Nobody test drives a Focus ST because they love the Focus ST. They drive it because the GTI they actually wanted was three grand more and the salesman had one on the lot in orange. Two years later they've got a wheel that yanks under boost, seats they can't get comfortable in, and a build thread that opens with "so I'm swapping in a Quaife." The ST's 2.0 EcoBoost makes 252hp and 270 lb-ft and puts a genuinely fun car underneath you — but Ford handed torque management to the brakes instead of a diff, and you feel exactly where that money didn't go. The Gen 3 EA888 makes less on paper (228hp, 258 lb-ft in Mk7.5) and walks away from the ST anyway because the Performance Pack GTI has VAQ, a real electronically-controlled limited slip, plus port AND direct injection so you're not walnut blasting it at 70k like the older Audis. Honest catch: you're on the hook for the water pump/thermostat housing, DSG service every 40k if you went auto, and a PCV that considers itself a consumable. The For...