Buy One Now if You Can! | 2016 Ford Focus ST Full Tour & Review

The Ford Focus ST was the Blue Oval's answer to the hot hatchback question, but how does this car stand up 5 years later? We're talking a look at the 2016 Ford Focus ST 5 door hatchback.
We'd like to thank HGregoire for providing us with this 2016 Ford Focus ST for this episode. They let us borrow this vehicle from one of their 32 North American dealerships to use for a week and really get to know the car. With over 3,000 vehicles in stock, chances are HGregoire has the right car for you. Save $200 on your purchase by visiting promo.hgregoire.com/nile/
We've spent some time recently with the Mark 3 Ford Focus, and will be spending even more time with it as I just purchased my own. But I wanted to see how the mid-performance ST model compares to other hot hatches I've driven and why you might want to consider in today's market. Our 2016 Ford Focus ST comes finished in Shadow Black paint, the Charcoal Recaro racing seats, and about 81,000km on the odometer. When it comes to the Ford Focus ST, 2015+ models were the facelift with a new front end design, updated rear trim, Sync 3 infotainment, and an updated steering wheel.
We go over the technical specifications for this vehicle including the 2.0L EcoBoost 4 cylinder turbo engine, 6 speed manual transmission, FWD system, and sport-tuned suspension. Other information about this ST includes HID headlights, fog lamps, 18" alloy rims, and ST-specific interior trim parts like carbon fibre, an ST sport steering wheel, ST scuff plates, and the heated front Recaro racing seats. The Ford Focus ST also has ambient interior lighting, a 10-speaker Sony audio system, a heated steering wheel, and power adjustment for the seat.
We take the 2016 Ford Focus ST on a road test to talk about the fuel economy on this car, along with some of our reasons why you might want to consider it. We talk about the daily driving performance that you get from this compact car including the handling, drive, ride, and overall performance.
We continue our full tour and review by going over a buyer's guide on this Focus ST including some of the common problems reported by owners, along with any issues you may want to look out for if you're in the market for one of these.
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TestDrive is proudly produced in Acton, Québec, Canada.

[@OneJiffy]

I respect the owner of the vehicle putting on the base wheels. The base wheels look leagues better than the upgraded ones.

[@PRNTestDrive]

I’m not sure if it was a styling choice or rather they kept the other ones when they sold this car to H Gregoire. Hard to say unfortunately but I believe the original build had the other rims on it.

[@monkmchorning]

And as Jay Leno says, there's really no reason for a bigger rim than 18" for a car this size.

[@Mashmarriner69]

I feel for you north Americans not getting the Focus anymore. Such a shame it's all just SUVs and Pick-ups these day.

[@PRNTestDrive]

The Escape is probably the closest we'll ever get, based on the photos I've seen of the Mk4 Focus the styling is pretty similar. The real replacement we get is the EcoSport though, and it's easily one of the most miserable new cars on the market today. I don't think Ford would give me one to review since I wouldn't have anything good to say about it.

[@tasharice4166]

I feel it too... because Americans for some reason want trucks and big cars but complain about gas prices... I hate it here. And now President wants all electric... what a joke.

[@caleb1518]

Love the effort you put into this video :)

[@PRNTestDrive]

Glad you enjoyed it! I was hoping more people would have watched this one.

[@BaaSicStuff]

the base rims are the best look sicjk...ST3 is a car that is updated to any 2024 car

[@natemathewson5200]

Found a 2015 ST3 at 135k miles. Bone stock it’s whole life, highway work car for somebody. I’m at 155k now. Kept. It. stock. I’m a college kid so I can’t risk a break-down. Lol. Fantastic first manual car as you mentioned. Good video!

[@PRNTestDrive]

Enjoy it! Can't go wrong with one of these, and like you said they're better stock.

[@Snowjocky55]

What'd you get it for?

[@natemathewson5200]

@@Snowjocky55 $11,500, that was in 2020 though. Market is crazier now I’m sure.

[@fullerstevens]

Great review !

[@PRNTestDrive]

Glad you liked it! I was hoping this video would have bit a bit more popular, it's a fun little car with a nice suite of features for the price.

[@joshuabarber8865]

grabbed a 2014 st3 with 2k miles on it, was almost untouched. Such an enjoyable car, and easy to learn stick on aswell.

[@PRNTestDrive]

Glad to hear it, enjoy!

[@map009]

I've owned my 2016 Focus ST since new and have now passed 133,000km of trouble free motoring. Yes, it is stock and has been well maintained, but I know others with 250,000km or 320,000 km of stock ownership without any issues here in Australia. And the engine hasn't exploded when overtaking on the highway in 6th gear, either. I'm keeping my FoST for many more years . . .

[@PRNTestDrive]

Glad to hear it! Stock is definitely the way we'd want to experience ours also. Hope it continues to serve you well, thanks for sharing!

[@joecool9739]

People in 2016: "What a badly engineered joke! But it looks cool not gonna lie" People in 2021: "Turns out its got a few issues but nothing major...pretty cheap to maintain...love those rims" People in 2026: "Why are these things skyrocketing in value? Should have bought one before the hype 😫"

[@PRNTestDrive]

It is funny how things change over time. I can see back when this was new not being a super hot buy compared to the VW GTI, as the GTI offered a bit better tech, nicer interior layout, and for someone like me the 7DSG. I can see these going up in value though, I think people will want to hold onto them. If you have an RS you definitely want to keep that.

[@Buccko92]

Great looking compact car.

[@PRNTestDrive]

I think so too! The facelift is the way to go though, I spotted a few pre-facelifts and they all seem to suffer from the same panel gap at the front of the hood that my electric does.

[@steveparsons2575]

Had a mk2, loved it!! Don't trust the ecoboost engine though. Heard a lot of nightmares

[@cjober6328]

Just picked up a bone stock 16 ST3 with 46k miles for 20k. Pretty stoked. And yeah as other have already stated, that blow off is not stock. Haha, the stock turbo you rarely hear. The stock 15-21 WRXs make way more turbo noise than this does stock, but the ST has been way more liveable so far as compared to what it was like dailying my WRX.

[@PRNTestDrive]

Nice! I really enjoyed my week with this one. Makes sense that the turbo wasn't stock, a good upgrade in my opinion.

[@qualityreno9689]

All your ford focus reviews are awesome! I think ford shot themselves in the foot for killing the focus. Especially the wagon. I watch the new wagons in Australia, and I droooooool over them!

[@PRNTestDrive]

Thank you! I think Ford made a huge mistake also by ending the Focus production for our market. The EcoSport is such a miserable little crossover and was meant to replace the Focus, yet no one buys them and no one wants them. I almost want to take a trip to the UK just to drive the Mk4.

[@fordcontour]

@@PRNTestDrive Ford seems to be very good at killing good selling cars (Fusion, Focus), yet has no problem keeping poor sellers on artificial life support for the longest time, if they so happen to be more SUV-like (ahem EcoSport and Flex)

[@julianc.6589]

been dailying one for almost 5 years now, it's a champ

[@PRNTestDrive]

Glad to hear it!

[@StogStudioFL]

does it have a backup camera

[@julianc.6589]

@@StogStudioFL 2015+ and onwards does stock yup

[@middleagedbaldguy6774]

I absolutely love these little cars but hate coolant intrusions. The ecoboost 1.6 has a head gasket that is hanging on by its fingernails.

[@PRNTestDrive]

Good to know!

[@Sc0rpy]

nice ride

[@PRNTestDrive]

It was! I enjoyed my week with it.

[@sargentthiccboi9333]

Luckily the modern hot hatches haven’t hit their peak values yet. But I’m definitely wanting to pick one up in a few months just before the prices go insane on them

[@PRNTestDrive]

I can definitely see these going up in value, the RS' have already and well-maintained STs should also.

[@JasonJFly]

nice

[@2004lesk01]

this is a top car

[@PRNTestDrive]

I definitely had fun with it!

[@zackwalske1779]

Just curious how tall you are?

[@PRNTestDrive]

6ft or 183cm.

[@demetriospapavasiliou8167]

Ya I really don't mind that this car is missing safety tech. This car is meant to be driven

[@PRNTestDrive]

Very true!

[@metaforce]

Wait, did you say you now own a Ford Focus Electric? Did I miss a video somewhere or did I misunderstand you? I know you have that Mark 1.5 wagon, but did you end up buying that Focus Electric you featured a month or so ago?

[@PRNTestDrive]

I posted that video last week! KZbin has been really difficult recently, it doesn't seem to serve up my videos even to subscribers anymore. I didn't buy the same Electric I drove last month, although it looks identical, same paint and interior but I went with the 2018 that comes with 50% more range and L3 fast-charging on top of a few other goodies. Here's the direct link to the video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/joi7q6OseJWpeNU

[@metaforce]

@@PRNTestDrive Sweet! Congratulations on the new purchase, Nile! Keep us posted on the ownership experience, please. :-)

[@PRNTestDrive]

I definitely will! I'm planning on using this a lot over the next few years, including some winter testing with different tires.

[@metaforce]

@@PRNTestDrive Cool cool. I just finished watching your reveal video. It really does look like you got the best of the best of the Focus Electric. Anyway, enjoy and, as always, I Iook forward to future videos. Totally random and unrelated request, but I'd love to see you get your hands on a '92-'95 VW Corrado. I dunno how common they are on the roads of Canada, but they're few and far between here. My brother had a '94 when I was a kid and I really miss it. Maybe since you guys got them all the way through to 1995 (or so I've read) there are more still on the road up there. Anyway, just a random request for you. Take care. -Joe

[@PRNTestDrive]

I'll definitely see what I can do!

[@GMT439]

The Hot Hatch in general would never have existed at all if had not been Manual Transmission.

[@PRNTestDrive]

I don't disagree.

[@MarcinFigiel]

The blow off is definitely not stock :)

[@PRNTestDrive]

Probably not eh, I imagine a lot of these were modified in some way.

[@SarcasticComments23]

That’s crazy that you don’t like driving manual. It’s like 75% of driving. If you don’t have a manual then all you do is touch the wheel and use one foot to push a pedal to go or stop. Very disengaging

[@PRNTestDrive]

Part of that is due to not learning when I started driving. It's something I wanted to do but my folks wouldn't sign me up for manual lessons since we didn't have a manual car, and they didn't see the purpose to learn.

[@SarcasticComments23]

@@PRNTestDrive yeah only takes a day to learn and you’ll be blown away how much more control you have an how much more pedal response and feel you’ll get 👍🏼 hope you learn someday my dude

[@Noelsterrr]

Wheels, not rims.