the latest Ford Focus ST is: the five-door hatchback beat the Megane Trophy, Golf GTI TCR and i30N Performance in our group test last year. On a sodden Welsh hillside, its best traits - a clever front diff and impressive body control - came to the fore, and trumped the power advantage claimed by its direct rivals. A fair result on the day, but the obvious thought did linger: to what extent had the rain concealed the shortcomings of the Ford’s 2.3-litre turbocharged engine?

Well, now there’s a £600 way of seeing off any apprehension. Mountune’s m330 upgrade comprises a higher spec air filter and the tuner's own smartflash ECU technology, lifting the EcoBoost unit to peaks of 330hp and 380lb ft of torque. Gains of 50hp and 70lb ft not only place the ST head and shoulders above its rivals, but also elevate the latter beyond the Focus RS by 56lb ft. The m330 Focus claims 0-62mph in 5.2 seconds – although don't assume that tells the full story of one driven axle versus two.

The impact of the ST’s newfound performance, given that it is accompanied by totally standard running gear in our test car’s case, is significant. But you wouldn’t necessarily know about it from the outside. Tailgate badge, Mountune decals and yellow gear knob aside, there’s nothing to shout about a visit to Mountune’s Brentwood workshop. Nor is there anything untoward in the car’s basic function: the ST’s standard drive modes – Slippery, Normal, Sport and (with the optional Performance Pack) Race – plus Sync 3 infotainment are all present and correct. Even the exhaust note on start-up is unchanged because the pipework remains standard.


As is almost always the case, Mountune’s efforts are all centred on the fun stuff. Familiar Ford features, like lifted-clutch throttling where engine revs subtly spike as you raise the left pedal, and quick, positive weight steering, all endure. Trundling around town is certainly no different, the ST not in any great need of the extra torque now available to it. Miles per gallon are seemingly unaffected; the car returned high 20s in town and 40 on the motorway. Predictably, it’s only when you begin to work the four-pot motor that the m330 benefits begin to show. 

The engine’s characteristic intake rumble seems deeper and more prominent, and the rate at which the pace builds is noticeably greater with 380lb ft arriving at 3,000rpm. Off the line, Mountune’s re-tuned launch control (which holds revs smack bang on the entry-point of that peak twist) makes the claimed 0-62mph time believable - or it does on warm tarmac at least. Under heavy load there are more tugs at the steering wheel now, but not so much that it dramatically affects the car’s line or alters engine revs. Importantly, the ST’s ability to haul you out of bends seems unchanged, and by the time you’re in third, the upshot of its extra power is readily apparent. The idea of any previous deficiency is safely put to bed; so much so that the m330 feels like it would leave the vast majority of its rivals for dead. 

Mountune’s test car gets Ford’s optional Performance Pack, a tick-box addition that anyone interested in forking out six hundred quid for an engine upgrade is likely to have already chosen. Certainly it’s a worthwhile enhancement, as it delivers firmer damping in Sport and Race modes (although you still can’t alter the chassis settings separately from the engine), something we’d argue is essential to highlighting the wider benefits of Mountune’s handiwork. Not because the standard setup’s softer settings couldn’t handle the power, but because with the dampers firmed up, a properly tacked-down front axle can become brilliantly entertaining. Attack a set of consecutive bends on throttle and the m330 dances through them imperiously. 


Equally, with a lifted throttle or trailed brake the Focus ST will allow for some pretty significant corner entry angles. It’s rare for a hatchback’s back end to feel so keen to maintain the rotation, but the ST doesn’t let its 2.7-metre wheelbase limit its playfulness. Its composure isn’t restricted to the Sport and Race modes, but the chassis unquestionably feels more agile in its more aggressive states. Given that you can’t access the fruiter engine or exhaust settings in Normal, that's probably a good thing. Worth mentioning, too, that in Sport, Mountune has retuned the engine map so the exhaust will crackle and pop on a lifted throttle, which is silly - but also good. 

