Ford Focus ST-Line 2019 Review

In this age of SUV dominance, station wagons – or estates – would not seem to be a potentially lucrative source of income for any car-maker.

Nevertheless there are some out there who, in the belief that, for a viable number of customers, a regular station wagon is a better match than an SUV, persist. These shoppers may be either those who are reluctant to follow the SUV mob, or who believe in the simple, proven abilities of a traditional, sedan/hatch-derived luggage-toting family car.

With this in mind, Ford Australia – which has a more SUV-like “Active” version of its all-new, fourth-generation Focus hatch due sometime this year – has taken the punt and given us the first-ever wagon variant of its front-line small car in the form of the 2019 Ford Focus ST-Line.

Ford is not alone in this: Holden brought us an Astra wagon in September 2017, while Volkswagen has been selling wagon versions of its Golf for some time – as have Renault and Peugeot with their respective Megane and 308 models.

While none have scrambled to anywhere near the top of the sales charts, the fact they are still on sale indicates the respective importers see value in having wagons on their small-car fleets.

A not-unfamiliar ploy among car-makers has been to position station wagons as more sports-oriented versions of their regular models. Holden, with the current Astra wagon and its latest-generation Commodores, has been doing that for a while.

Now, by limiting the 2019 Ford Focus wagon availability to one ST-Line variant that references the previous, more sharply-honed ST hatchback it is obvious that Ford is clearly of a similar mind.

The Ford Focus ST-Line wagon sits not as a ready-and-willing transporter of a boisterous and space-greedy family crew, but more as something aligned with an “active” lifestyle.

Lots of cargo space, standard roof rails for the slinging-on of surfboards or mountain bikes and a lowered, more responsive suspension setup combine with internal dressing-up such as “metallic” floor pedals and a flat-bottom, leather steering wheel to create a dynamic, rather than a purely functional, nuclear family-friendly wagon.

Not that the new Focus ST-Line wagon isn’t intrinsically family friendly: Although it’s only incrementally larger, the latest Focus is clearly a step up from the previous LZ-series, particularly in terms of leg-stretching space where the only dimension that has gone up notably – the wheelbase, to 2700mm – brings distinct benefits.

Adult passengers can now slide behind long-legged front-seat occupants without qualms and, behind the rear seat, there’s a capacious 608-litre boot, complete with a concealed, lower-level floor for storing valuables out of sight. The tailgate isn’t power-assisted, but opens easily enough and the loading width is pretty reasonable too.

It’s worth noting that the Focus wagon’s claimed 1653-litre maximum load capacity (just) exceeds the 1630-litre Holden Astra wagon which we’ve praised in the past.

The Focus is well put together as well: The manually-adjusted, cloth-trimmed seats are sturdy and well-shaped – although demerit points accrue with missing rear air vents and the lack of a centre armrest for the back seat – and boot-located levers flip-down the 60:40 backrests in one smooth motion.

Typically, the use of soft-touch materials on dash and doors is prevalent and, from the driver’s seat, the view is pretty clear and the controls are easily fathomable.

There’s a touchscreen display, sitting tablet-style at the fascia centre, but the functions are simple and the landing points are reasonably large, while the controls for such things as cruise control, radio, telephone and trip computer are built into the steering wheel stalks where a mixture of tactile push-buttons and toggles helps avoid operator confusion.

But now we come to a less-satisfactory aspect of the new Ford Focus: Like many others in the small-car segment, access to some of the available safety technology only comes if you’re prepared to pay for it.

Although autonomous emergency braking (with night-time pedestrian and cyclist detection), lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, Ford’s SYNC3 voice-activated infotainment system, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, sat-nav and climate-control are standard from the base, $25,990 Trend hatchback upwards, only by optioning-up (except on the fully-loaded top-tier $34,490 Titanium model).

With one of the available packs will you gain technology such as blind-spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert, all-speeds Stop&Go adaptive cruise control, evasive steering assistance, lane-centring capability and an LED lighting package that brings see-around-the-corner headlights and non-glare high-beam control.

The new, characterful three-cylinder powerplant, with both direct and port fuel-injection, brings a presence that is audibly throatier, and more accessible through a standard eight-speed, torque-converter automatic transmission that comes complete with the steering wheel paddle-shifting that enthusiast drivers tend to hanker for.

Interestingly, though Ford says the new 1.5-litre three-cylinder EcoBoost turbo is more efficient than the also 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo used in the previous LZ-series Focus, the specs suggest there’s really nothing in it.

Producing 134kW at the same 6000rpm as the previous four-cylinder, the new engine is up only 2kW, while torque, at 240Nm, is identical and is also produced at the same (1600rpm) engine speed.

The combined fuel consumption is quoted at 6.4L/100km (although our review car’s 8.8L/100km, accrued in urban-centric driving, was nothing like close) for both the new and previous-model Focus, while the CO2 emissions figure, at 148g/km for the new engine, is barely any different to the previous four-cylinder’s claimed 150g/km.
A negative for some is that Ford asks you, when topping up your Focus, to not drop the fuel rating below 95 RON.

Among its peers, the Focus fares pretty well in terms of kilowatt outputs: The 1.4-litre Holden Astra and Volkswagen Golf both under-achieve at 110kW, while the Renault Megane’s 1.2-litre turbo squeezes out a mere 97kW. The Ford’s 240Nm of torque is equalled by the Astra and only out-pointed by the Golf’s 250Nm.

The Astra, Golf and Megane do better on fuel consumption and CO2 emissions though, at 5.9L/100km-137g/km, 5.6L/100km-131g/km and 5.4L/100km-139g/km respectively.

With the help of what is clearly a new-generation eight-speed torque-converter auto – which changes crisply enough that it almost masquerades as a dual-clutch system – the three-cylinder engine feels strong across the entire rev range, right up to the 6700rpm redline.

It’s only marred by the transmission’s occasional reluctance to engage a gear selected by the rotary E-Shifter (which itself is nice and easy to use) on the centre console. In all Focus models, there are also selectable drive modes: Normal, Sport and Eco.

As is the case with most of today’s three-cylinder engines, the note is distinctively pleasant. It’s virtually as smooth as a four-cylinder and the torque delivery is such that the three-pot EcoBoost feels livelier in the mid-range than we recall of the previous 1.5-litre.

And although the Focus wagon makes some acquaintance with its ST title via a sportier, re-tuned and 10mm-lower suspension it rides – partly thanks to the newly-extended wheelbase – with a nice balance of poise, comfort and control, even in the case of the review car which was fitted with 18-inch wheels rather than the standard ST-Line’s 17-inchers.

It absorbs bigger bumps with competence, yet steers with the quick-ratio (2.4 turns from lock to lock), well-balanced precision and near-perfect weighting that has become a Ford trademark. And, despite being a wagon with plenty of unsupported roof metal between the windscreen and tailgate, it’s quiet on the road too.

The fourth-generation Ford Focus has been successfully re-thought by Ford to match it with an undeniably-competent set of competitors. It’s more refined, loaded with safety tech, it retains the recognised dynamic abilities and, importantly, it’s bigger inside, for both passengers and cargo.

Do we like the new, fourth-generation Ford Focus wagon? Emphatically, yes we do.
Does it deserve to take a place among Australia’s top-selling small cars? Once again, emphatically, yes it does.

Do we think it’s going to sell up a storm in its segment? That, without a doubt, is all up to Ford Australia’s marketing nous and the efficacy of its national dealer network.

How much does the 2019 Ford Focus ST-Line wagon cost?
Price: $30,990 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 134kW/240Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 6.4L/100km (ADR Combined); 8.8L/100km (as tested)
CO2: 148g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP