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2013 Ford Focus ST Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,315
edited September 2014 in Ford

image2013 Ford Focus ST Long-Term Road Test

Our long-term 2013 Ford Focus ST is darn quick. Surprisingly, it's also very quiet on the highway.

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Comments

  • greenponygreenpony Member Posts: 531
    That 6th gear cruising rpm seems awfully high for such a torque-capable motor. My V8 Mustang made similar hp/tq stats back in the day, and loped along at 2,000 rpm at 70. 2,700? That's not much lower than the 2,900 rpm I see in my anemic '07 Focus. I'm sure the engineers know what they're doing, but I would think they could easily drop that top gear ratio for better fuel economy.
  • stovt001_stovt001_ Member Posts: 799
    My Miata is approaching 40K in top gear at 70mph, so 2700 sounds lovely. Top gear is just 5th in the Miata though. I really want this car. Check that - I want a job that would allow me to afford this car.
  • azrcdazrcd Member Posts: 8
    I'm continually confused by the reviews that state how quiet this car is. I own one and I think the road noise and wind noise are both quite loud. Now it's a sub $30k performance oriented car so I don't think the levels are unacceptable, but I sure wouldn't call it quiet. Unless you referring solely to the exhaust in which case add a, "too."
  • mlavoiemlavoie Member Posts: 8
    Azrcd, it depends to what you compare it, it IS pretty damn quiet compared to every other performance oriented car in that bracket except the GTI that is a notch better.
  • socal_ericsocal_eric Member Posts: 189
    The road noise isn’t too bad even with the stock summer tires (at least when they’re still fairly new), wind noise for the class is pretty good, and there isn’t much engine or mechanical noise other than the induction sound let in by the sound symposer. Speaking of which, if you disconnect it where the active butterfly valve stays shut the ST is extremely quiet, to the point of being a bit antiseptic and taking a ton of character away from the car. If anything, for a sporting model it would be nice to have at least a touch more exhaust rasp but much of the NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) controls inherent to all Focus models it’s kind of hard to engineer in the “good” noises while keeping everything else out.
  • christoplechristople Member Posts: 27
    Do you guys have sound decibel meters? I would love to get the stats of real world db ratings when you guys drive them.

    Idle, 70mph, 40mph etc...

    "Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that"

  • wdrauchwdrauch Member Posts: 22
    My two cents after six months with my ST3, it is much quieter than my A3 was. When cruising on the freeway, the engine is hardly audible. I've even mistakenly left it in 5th gear, just like the poster mentions hear. Tire noise on all surfaces increased when I switched over from my winter 16" combo to the stock 18" summer combo. However, even with the 18" summer combo I would call it quieter than I expected for this class of vehicle. Road surface does make a big difference. It's very quiet on asphalt, but significantly louder, although acceptable on concrete. Wind noise at freeway speeds is hardly perceptible.
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