A sporty feel is created through the use of black headlining and coloured sections of seat fabric while the steering wheel is nicely sculpted and feels good to hold. As with all Focus models, the level of steering assistance can be adjusted to suit the needs of the driver, with light, normal and sport levels offering progressively less assistance. An additional cowl on the dash holds a trio of extra dials for turbo boost pressure, oil pressure and oil temperature adding to the sports car feel.

Facelifted models get a much more upmarket cabin with better quality materials, redesigned instrument dials and a revamped central console.

The Focus is a roomy mid-sized family car and the ST retains this virtue so it will happily swallow four adults or even a fifth at a squeeze. The front occupants are treated to superbly supportive Recaro branded sports seats with eight-way adjustability on the ST1 and ST2 and 10-way electric adjustment on the leather-lined ST3. The driver’s seat could do with being a fraction lower, but the chair itself is fantastic with big side bolsters.

The ride quality is very impressive considering this is a hot hatch and it deals with rough roads and potholes well.