One last showdown: Ford Focus ST vs Honda Civic Type R

It’s astir apt unwise for a lowly roadworthy tester to adjacent effort a Churchillian tone. Thankfully, I’m lone paraphrasing. Have we reached the extremity for the conventional, established, petrol-swilling blistery hatchback?

Or conscionable the opening of the end? Or mightiness this perhaps be lone the extremity of the beginning? Erm, yes. And besides no. Sorry, Winnie. Your ain feelings astir this volition depend, I suspect, connected your sentiments astir electrical blistery hatchbacks similar the Alpine A290, Abarth 500e and Hyundai Ioniq 5 N. Nevertheless, here we are – wherever that is.

“At an undoubtedly important and beauteous moribund-feeling, yet still indeterminate, constituent determination along the line, from which we can’t beryllium perfectly definite what volition hap adjacent successful the 50-year-old saga of the predominantly front-drive show hatchback.” Poetic, eh? So much, we bash know.

The bodies are mounting up – and among the departed, recently capable for america inactive to consciousness their loss, are the Hyundai i20 N and i30 N, each of Peugeot’s GTi models, immoderate car with a Renaultsport badge, immoderate unelectrified Abarth, the Suzuki Swift Sport, the Volkswagen Up GTI… The database goes on. If you were waiting to container 1 of the last of Toyota’s highly rated GR Yarises, you’ve already waited excessively long. All sold, not to return.

The astir caller toll of the doorbell was for the perennially fashionable Ford Focus ST. Production of this car and the cooking model, astatine Ford’s Saarlouis works successful Germany, has finished. Next year, meanwhile, that doorbell volition ringing retired loud, shrill and mournful each implicit again arsenic different blistery hatchback of matching longevity and celebrated estimation takes its permission of us: the Honda Civic Type R. What a pair. Time for a suitable farewell.

Ford Loses its focus

As acold arsenic Ford of Britain’s PR section is concerned, the Focus ST is already dead. We attempted to get 1 of its property cars for this feature, but our indebtedness was cancelled astatine abbreviated notice.

So we deed the societal feeds and precise rapidly recovered a way to a replacement ST acknowledgment to caller Focus ST Edition acquirer and proprietor Jim Wood. One past blast successful these 2 kindred spirits and fierce rivals was called for and, acknowledgment to Jim, it happened astir precisely arsenic planned.

The bluish paintwork captures the temper alternatively well. Though I’d similar to laic assertion to specified creator forethought, it wasn’t planned. Fate conscionable happened to supply america with 2 suitably melancholic-looking examples of these rivals, on a agleam time successful the Welsh valleys with a matching cerulean sky.

The cars person brought on their own legends arsenic baggage, caput you. Every clip you consciousness the Honda’s 2.0-litre motor surge forwards connected a question of turbocharged boost, it’s having to outrun the ghosts of truthful galore little torquey but faster-revving, people aspirated predecessors.

Every clip the Ford’s 2.3-litre lump breathes in, and stirs its intake dependable symposer instrumentality into warbling life, it conjures up shades of the Volvo-engined, five-cylinder ST of 2005, which needed nary 2nd invitation to howl mournfully down your earhole.

Cars this bully ever thin to person few greater rivals than their ain antecedents. And yet it remains hard to deny, arsenic they caput towards imperishable retirement, that some are cars whose astir vivid, evocative, memorable years are astir apt down them. Not that either is astir to ‘go gently’, I’m pleased to report. It would beryllium incorrect to fto that happen.

So present we tin look backmost and wonder: erstwhile was highest blistery hatchback? Could it person been arsenic aboriginal arsenic 2002 (Ford Focus RS Mk1, VW Golf R32, Alfa Romeo 147 GTA)? Or earlier still? Or what astir 2005 (VW Golf GTI Mk5, Renaultsport Clio 182 Trophy, BMW 130i)?

And what was the GOAT? Do you toed the classical enactment and venerate the likes of the Peugeot 205 GTi 1.6? Or are you a person of the left-field JDM unicorn, perhaps?

The quality of it is there’s plentifulness of country for america each to rotation disconnected into our ain small country of wistful reverie present – but, arsenic has been wide for a while, reverie has go the main domain of the blistery hatchback successful 2025. Those that person recovered a mode to worker connected this agelong are fewer successful fig and, often enough, shadows of their erstwhile selves.

But commune silence, if you please. In the departing Ford Focus ST Mk4.5 and the Honda Civic Type R Mk6, we person thing much or less than the precise past 2 front-wheel-drive, manual gearbox-equipped blistery hatchbacks that wealth tin buy. Or, precise soon, could buy. Now isn’t that a infinitesimal successful time?

The genre’s hallmarks

Have determination been 2 greater and more defining mechanical influences connected the dynamic entreaty of the blistery hatchback than the driven beforehand axle and the manual gearbox? Would we person had rather truthful overmuch amusive successful these cars, implicit truthful galore decades, successful rather the aforesaid way, without either?

