No one can argue that the new Ford Focus ST isn’t a zippy little hatchback, and starting at $24,495 it is easy on most people’s auto budgets. It offers an aggressive 252 horsepower engine that gives 270 pound feet of torque and that is going to get the typical driver from point A to point B with some fun driving for their time. But we have to wonder about this video that puts it up against what Ford believes to be its closest competition. For one, it looks just too darn happy to be a serious comparison, and for two, going up against a BMW M3 just didn’t make any sense at all.
The scene starts with the driver having to stop for a road block as she sees the Ford Focus ST hatchback’s competitors passing her up, so she’s in it to win it. There seems to be no problems gaining ground and flying past the Mazdaspeed3, which looks alarmingly close in exterior to the Focus. She always whizzes past a Subaru WRX and Volkswagen GTI. All of these vehicles make perfect sense for the Ford Focus ST to outrun because they are all turbocharged four cylinder versions that have the five door hatchback shape.
We won’t spoil what happens when she goes up against the BMW M3, but that is where the confusion starts because we have no idea what Ford was thinking to through this sedan into the mix of hatchbacks. While the other cars are all comparable, the BMW M3 hosts 414 horsepower, 295 pound feet of torque in a two door sedan with a trunk and not a hatchback. It also sells for $62,295 which is nowhere close to the price points of the other cars in the video. You can watch the video and see what you think Ford was trying to get at.
Source YouTube