For the record, the two-litre EcoBoost four-cylinder engine with a serious
amount of boost dialled into its turbocharger, develops 1894 kW
It is not perfect. Ford still hasn’t cured the
tendency towards rather marked torque
steer, appreciated the first time you really
put your foot down and the car is tugged
from left to right and back again depending on where those front tyres find grip.
Perhaps it’s because I grew up with cars
like Mitsubishi Tredia turbos and motorcycles like Kawasaki 500 Triples, but I like a bit
of waywardness in a performance car. It
keeps you on your toes, keeps your palms
just that little bit moist which tends to quicken your responses to whatever may happen up ahead.
peer under the bonnet while the owner was
blipping those Webers right open. The ST gets
those memory cells re-activated.
Then there’s that induction noise. I am not
sure, having not driven the forsy, pre-facelift
version of the ST for a spell, but I seem to
hear much more of a classic induction roar
from this one, especially when Sport mode
is dialed in. It reminds me so much of classic Lotus Cortinas or Alfa GTAs of yore, which
sounded as if they could suck a cigarette
right out of your mouth if you happened to
Modern cars lack soul, being too clinical,
too perfect in so many respects. A fellow
scribe who is not a hard-core petrol head
admitted that driving the new ST made him
feel like a young hooligan again. And that
was meant in the nicest possible sense, not
to go around driving like a loonie, but just
exploring all the tactile and audial delights
that this has to offer.
For the record, the two-litre EcoBoost
four-cylinder engine with a serious amount
of boost dialed into its turbocharger, develops 1 894 kW. This makes it good for a 0-100
km/h sprint of 6.5 seconds and a top speed
just a few km/h shy of the 250 mark. Yet Ford
claims its average consumption figure is ion
the 6.8-litres/100 km range. I managed an
average of 9.2 litres/100, which is good considering I floored it quite often.
Honeycomb-like tailpipe shape is an attractive rear end feature. Power from the
turbo-charged four-cylinder is impressive, but the induction noise is even better!
As for the rest, personally I find the interior a
bit too busy. It’s okay, reasonable fit and finish, but those gauges on top of the dash irritate me for some reason, they look like a sop
to sportiness rather than being of real value.
Who reads oil temperature gauges these
days? On the other hand I criticised previous Fords of this ilk by being far too bland.
Maybe they should go visit Audi sometime,
these Ford guys.
I like the new colours too, particularly the orange one called Tangerine Scream. That colour, like the optional 19-inch alloys you can
order, says: “Yeah! I’m loud and brash and
perhaps too proud for my own good, but I’m
gonna have lotsa fun exploring the ups and
downs on the way to anywhere. Don’t you
wish you were along for the ride?”
Prices are R381 900 for the three-door and
R421 900 for the five-door.
By Stuart Johnston
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