Turbos person played their part. Slippy diffs, clever torsion beam rear axles, and semi-slick tyres, too. But nary of those rather arsenic decisively, it seems to me.

Engaging with a powerful, angrily forthcoming, somewhat unruly combustion engine that feels adjacent capable to you spatially to beryllium astir connected your thigh and exclusively drives the beforehand axle (also the nearest to you) – each via 3 pedals and a manual shifter – seems to me conscionable astir the irreducible explanation of the hot hatchback experience.

It’s a trial of your skill, timing, judgement and mechanical affinity – 1 that’s engrossing of body and mind, and wholly absorbing.

Narrowly but intelligibly enough, I think the Civic Type R represents this amended than the Ford. Even truthful galore years aft this car abandoned mean aspiration, the Civic’s somewhat oversquare-cylindered four-pot turbo remains an exceptional show engine. Balanced and free-revving.

Torquey, but thriving erstwhile extended. Dramatic and lively, yet inactive tame capable to respond precisely and behave itself nether your close ft erstwhile you request it to, and not to consciousness remotely similar a blunt instrument.

The Focus’s longer-stroke 2.3 makes a bigger slug of low-rpm torque truthful it feels much urgent close away, without a downshift, but it’s somewhat laggier successful its throttle effect and lazier-revving beyond 5000rpm. You would expect Honda, astatine the tallness of its powers, to bash the amended occupation nether the bonnet than Ford with a car similar this. It intelligibly has.

And what an state the Type R’s motor has successful its superbly slick, wonderfully tactile, dreamily connected-feeling six-speed manual gearbox. Invitations to alteration ratio, conscionable for the joyousness of it, don’t travel immoderate much vivid. The consciousness of haptic explanation you consciousness done the elegant aluminium displacement lever, arsenic you determination each cog in and retired of engagement, is afloat 4K.

It makes the Ford’s perfectly respectable six-speed manual alteration consciousness rubbery, baggy and vague, albeit lone successful comparative terms. In their outright show connected the road, these 2 front-drive greats are otherwise quick.

The Ford seems to propulsion harder, and much instantly, from little revs and its greater accessible effect makes it consciousness much energetic arsenic it exits tighter bends and livelier arsenic it forges done them. But the Honda builds to a much potent crescendo and snarls with a clearer sense of authenticity. Ultimately, it feels similar it wants to spell quicker.

But past it needs to, because, lordy, this Civic has got big. It doesn’t consciousness brushed oregon dense – not astatine all. Just large. Long successful the wheelbase by blistery hatchback standards, and wide crossed the cabin and doorway mirrors.

It has each the mechanical grip it needs, superb assemblage power and delectably tactile steering, truthful you fastener it onto a cornering enactment arsenic if it were immoderate touring car racer with numberplates – and it sticks to that enactment with the benignant of tenacity that dares you to spell harder and faster and transportation bigger and bigger speeds.

But it’s unchangeable alternatively than agile; super-composed alternatively than lively oregon adjustable with its handling. It isn’t the classically playful, ‘here for your entertainment’ benignant of blistery hatchback that has, implicit the years, truthful vividly defined the type.

The Focus, connected the different hand, plays afloat to that classical quality benignant – adjacent successful its extra-special ST Edition signifier tested here, with its manually adjustable coilover suspension from KW Automotive and its beefed-up Brembo brakes. The ST feels each inch similar the smaller, narrower, much people agile car.

It turns in so keenly – arsenic Focuses ever have. The chassis tin reasonably easy beryllium persuaded to rotate connected a trailing throttle halfway circular a country to assistance constituent the car towards its exit trajectory successful an altogether antithetic mode from however a locking front differential might.

The Focus doesn’t person the tactile entreaty done its controls oregon the fathoms-deep sense of show intent that the Civic possesses but, successful its way, it’s a little more ebullient, dynamically accessible and people entertaining.

Looking back, determination were ever blistery hatchbacks whose engines made the magic hap – and others wherever the chassis was what truly transformed the driving experience, propelling it into the realms of the extraordinary. It’s fitting, then, that arsenic the classical blistery hatchback’s mechanical lineage comes to a close, we’ve got 1 of each.

Could I prime 1 to unrecorded forever? If I had to, it would beryllium the Ford. Though, if lone arsenic a tribute to the joys of the manual ’box, the Honda deserves a spot among the immortals astir arsenic much. 

Ford Focus ST Edition

It tin conscionable astir tally with the Honda for pace, but besides entertains a small much freely and astatine little speeds. A classical blistery hatchback done well.

Honda Civic Type R

Touring car dynamic purpose, with an motor and gearbox of existent prima quality. But the Type R needs to beryllium driven precise hard for it to present its best.