Details on the facelifted Ford Focus ST have emerged after Ford dished out a prequel image earlier this week. The big news for the ST range is the addition of a diesel motor into the lineup and some tweaks to make it handle better.

Facelifted Ford Focus ST engine choices

The new turbodiesel to make its acquaintance with Ford’s current top hatch is a 2-litre turbodiesel, complete with 135kW and 400Nm of torque. It’s nowhere near as rapid as the petrol but will get from 0-100 kph in 8.1 seconds and manage 217 kph before its 6th and final manual gear tops out.

For a sports model however, the claimed fuel consumption of 4.4l/100km is exceptional. The 2-litre turbo petrol remains the same from the pre facelift car so that’s 184 kW of immense fun. Both models feature stop/start technology for the first time in order to reduce fuel consumption whilst stopped at the lights.

New Front and Rear

For the facelifted Ford Focus ST, the visual team has added sportier and more aggressive styling than the previous generation, with a lower, wider stance; new sculpted bonnet; slimmer headlamps and rectangular foglamps.The sports bodykit also includes body?coloured side skirts and diffuser elements either side of the exhaust, and a rear roof spoiler optimised for aerodynamic performance.Black lamp bezels, ST badging and new 19-inch alloy wheels – that are available as an option – complete the look.

Handling Upgrade

The crew responsible for the Ford Focus RS were entrusted with improving the handling on the facelifted Ford Focus ST, so there’s little doubt that it’s going to be an excellent handler. The sports suspension features all-new front springs and sportier new shock absorber tuning front and rear.

These enhancements are said to deliver ‘an even sharper dynamic performance.’The calibration of the electric steering andstability controlsystems have also been revised in order to extract faster more responsive steering and optimise traction when cornering.

Despite the Focus ST being on show at the 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend, it will only become available to the public in 2015. Earlier this morning, we had confirmation from Ford South Africa that the newfacelifted Ford Focus ST will be arriving on our shores at some point next year. Pricing will be confirmed then.