2013 ford focus Reviews and News - Automobile Magazine
Small, affordable, and competent, the 2002-2004 Ford SVT Focus was a rare achievement for Detroit, which traditionally had no problem covering the first two of those attributes but so often came up woefully short on the third. It was a car so involving and so well-rounded that we invoked both the BMW M3 and the Lotus brand in declaring victory over the GTI and three other sport compacts in a 2002 comparison. Then, as quickly as it arrived, the SVT Focus disappeared. Ford let the Focus languish in the North American market (while rolling out a new car in Europe) and failed to follow up on the SVT. Now that your local Ford dealership once again has a Focus worthy of worldwide sales, there's once again a Focus worthy of competing with the GTI. Ford's new Focus ST is a paragon of the One Ford global product mantra. Engineers developed a single steering calibration, a single suspension setup, and a single tire for more than forty worldwide markets. The SVT badge is nowhere to be found because there's even a single, global name: ST, for Sport Technologies. It's also about Focus versus Golf for leadership in the compact class. The popular Ford has evolved into a bolder and more sophisticated compact car. Source: www.automobilemag.com
