2021 Ford Focus ST price and specs: Hot hatch gains tech, loses equipment
Pricing and specifications for the 2021 Ford Focus ST have emerged, revealing an array of minor tweaks to Ford's hot hatch hero.
- 2021 Ford Focus ST updated
- Heated seats, premium sound system, blind-spot monitoring and more dropped
- New digital instrument cluster added, plus adaptive cruise control for manual models
- Changes arrived in August 2020, and carry over into 2021
- Price increased by just $200, to $44,890 plus on-road costs
The updates – which arrived with Model Year (MY) 2020.75 vehicles built from June 2020 onwards, and carry over into MY21 unchanged – see the flagship Focus both gain and lose a notable amount of standard equipment.
When the tweaks entered production last year, prices increased by just $200, to $44,890 plus on-road costs. Ford Australia has confirmed no further price rises have taken place for 2021.
Headlining the changes is the addition of a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, replacing the existing Ford Performance-branded analog/digital combination setup, which sees an analog tachometer and speedometer flank a small 4.2-inch information display.
Despite the fitment of a near-identical digital instrument cluster to the $32,240 Ford Puma ST-Line light SUV, the 12.3-inch display is exclusive to the ST variant of the Focus in Australia, with lesser Focus ST-Line and Active grades retaining a similar version of the aforementioned combination of analog dials and a 4.2-inch digital display.
Above: The Focus ST's digital instrument cluster in Sport mode. Our thanks to CarAdvice reader and Focus ST owner Michelle for the image.
Also new for MY20.75 (and in turn MY21) is adaptive cruise control for manual transmission-equipped models replacing the fixed cruise control system fitted to MY20.25 models. Automatic variants add stop-and-go functionality for the adaptive cruise system – a carry-over from last year's model.
There's also support for the FordPass Connect smartphone app, which allows owners to lock/unlock their vehicle, find its current location, check fuel levels, and start its engine remotely (on automatic models only), among other functions.
However, in order to maintain the hot hatch's sub-$45,000 before on-roads starting price, Ford has deleted heated front seats, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and the 10-speaker Bang & Olufsen premium sound system from the ST's standard equipment list, with the lattermost replaced by a six-speaker, non-branded system shared with lower-spec Focus variants.
Aside from the aforementioned items, standard equipment is otherwise unchanged, including an 8.0-inch infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and satellite navigation, 19-inch alloy wheels, a limited-slip differential, LED headlights and tail-lights, four-way manually-adjustable front seats, dual-zone climate control and wireless phone charging.
Above: European-spec 2021 Focus ST interior shown, with the digital instrument cluster and infotainment display switched off. Top and bottom: 2020 Ford Focus ST (MY20.25)
Also unchanged is the running gear, with the Focus being powered by a 2.3-litre turbo petrol four-cylinder producing 206kW of power and 420Nm of torque, sending power to the front wheels through either a six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic.
The 2021 Ford Focus ST is on sale now in Ford dealers nationwide, with the first examples already in customers' hands – though the aforementioned updates have been in circulation since the first MY20.75 models arrived in Australia in August 2020.
2021 Ford Focus ST Australian pricing
Focus ST – $44,890 plus on-road costs