The first bite of the 2013 Ford Focus ST

The evolution of the Focus

The all new 2013 Ford Focus ST was premiered at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show and it doesn't go on sale until next year but that doesn't stop a game like Forza Motorsport 4 to feature this global performance vehicle that was under the One Ford approach.

This hatchback has the heart of the Mustang

Firstly, when Forza 4 came out last month, most players are getting curious about the mystery car appeared on the North American Autocross C-Class event. Players knew that it was the 2013 Focus ST and complaining to Turn 10 how did such an easter egg happened in the Event List section. The problem has been resolved with the launch of the November Speed DLC and thanks to this DLC, the 2013 Ford Focus ST was there. Problem solved, everyone can try it first before the actual model come out soon. Unfortunately, the 2013 Focus ST not classified as a C-class car but it was a B-class car. That makes it a weird gap how did that thing happened. Never mind, what matters is that we finally tried the third-generation Focus, in ST form.

The Stig tries out the prototype Focus ST
on The Top Gear Test Track!

Surprisingly though, the handling of the 2013 Focus ST is very awful even though it was a a turbocharged hot hatchback built for the world. Tuning it can even worsen the handling and if I'm not careful, this would be a devastating opportunity for me to drive this car. I guess I should ask Ford why did they're not careful about the new ST but don't worry. What we seen here on Forza 4 was just a pre-production model. You should better thank the guys that they brought the new 2013 Focus ST here before the actual model arrives next year for evaluation purposes.

Ford Focus ST-R works out at Laguna Seca

So, the 2013 Ford Focus ST is a perfectly balanced blend of refined engineering and undliuted adrenaline, but this turns out to be not so balanced blend of unresponsive handling, redundancy of being a FF hot hatch, and it signifying nothing. Maybe for those who own it on Forza 4, they should need to think the good setup to perfect the 2013 Focus ST's handling so they will stop ending up the same experience as I am.

*Pre-production Model Shown. Actual model may vary.