Price as tested: $45,340
This month: 399km @ 12.0L/100km
Overall: 1517km @ 11.5L/100km
Kah-chunk. As the nozzle of the fuel pump slams back into its metal-lined holster, all I can think is, “So this is how it ends…”
Standing on a lonely fuel station forecourt isn’t how I imagined farewelling the Focus ST from the Wheels Garage. I had hoped to give it one last hurrah; one farewell fling that would finally, after months of lockdown, give me the time to consider my growing list of strengths and weaknesses before settling on a verdict for this near-$50K hot hatch.
Continue reading your story on the app
Continue reading your story in the magazine
Quick & silver
THESE TURBO MID-SIZE SUVS PACK THE PUNCH OF YESTERYEAR’S HOTTEST HATCHES. BUT FORD OR MAZDA, WHOSE IS FASTER – AND SMARTER?
CORVETTE ZR1
EVEN BEFORE THE MID-ENGINE CORVETTE C8 LOBS IN AUSTRALIA, CHEVROLET HAS BIG PLANS FOR FUTURE VARIANTS, CULMINATING WITH NEW TWIN-TURBO V8-POWERED ZR1 AND ZORA MODELS DELIVERING FERRARI-BELTING PERFORMANCE. OVERSEAS-BASED FORMER WHEELS EDITOR ANGUS MACKENZIE TELLS ALL
DIESEL. DUST
GETTING DOWN AND DIRTY TO DETERMINE THE MERITS OF ALL-WHEEL DRIVE
Them's The Brakes
Robbo gets toey in the puma
How Kia Is Keeping The Manual Gearbox Alive
A revolutionary clutch-by-wire system that not only smooths out manual driving, but saves fuel too
A Life Of Two Harves
John Harvey was not only a champion race driver but also a pioneer of Australia’s fast-car business
Twist Of Fe
Hyundai has given its seven-seater suv not so much a nip-and-tuck facelift as a dose of major surgery
Mustang By Name, Not By Nature
Ford Mustang Mach-E
Volkswagen Golf R
Rear bias brings applause from the front row
Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 CS
Once a rare but undervalued asterisk in the porsche pantheon, it’s now recognised as the ultimate G-Series 911
FIRST GENERATION BRONCO VS. 2021 FORD BRONCO SPECS
A comparison of the data. The first-generation Ford Bronco, released in 1966 and after vs. the 2021 Ford Bronco.
FORD TO GO ALL ELECTRIC IN EUROPE BY 2030
Ford announced a major push into electric vehicles in Europe, vowing to convert its entire passenger car lineup on the continent to electrics by 2030.
HOT PRODUCTS
01 A Better Allison Merchant Automotive MAximum Transmission Work Series
AXLE WRAP
ONE UP OFFROAD TRACTION BARS ELIMINATE A COMMON PROBLEM
PROJECT OBSESSED
TOP TEN IN REVIEW
Low-buck 4x4 truck: What's your best wrecked to rugged transformation?
One truck was wrecked, the other one only sent power to its rear axle. Bob Olds looked at the 3 ⁄4-ton Ford and the crinkled Power Wagon, saw (very few) dollar signs, and the inspiration he needed for his next project. We leafed through the archives to June 1966 to see how this budget-conscious build unfolded.
LEAF SPRING HANGING TIPS AND TRICKS
A look at how we reconfigured the leaf-spring suspension of our project 4x4
Intake 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E
My first Ford Mustang tri-bar taillights, roofline, and a had a 4.6-liter V-8, dash-to-axle ratio reminiscent five-speed manual, of the rear-wheel-drive—but that’s and rear-wheel drive. My next might have two electric motors, single-speed automatic gearboxes, and all-wheel drive.
ROLE MODEL
Dad’s 1931 Model A Coupe Inspires Son to Build His Dream Roadster
BARGAIN MUSCLE CARS
The evolution of affordable performance