2020 Ford Focus vs Volkswagen Golf

What's the difference?

The Focus ST is going to be the perfect hot hatch for many – quick, practical, affordable and driveable every day, much like the Volkswagen Golf GTI. Others will want something hotter, sharper and wilder looking, but for the foreseeable future the ST is the most hardcore hatch Ford has to serve up.

So it seems the more the world has changed, the more the Mk7/7.5 Golf R has stayed pretty much the same for its six years on sale to date. And it simply doesn’t matter. 

Anyone who bought one in 2014 is understandably probably looking forward to the next one by now, and the Mk8 Golf R will make an appearance in the not too distant future. 

But right now, the last of the current Golf Rs is still a very special thing, and if you want one of the rarest ones built, now’s your chance.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel and meals provided.

The Focus is up there with the best-looking small hatches on the market with its low-slung body and sleek profile, the long bonnet and the hungry looking grille. The ST version toughens the look without going over the top.

ST enhancements include the 19-inch ST wheels with 235/35 R19 tyres, the mesh grille, front and rear bumper treatment, the side skirts, roof-top spoiler, and the twin exhaust.

Inside there’s the ST steering wheel, aluminium gear knob, ST metallic pedals, the Ford Performance scuff plates, a dark headliner and ST floor mats.

Want the look without the price tag? The ST-Line Focus could be the answer because it shares many of the same body kit features, but doesn’t have the ST’s performance credentials to go with it.

ST owners might find the almost identical looks to the ST-Line a bit disappointing. Maybe Ford should have made more features ST specific? But ultimately, there are enough differences, including the wheels, the exhaust and diffuser, to signal to those in the know that this isn’t an ordinary Focus.

A nice touch which will make owners happy is the ‘debadging’ of the Focus lettering across the tailgate. Now, not every Focus can boast that.  

Fancy Recaro two-tone seats aside, the rest of the cabin styling in the Focus ST is underwhelming with all its black plastic surfaces and a steering wheel which not only has an overly busy design (with buttons galore), but looks old for a new-gen car.

An interesting cabin feature is the rotary gear shifter, which looks cool and helps create that spacious cockpit feel. What’s it like to use? I’ll cover that in the driving section below.  

The dimensions of the Focus ST are: 4378mm long, 1825mm wide and 1458mm tall.

The thinking behind the Final Edition’s special paint options is nothing new to VW, and represents the latest in a line of ‘Colour Concept’ models that include the now-cherished multicolour Harlequins that were available in other markets and a handful of specifically coloured Mk3 VR6s that made their way to Australia in the ‘90s.

The Golf R Final Edition’s Colour Concept colours aren’t just plucked from the European options list either. Despite the Viper Green appearing previously on the Scirocco R, each green, blue and purple Final Edition is removed from the regular production line before painting. It’s then taken to a specific paint shop to be hand painted (no robots here) before returning to the production line for final assembly.

Aside from these colours, the typical Golf R hallmarks of specific (but not annoyingly low-hanging) front and rear bumpers remain, with the key visual cue remaining those quad oval exhausts.  

My appreciation for the Final Edition’s Pretoria wheels is two-fold. They’re both lighter than the regular-issue Spielberg design, but also visually fit the R’s performance-focused character better with their pragmatically straight spokes and lack of diamond-finish glitz. I’d be working out a way to have mine in silver though. 

The Final Edition’s Nappa-appointed seats also continue with the carbon-pattern bolsters of other leather-equipped Golf Rs, which I’ve never been a fan of given real carbon isn’t a pliable material, but it’s certainly distinctive.

The Focus ST is four-door hatchback with five seats and that makes it far more practical than a coupe sports car, but keep in mind it’s still small.

Legroom is great for me in the second row (I’m 191cm/6'3" tall, though) and when sitting behind my driving position my knees touched the seat back. Headroom back there is good, and I was impressed by the large apertures on those rear doors which made climbing in and out easier than most hatches.

