2013 Ford Focus ST: Rear Seat Storage
June 12, 2013
Our 2013 Ford Focus ST's backseat is roomier than you'd expect. Even with the front passengers in comfortably reclined positions, there's plenty of space in the rear and details like the unusual location of the rear cupholders factor into it.
2013 Ford Focus ST: Yosemite Road Trip, Part Four
June 7, 2013
On the final day in Yosemite National Park, our Focus ST got an additional passenger. It wasn't a bear or a deer or anything.
Six of us went on this trip and divided ourselves between the Focus ST and a friend's Honda Civic. But two people wanted to leave from the western side of the park before sunrise, while four of us wanted to sleep in and check out the eastern side of Yosemite. So, instead of three people in each car, we stuffed the Focus to the brim and sent the other luggage home early in the Civic.
2013 Ford Focus ST: Yosemite National Park, Part One
May 30, 2013
Our 2013 Ford Focus ST wasn't my first choice for a road trip to Yosemite National Park. It's got high-performance summer tires, and there was a possibility of both thunderstorms and snowy mountain roads. The Recaro sport seats have gotten mixed reviews from the staff, and they made me nervous, too. I also had two passengers and the stuff we'd need for four days of hiking so I knew it'd be a tight squeeze.
2013 Ford Focus ST: Skinny Console Syndrome
April 26, 2013
This seems to be going around these days. Maybe it's my imagination. But more cars passing through our garage offer increasingly smaller center console compartments. The Focus ST's tall, skinny compartment isn't exactly useless. You can still drop a phone or a wallet in there, sunglasses in a thin case, maybe. But you can't, as I like to do, dump the contents of my pockets in one central space. At minimum, a center console should accommodate wallet, phone, house keys and some sunglasses.
2013 Ford Focus ST: Why Hatchbacks Rule: Reason #613
April 16, 2013
This is why. Because first you manage to jam two pieces of a Jeep Cherokee catalytic converter system into the Dodge Dart, packages you need to return to the manufacturer. But the cranky FedEx lady says you don't have the right shipping label and refuses your package, and you jam everything back into the Dart again.
2013 Ford Focus ST: Space Management
February 7, 2013
There are four DVD cases worth of space in the Focus ST's door pocket. That's a good thing too, because there ain't much storage space anywhere else. The glovebox is flat and suitably deep but there's nearly nada in the center console. Just a little cutout next to the shifter where you can set the key, two cupholders, and a tall, narrow center console where keys, cards and wallets disappear on top of each other. There's also the increasingly anachronistic coin holder.
2013 Ford Focus ST: Small Cargo Space
February 5, 2013
That is not a big bike in stuffed into the back of our long-term Ford Focus ST. It's my daughter's 16-inch Tony Hawk BMX bike, which is cool, but not exactly large.
Yet, in order to fit it inside the cargo hold of the Focus I had to drop one side of its 60/40 split-folding rear seat.
2013 Ford Focus ST: Everyday Performance
January 22, 2013
A friend of mine is thinking about getting a new car this summer. So far his dream pick has been a used, 2011 Mustang GT (the first year with the new 5.0-liter V8). But he's always been a little hesitant given that he has a family. The Mustang's limited practicality, fuel bills and insurance would all be problematic.
So, I've been telling him that for pretty much the same money he could get a new 2013 Focus ST instead. Granted, the ST can't deliver the muscular, rear-drive thrills that a V8 pony car can. But for just about everything that's important to him, it'd be better. It's still very fun to drive, yet it's got four doors, a super useful hatchback area and an EPA highway estimate of 32 mpg.
I showed him our long-term Focus ST yesterday. He really liked it. I even told him it's just as cool as the Mustang, too, though in a different way. Of that, he wasn't so sure. But I'll let the ST sink it a little. I'll be curious to see what he ends up with.
Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor @ 5,802 miles
2013 Ford Focus ST: Storage Space Lacking
November 19, 2012
We interupt our gushing over Ford' hot hatch to mention that the Focus -- ST or otherwise -- lacks storage space. The armrest bin can fit your iWhatever plus maybe some sunglasses and that' it. The little bin west of the shifter is essentially useless. The door bins aren't especially large and the cupholders are only sufficient. The glovebox is on the large side, but no glovebox can only be so helpful considering its location relative the driver.
Frankly, it' not THAT bad for the segment, as I recall the Dodge Dart and Mazda 3 being similar, and a Chevy Cruze being worse. However, a Hyundai Elantra is far superior, and the Honda Civic is a little better as well.
It' certainly not a deal breaker, but I did found myself running out of places to store the relatively few things I keep in the car.
James Riswick, Automotive Editor @ 3,711 miles
