Ford Focus ST (Mk4)

The Ford Focus ST (Mk4) sits in an unusual place in a 600-car catalogue: its used price rank is 551, meaning only 49 cars are more expensive here, while its power rank is 523. That contrast defines the appeal of this entry. It is not positioned as a numbers leader across the collection, but as a focused performance choice with a very specific balance between specification and accessibility within its own category.

The Focus ST brings 276 bhp and 420 Nm from a turbocharged 2.3 litre inline-4, with a 0-100 km/h time of 5.7 seconds and a top speed of 250 km/h. Those figures place it faster than 84 cars in the catalogue for acceleration and at rank 414 for top speed. The important point is where those figures sit together: the car delivers a performance profile that remains distinct even when compared with a field of 600 cars covering many different approaches to speed.

Its configuration is also a defining part of its position. Only 83 cars in the catalogue use an inline-4 layout, and just 36 combine that engine layout with front-wheel drive. The Focus ST is part of a smaller group again when considering turbocharged inline-4 cars, with 58 examples across the catalogue. This combination of a turbocharged inline-4, FWD drivetrain and 4/5 seater hatchback body style places it among cars built around compact practicality alongside performance.

The Ford Focus ST (Mk4) comes from Germany and sits within a catalogue that includes 197 German cars, while Ford contributes 14 cars overall. Its used price of £25,000 and cost of £91 per bhp show the calculation behind its place in a collection: the owner is accepting that it will not compete near the top of the catalogue for outright power, but instead choosing a car where the performance numbers, format and position in the market align.

For a dream garage, this is a choice with a clear compromise. The collector gives up the higher rankings that come with some of the more powerful and faster cars in the 600, but gains a turbocharged inline-4 FWD hot hatch with 276 bhp, four or five seats and a distinct place among the catalogue’s more focused combinations. The Focus ST earns its space through that trade-off, bringing a different set of priorities to a garage built from hundreds of possibilities.