The boot in the Focus ST isn’t the biggest in the class at 273 litres. That’s 68 litres less than the cargo area in the regular Focus because the ST has a subwoofer stereo speaker and a space saver spare wheel living under the boot floor.

Is it big enough to use as a family car? Well it was for our little family with one small child, but only just – the size of the boot really limited what we could take with us.

The lack of directional air vents in the second row isn’t good news for passengers, although there are two cupholders, decent-sized door pockets and a 12V power outlet back there.

Up front there are another two cupholders, big door pockets, a wireless charger and USB port in the hidey hole under the dash, and another USB port in the centre console bin.

If you’re only occasionally going to have people in the back the Focus ST will suit you well with a spacious cockpit that has good head-, leg-, shoulder-, and elbowroom.

A note about those Recaro seats – they have broad backs but a small seat area which I found a bit little for my backside. So, for anybody with a big back and small bottom, this is the seat you’ve been looking for.

Nothing new here, with the same five-door livability we’ve seen from every MK7 Golf R.

There’s cupholders front and rear, bottle holders in each door, an armrest on the back seat and ample room for four average-height adults at once.

There’s ISOFIX shield seat mounts in the two outboard positions, and top tethers for all three rear seats. 

The 343-litre boot is still 37 litres smaller than a regular Golf due to the R’s rear differential eating into the space, but it’s still a decent size for its class and expands to 1233 litres via the 60/40 split-fold. Also eating into that space is the space-saver spare under the boot floor. Many of the R’s rivals have moved to a more compact inflation system, but you’d be grateful for the spare if you ever need it.

Compared to the regular Golf R that continues to be available - including the uber-cool wagon that sadly hasn’t made the cut as a Final Edition - the Final Edition hatch adds $2500 for a list price of $57,990. 

The three special colours of Victory Blue, Viper Green and Violet Touch Pearlescent purple will cost you a further $300, but the other Final Edition goodies are black mirror caps, Dynaudio premium sound system, lashings of Nappa leather trim (upgrading from the regular Vienna), Final Edition badging and the black Pretoria 19-inch alloys we’ve seen on other Golf R special editions and in my opinion are the best MK7-era Golf R wheel they made.

If none of the special colours tickle your fancy, you can still opt for Pure White, Lapiz Blue or Deep Black Pearl with your Final Edition, but if you’re after Tornado Red or Indium Grey, you’ll have to stick to the regular Golf R.

Other standard Golf R features beyond its hot mechanical package and subtle design tweaks include a 9.2-inch multimedia screen with gesture and voice controls on top of Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity, heated front seats with electric driver’s adjustment and memory settings, tinted windows, active LED headlights, active cruise control and front and rear parking sensors. You can also add a panoramic glass sunroof for an extra $1900. 

If anyone you share financial responsibility with suggests that nearly $60k is a lot for a small hatchback, you might want to remind them that Mercedes is asking nearly $100k for an A45 S, and it’s far from double the car.

The 2.3-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine is the heart of the Focus ST and it’s a thumping, noisy one, making plenty of power at 206kW and oodles of torque at 420Nm.

The Focus ST is a front-wheel drive car and while a six-speed manual gearbox is offered, the car tested here had the seven-speed automatic transmission.

Manuals can be tiresome to use daily in heavy traffic, but if driving is a real passion for you then you’ll know how much more engaging it is shifting gears yourself.

Driving enthusiasts might also be disappointed by the auto transmission in Focus ST, which is eager to shift up to higher gears and then quick to change its mind. Meaning I had to keep the car in 'Sport' or manual mode to stop it shuffling cogs incessantly.

So, good marks for the engine but the score is brought down by the auto transmission.

There’s also no mechanical differences for the Final Edition, but this is hardly a bad thing.

The 213kW and 380Nm from the familiar turbocharged 2.0-litre, combined with the seven-speed DQ381 wet-clutch dual clutch (DSG) auto that came with the 7.5 update still carry a 4.8 second 0-100km/h claim, which is still mighty fast for this end of the price spectrum. Maximum torque available all the way from 1850-5300rpm, which bodes well for everyday easy urge from just 2.0 litres. 

