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Ford Focus Black Edition Review Reveals 180 HP Hot Hatch You Never Knew About

If you're young and still have time to spike up your hair in the morning, there's no way you'll be happy with a Nissan Qashqai. You want painted brakes, bigger alloys, and an exhaust that will wake up the neighbors.
Ford Focus Black Edition Review Reveals 180 HP Hot Hatch You Never Knew About 1 photo
Photo: Screenshot from YouTube
Before we go into talking about the Focus Black Edition, let's establish that there are only a few European brands that offer cheap, fast and practical hatchbacks. We are talking about Ford, Mazda and SEAT. The first has always been known for the best steering and gearbox in the business, but you don't need to buy the Focus RS or even the ST to enjoy yourself.

Following huge demand for the Fiesta Black and Red Edition, Ford has developed a couple for the Focus. They can be ordered with either a 150 hp 2-liter diesel engine or, as in this case, a 1.5-liter petrol-powered turbo with 180 horsepower.

It's fast enough to lose your driving license and also comes with lower and stiffer suspension, a quickened rack and shorter gear ratios. Despite these mods, you can still live with it every day, unlike some true hot hatchbacks. If you back off the gas, the engine becomes smooth and quiet, even at motorway speeds.

As for the styling, 20-something-year-olds will love the deep chin spoiler, red mirrors and rear spoiler. The 17-inch wheels that are fitted as standard shout out that this is a fast car in need of an empty road. The only downside is that it costs nearly as much as the ST1, which means only those who want lower running costs will look into it.

But this just proves there are plenty of fast hatchbacks for those who don't want the famous names. We'd put it in the same category as the SEAT Leon 1.8 TSI, Hyundai i30 Turbo, and Kia CEE'd GT.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
Mihnea Radu profile photo

Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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