Evidently, no work was needed on the standard ST’s six-speed gearbox, so you get the same positive shift action - possibly made a little more positive by the addition of the Mountune gear knob, as it deletes the cushioning effect of the standard leather affair. At the very least, being yellow, it adds a flash of colour to an otherwise plain Ford cabin, one which retains its nicely bolstered seats and plenty of legroom front and rear. It’s hard to fault Ford’s machine for all-round functionality either. If there’s one complaint, it’s that the ST’s brakes did start to show the strain of all that extra power. A squidgy pedal was never followed by a reduction in stopping power, but it’s enough to suggest that those wanting to make the most of Mountune’s upgrades ought to consider upgrading the pads at the same time. 

That highlight (or lowlight) notwithstanding, it’s the standard condition of Mountune’s demo m330 which makes its upgrade so compelling. For less than two per cent of the £32k asking price, you can take the Focus ST from first-rate to fantastic. The additional power doesn’t spoil Ford’s judicious development work, it augments it in all the right ways - so much so that with the demise of the Focus RS, it’s hard not to imagine the manufacturer producing its own enhanced version of the standard model. Of course, that would arrive with a substantial premium; the m330 outlay is trifling, and absolutely no impediment to the ST’s status as a practical, well-appointed family hot hatch. A no-brainer? Yep, times a million.


SPECIFICATION | FORD FOCUS ST MOUNTUNE M330
Engine:
 2,261cc, turbocharged four-cyl
Transmission: 6-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 330@5,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 380@3,000rpm
0-62mph: 5.2 secs
Top speed: 155mph (standard car)
Weight: 1,508kg (lightest kerbweight with 75kg driver, full fluids and 90 per cent fuel)
MPG: 35.7 (standard car)
CO2: 179g/km (standard car)
Price: From £32,595 (for a £31,995 ST plus the £600 m330 upgrade)









Author
Discussion

Dynion Araf Uchaf

Original Poster:

4,424 posts

222 months

Saturday 23rd May 2020
quotequote all
Looks like a good car, maybe a bit under the radar. However I can’t help thinking that you’d spend a lifetime justifying to others why you chose this over a Type R or Megane. It’s a sign of the times but a Ford doesn’t get the love a Type R or Megane gets. It’s not the obvious choice.

John Allison

22 posts

115 months

Saturday 23rd May 2020
quotequote all
Think these are really good looking hatches & seems like decent gains for the money. Could probably live without the bizarre gear knob though...

ajap1979

7,900 posts

186 months

Saturday 23rd May 2020
quotequote all
Looks terribly bland, particularly in white.

BMR

944 posts

177 months

Saturday 23rd May 2020
quotequote all
John Allison said:
Think these are really good looking hatches & seems like decent gains for the money. Could probably live without the bizarre gear knob though...
Worth 2 points if you pot it though.

Vast majority of gearknob ‘upgrades’ always look weird to me.

Roy m

197 posts

212 months

Saturday 23rd May 2020
quotequote all
So does it retain the warranty?

aelord

337 posts

224 months

Saturday 23rd May 2020
quotequote all
All good apart from the looks. How hard is it?

T1berious

2,242 posts

154 months

Saturday 23rd May 2020
quotequote all
Roy m said:
So does it retain the warranty?
^This^

If it does, than the articles summary of "no brainer" is warranted. If the answer is an awkward "No" accompanied by shuffling of feet and looking at the floor, then its a caveat that deserves mentioning.

I know previously the Mountune kits didn't affect the Ford warranty but that changed. Would like to know if thats still the case?

jase_llan

148 posts

56 months

Saturday 23rd May 2020
quotequote all
T1berious said:
^This^

If it does, than the articles summary of "no brainer" is warranted. If the answer is an awkward "No" accompanied by shuffling of feet and looking at the floor, then its a caveat that deserves mentioning.

I know previously the Mountune kits didn't affect the Ford warranty but that changed. Would like to know if thats still the case?
Pretty sure warranty will be affected, from memory:

MP/FPM - warranty approved
M/MR - not warranty approved

Pretty sure MP/MR were replaced after the MK7 Fiesta, and FPM seems to have gone (no more Ford affiliation) leaving just the M products as in the article.

