Ford Focus ST review....

[A Horse With No Name]

Back when I was eleven years old, we were taking a trip in my parents Ford Country squire through rural Georgia. We pulled into a servicew station, as both my younger sister and I had to relieve ourselves of the Coca Cola we had enjoyed at lunch. Thankfully, by eleven years of age, I was enough of a car nut to know that the car sitting in the service bay being repaired was a 1970 Torino GT converetible. The mechanic seemed old enough to have watched Sherman burn the place to the ground 112 years before. I asked him..

"Where is the bathroom?"

"Over there, son...." he poointed towards two doors, one marked boys, one marked "Men".

"Which one do I use?" I asked...

"Neither one...your a taint...you taint a boy and you taint a man....."

I went out and relived myself against a rotting F100 sitting in the weedy gravel next to the rural station. As I walked back in, the old man said..."Really, you could have used either one...." he thoughtfully nodded. But you can't be both a boy and a man at the same time.

Right now, your asking yourself, what the heck does this have to do with the 2013 Focus ST? And in the tradition of great Buddhist masters, I've told you everything you need to know. Read on to decipher the riddle.

[A Horse With No Name]

The reason I say this is that the Focus ST is a taint, but a darn good one. And by Taint,. I mean that it isn't a pure sports car like a Corvette, Miata, Porsche Boxster or Cayman, a Shelby Mustang, an S2000 Honda, BRZ, MR-2, Supra , et al.

And also, It's not a pure touring car like the Buick Regal GS, Cadillac ATS, or Chrysler 300.

It's about 80 percent of both, and once you understand this, and can appreciate this, you understand what a good job Ford has done with this car. It gets an A as one of the best cars I've ever driven....however I have some concerns, and I am going to relate them here in my review as I compare it to the GTI VW, it's closes competitor.

WHAT I LIKED

Fit and finish-the car's Tangerene Scream paint job looked like it had been sprayed by Chip Foose for the Oakland Roadster Show rather than for a productioon automobile. Interior assembly was flawless, and details like the feel of the Recaros, the leather wrap on the steering wheel, and the first rate audo system really make you appreciate what a fine automobile this is. I test drove this car with a friend, and after we drove the focus we went next door to check out one of the new Chrysler 300's...this thing is seriously as nice as the 300, if not better.

[A Horse With No Name]

Handling as superb for a street car, and the car was very comfortable.

The other plus was the power train, which was very GM like...as in EMD-SD-40 freight locomotive like. The Focus ST has enough tourque to pull away from traffic at any speed in seemingly any gear, and the car loves to pass and accelerate. It's not pin your eyeballs to your retna's tourque like a Corvettew Z06, but rather like a very large, eager dog on a leash that's seen another dog. Imagine Camino's Dog Arkus seeing another dog on a nice walk and wanting to get face to face with the strange dog RIGHT NOW. That's what this car feels like.

I've got to pick up my daughter at the library, but I will finish this review later....