Now more than a couple of years into production, this wet-clutch DSG seems to be faring much better than the often trouble-plagued dual-clutchers of yore, and VW is committed to keeping these issues in the past. 

No, there’s no manual option anymore, but anyone that doesn’t understand how fundamental the DSG is to the Golf R character just doesn’t get it.

Ford says that over a combination of open and urban roads the Focus ST with the automatic transmission will have used 8.8L/100km. I more than doubled that serving suggestion.

Starting with a full tank (52 litres) I drove 134.4km and needed 23.46 litres of petrol to top the tank back up to full. That works out to be 17.5L/100km. The car’s trip computer reckoned I used an average of 16.8L/100km.

Either way that’s thirsty, but not surprising because the ST has a high output four cylinder and my driving was mainly urban based, with a dash to the bush for some twisty roads.

My colleague Matt Campbell tested the manual version of the Focus ST and saw better mileage.

Anyway, who’s buying a high-performance hatch thinking it will be economical? Talking of fuel and money, you’ll need to feed the Focus ST premium unleaded petrol.

The Golf R’s 7.2L/100km official combined fuel consumption figure is mighty impressive for a car boasting a 4.8 second 0-100km/h claim. 

It does need the exxy 98 RON Premium unleaded to do its best though, but can manage with cheaper 95 RON Premium. 

Among my many Golf R experiences, I managed to record an even more impressive 6.9L/100km highway figure during the month my family spent aboard the previous Grid Edition wagon, which aside from being 70kg heavier than the hatch, was also fully laden with kids and luggage at the time. 

During this test of the Final Edition, I aimed for the opposite end of that spectrum by recording pump figures after a morning of flat chat track driving around Luddenham Raceway. 

The result? Try 17.1L/100km including to and from the nearest servos, which is pretty amazing considering I get about 16L/100km from my standard 1.6-litre MX-5 under similar circumstances, but with miles less performance than the Golf R. 

So with its 55-litre fuel tank, you can expect a range between 310-797km, depending on whether you’re cruising along the highway or using all 213kW on the track.

My colleague Matt Campbell reviewed the manual version of the Focus ST back in May 2020, and said he couldn’t wait to pilot the automatic, but I think he may have tested the better option when it comes to sporty driving.

I say that, though, not having tested the manual ST, but I’d bet my gear-shifting arm it’s more fun to drive, and that’s because the automatic seven-speed was constantly leaping up to higher gears and the only way to restrain it was by choosing Sport mode.

Even then the transmission kept changing its mind about which gear it wanted. But really, that's the only bad news when it comes to driving. The rest is all good.

Yup, the Focus ST not only does everything else right, it does it superbly. There’s the steering which is accurate and has great feedback, although plant the right foot and you’ll feel it squirm with a smidge of torque steer.

There’s the acceleration: 0-100km/h in six seconds. That’s not going to rip your face off, but it will put a smile on it.

Traction is also good, especially for a front-wheel drive car with this much grunt. And the chassis is taut and offers a great connection to what’s happening underneath you.

I was especially impressed by the ride. Sure, potholes could unsettle it, but for the most part in 'Comfort' or Sport mode the ride was composed, planted and almost comfortable (some family members felt it was a bit firm).

Helping pull the ST up are big brakes – 330mm rotors at the front and 302mm at the rear. I agree with Matt, in his review of the manual version, that while adequate, this set-up doesn't deliver the stopping power expected from anchors this big on a small car.

Now the rotary gear shifter – impressive to look at, just not to use. Ergonomically, I find it’s easier to pull or push a shifter than to turn a dial.

You may get used to it over time, but I never have despite driving various cars with them for a decade. Dials are great for adjusting things in small increments like the volume of the radio or climate control temperature but not for important stuff such as selecting Reverse or Drive.