TristPerrin

135 posts

177 months

Saturday 23rd May 2020
quotequote all
Roy m said:
So does it retain the warranty?
It's not warranted by Ford, no.

I was VERY close to chopping in my last gen ST3 with the 275 pack for the new ST, but then the world went to pot. While there though the dealer was very clear they wouldn't warranty the new mountune options.

I'll probably still do it, I bet theres going to be some tasty deals when this is all over.


BigChiefmuffinAgain

1,054 posts

97 months

Saturday 23rd May 2020
quotequote all
Nice car. Truly horrid gear leaver. Monotone may be good engineers but stylist they ain't....

apc321

54 posts

123 months

Saturday 23rd May 2020
quotequote all
I like it that it has a single exhaust on each side of the car.

I would never consider buying a Golf R, unless I could find a workshop who could cut off one of those stupid looking exhaust tips off each side of the car, before I drove it on the road.

novus

222 posts

159 months

Saturday 23rd May 2020
quotequote all
Dynion Araf Uchaf said:
Looks like a good car, maybe a bit under the radar. However I can’t help thinking that you’d spend a lifetime justifying to others why you chose this over a Type R or Megane. It’s a sign of the times but a Ford doesn’t get the love a Type R or Megane gets. It’s not the obvious choice.
It might not get the love on here but they will sell more of these than Honda or Renault will do I imagine

ZX10R NIN

27,494 posts

124 months

Saturday 23rd May 2020
quotequote all
That's a nice improvement for £600 & their work has proved itself reliable & a touch conservative when compared to other tuning firms.

RichardDastardly

157 posts

62 months

Saturday 23rd May 2020
quotequote all
As an older gen Focus ST owner, I really want to like the look of these and consider them a potential future car - but I don’t. On paper they seem to have all of the necessary ingredients but I think I have to agree with those who’ve said that the looks somehow seem a little bland, with less character than previously.

That said, all the reviews suggest they drive really well and presumably these are going to be very tune-able given that the base engine runs much higher power in other versions. No doubt we can expect Dreamscience and Puma Speed coming up with some interesting offerings too.

Steh

11 posts

65 months

Saturday 23rd May 2020
quotequote all
Dreamscience already have it was in EVO a while back, agree with the comments on it looking really bland in white and as an owner of an 18plate mrk 3.5 ST the new focus interior is a step back for me, have yet to drive one and when the time comes to change mine they will have hopefully given the Focus a face-lift..
Reviews on how it drives compared to mine say its a much better drive?

Sandpit Steve

9,885 posts

73 months

Saturday 23rd May 2020
quotequote all
Another piece of evidence for the suggestion that many modern turbocharged cars are being held back by marketing and emissions considerations - that must be three or four pieces now about massive power gains for apparently little effort (New 911, Merc A45 etc). These are going to be great fun, as soon as the warranties run out!

aaron_2000

5,407 posts

82 months

Saturday 23rd May 2020
quotequote all
The front end looks nice, but the rest of the body and the interior are just so generic. I couldn't spend any period of time in that interior, it might actually be worse than the Leon. It's a shame the Focus has ended up bland like the Escort.

BMR

944 posts

177 months

Saturday 23rd May 2020
quotequote all
I think this mode ST looks far better in orange..

Wolvesboy

597 posts

140 months

Saturday 23rd May 2020
quotequote all
I always avidly read about Mountune's work and the electrical engineering must be awesome. But to me this car looks too similar to a Hyundai i30N. I would love to own one though with the big brother RS pretty much near the top of my car wish list.

welshy255

30 posts

125 months

Saturday 23rd May 2020
quotequote all
Frustrating that the warranty aspect isn’t mentioned what so ever, surely that is/was one of the benefits of using Mountune over Revo or any other aftermarket company for what is essentially a remap.

No-brainier doesn’t spring to mind if the warranties void! Stinks of being a paid for article IMO.