Thursday 16th May 2019

280hp Ford Focus ST Wagon revealed

All-new fast estate will be priced from £33,095 - or £30,595 for the 190hp oil-burner

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Who doesn't love a fast estate? Or a fast Ford? Praise be then for the debut of the new Focus ST Wagon (yep, Wagon) which gets a 280hp 2.3-litre Ecoboost motor and a-l-o-t of boot space. Swallowing up to 1,620 litres of stuff with the seats down (or 575 with them up), the ST estate rivals the Leon Cupra ST R for performance and practicality, but at £33,095, it's £4,880 cheaper than the Spaniard. And compared to the slightly cheaper Skoda Octavia vRS Estate Challenge, the Ford has 35hp more on tap.

Unsurprisingly it gets the same kit as its £1,100 cheaper hatch equivalent, including an electronic limited-slip differential, rev-matching technology and ST drive modes - while both six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic gearboxes are offered. Moreover, the Wagon wears ST bodywork and black detailing - to remind us all that no comparable performance SUV comes close - and is offered in only one trim variant, so there's no more worrying about the ST-2 or -3 designation come resale time.

For anyone who prefers their fast wagon to be slower and worse, there's also a 190hp 2.0-litre diesel version which is apparently good for a dreary 59mpg combined. Prices for this version, which comes exclusively with the six-speed manual, start at £30,595, meaning that it is also £1,100 pricier than the hatch equivalent as well. Want one? Sales for both kick off in the summer.

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[Onehp]

Good to have one° hot hatch estate to choose from without the mandatory 4wd, automatic box and the associated 100kg+ weight penalty. The electronicALLY CONTROLLED limited-slip differential (with Ford calibration) is great news too, as are the separated twin exhaust (instead of the center star wars thing). I passed up on the previous one because of the lack of those two... If I would buy today, it's this one. (With a discount, thanks)

°Cupra ST no longer available new as manual FWD, pretty sure this one will handle a lot better again out of the box

Edited by Onehp on Thursday 16th May 10:24

[HumanSteamroller]

I think that looks rather nice. Quite enjoy the new Focus styling in general.

[Hub]

Sounds like it is a fair bit more practical than my current mk3. Might have to go and have a nose around one when they come out, as it would be perfect for my growing family... except I tend to try different makes etc each time (conflicted!)

It is good there is a petrol estate option again though, there were early rumours it would be diesel only!

[ED209]

I think it needs a 7-8k discount to make it reasonably priced.

[ED209]

I think it needs a 7-8k discount to make it reasonably priced.

[SAS Tom]

It looks like something you’d expect from Kia but Kia’s look better.

[F4R]

Ticks all the boxes for me except the looks department. The styling is too fussy in my opinion, and just doesn't look sporty.

It actually reminds me of a Mazda 6 estate, but the Mazda is better looking...

[Shiv_P]

One of the modern rare cases where the new model has a bigger engine
Looks great and will likely drive great

[Owlwood]

Nice. I dont like the styling of the new focus but I think the wagon version looks good.

[framerateuk]

Ticks a lot of boxes for me!

The dog could sit in the boot instead of on the (covered, before anyone has a panic attack) backs seats of my Megane.

I wonder if the new exhaust layout (compared to the central exhaust of the old car) means it can actually tow too?

[Hackney]

Ford continuing their tactic of making cars look smaller on the inside.
I don't know the exact capacities but my Golf Wagon seemed both lighter and bigger inside (the boot) than my Mk3 Focus

[MagicalTrevor]

framerateuk said:

Ticks a lot of boxes for me!

The dog could sit in the boot instead of on the (covered, before anyone has a panic attack) backs seats of my Megane.

I wonder if the new exhaust layout (compared to the central exhaust of the old car) means it can actually tow too?

The dealer I spoke to checked the price list and it has a tow bar prep option so he seemed to think it was possible.

[lcs_turbo]

"For anyone who prefers their fast wagon to be slower and worse". Brilliant!

[J4CKO]

ED209 said:

I think it needs a 7-8k discount to make it reasonably priced.

Why would Ford sell it for 22/23k when everyone else charges nearer 30 grand for a comparable product ?

I guess it will get discounted to some level but 8k off is a bit of a stretch, maybe after a year and a few miles.

[Onehp]

MagicalTrevor said:

framerateuk said:

Ticks a lot of boxes for me!

The dog could sit in the boot instead of on the (covered, before anyone has a panic attack) backs seats of my Megane.

I wonder if the new exhaust layout (compared to the central exhaust of the old car) means it can actually tow too?

The dealer I spoke to checked the price list and it has a tow bar prep option so he seemed to think it was possible.

Dutch Autoblog.nl mentions 1600kg tow weight

[rob.e]

looks good.

i've had three vRS estates - they've always been a better choice for me; less money and more space for only marginal loss in performance vs focus ST.

I still can't get my head around a £33k price tag though, seems like huge amount of money..

[domtheone]

£33K lol.

Maybe a price freeze for a decade to let wages catch up...

[gazza5]

My golf r estate lease finishes June 2020.

This could well be the replacement. Ticks the boxes for me, I prefer its looks compared to the current octavia vrs, so this one wins over that one (to me) yes the octavia probably has more room, but this will do for me.

Will have to test the auto version.

[Mogsmex]

lcs_turbo said:

"For anyone who prefers their fast wagon to be slower and worse". Brilliant!

or lame and tedious pending your viewpoint...............


yes we have a Focus St Derv in the household
yes it's slower then a gas one
yes it handles the same
yes it does circa 30k a year

excellent cars, and finally being able to put a towbar on one means I'll be in the queue again

[framerateuk]

lcs_turbo said:

"For anyone who prefers their fast wagon to be slower and worse". Brilliant!

Loved this too .

Thanks for those who found out the towing info. Very interesting! I like that Ford have got rid of all that shiny plastic they were obsessed with in the previous gen Focus and Fiesta too.