Of all the Golf R’s many bow strings, the way it drives is clearly the most important. Like most of these attributes, it’s also changed very little in the past six years. 

It’s always a nimble little jigger with a light, yet connected feel in the nose and heaps of urge available under your right foot. 

The chassis is still a smidge tighter than a GTI, but a fair chunk faster, and just on the right side of comfortable enough to live with for car-apathetic family members. 

There’s always a nice rumble from those four exhausts and sounds more like a WRX than the current Subaru, but not enough to annoy those same family members or wake the neighbours. 

I’ve personally spent thousands of kilometres aboard all variations on road, track and ice, with the wagon loaded to the hilt, and child seats locked and loaded, and it’s hard to think of another car with such breadth of ability and appeal. 

The ride comfort and grip from the seats is indeed better with cloth and Alcantara trim, which was standard on the few Mk7 cars not optioned with leather or the limited Mk7.5 Grid Edition to my knowledge. But it’s still a nice place to be with whichever grade of leather you wind up with. 

The Final Edition’s media launch included the aforementioned morning at the still very fresh Luddenham Raceway, which is a tight, technical and short 1.4km track with lots of elevation and camber changes and grass runoff into oblivion to keep you on your toes. 

Just the place for something small with great point to point acceleration and extremely safe chassis balance then. Sounds a lot like the Golf R to me. 

With the drive mode switched over to Race to sharpen up the steering, dampers, transmission and throttle to make the most of the experience, the Golf R feels more like it’s crouching ready to pounce. 

Even in Race mode, the steering is still relatively light, and the crispness of all other controls helps to overcome the numbness of wearing a race helmet.

Chassis balance is generally good, and gives way to subtle understeer once the limits are reached. It’s therefore a relatively safe way to go fast and makes inducing oversteer that much more satisfying given the effort required to induce it on throttle liftoff.

We fiddled with the tyre pressure balance from front to rear to add a bit more front end grip, so don’t feel you need to run out and splurge on semi slicks to alter your R’s track performance straight away. 

The stability control can be switched off altogether if you’re wanting to really push things, but I didn’t actually think to given it was my first time at Luddenham and the runoff can be on the precarious side.

Like most road-focused performance cars, the tyres get too hot after a handful of full noise laps and the brakes start to smell, but it’s all in the name of prioritising on-road all-weather performance. 

In short, the Golf R continues to be a really easy car to drive at its limit, and therefore a safe option for hitting the track if you’re still working your way up to Senna status.

Safety has always been a Mk7 Golf strong point, and despite first appearing nearly eight years ago and the regular Golf's maximum five star ANCAP safety rating being based on standards dating back as far as 2013, it’s continued to offer features to seemingly keep pace with much more recent products. The all-wheel drive Golf R (and Alltrack) is sadly still officially unrated.

Nonetheless, dual front airbags are complemented by a driver’s knee bag, front side airbags and curtain airbags front and rear. 

The city AEB only works at speeds up to 30km/h, but does include pedestrian detection and is bolstered by multi-collison braking that holds the brakes on after an initial collision to prevent successive impacts.

It also features driver fatigue detection, blind-spot monitoring, lane guidance and rear cross-traffic alerts. 

The Focus ST is covered by Ford’s five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. There’s seven years of roadside assistance, too, provided you service it with Ford.

Service intervals are every 12 months or 15,000km and capped at $299 for the first four services.

Another detail that’s changed during the Mk7 Gold R’s lengthy lifespan is VW’s warranty extension to now cover five years and unlimited kilometres, which thankfully represents the status quo for mainstream brands these days.

Service intervals are a generous 12 months or 15,000km and are covered by capped price servicing for the duration of the warranty. 

The average cost per service during this period is $559.80, leading to a total cost of $2799, which is only marginally more than a regular Golf and quite impressive for a car in this performance league.

This cost can be reduced by prepurchasing a Volkswagen Care Plan, which will cut the servicing price over five years down to $2300, or can also be purchased as a three year plan for $1350.