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The current Ford Focus ST is quite possibly the best hot car that Ford has ever made.

Well, there’s the sexy Ford GT of course, but we mean hot family car that’s both affordable and practical.

And the Focus ST is very affordable with prices starting at £21,995. And practical because for the first time there’s an estate version.

But you’ve heard all this already, what’s new on the block is a Mountune version of the Focus.

A few weeks ago we tested a Fiesta ST with the Mountune effect and what a ­brilliant car it is.

If you’ve forgotten, ­Mountune is an Essex-based tuning firm that’s been playing around with Ford engines for decades, including preparing them for racing. Ford obviously trusts the company because it’ll honour the factory warranty if your Focus ST wears the little yellow Mountune badge on its bottom.

The Mountune kit for the Focus is similar to the conversion that it offers for the Fiesta: for your £1,275 you get a new bigger ­intercooler (that’s the radiator that cools down the air that goes to the turbocharger: the cooler the air the denser it is and the more power the engine will make), a high flow air filter and a new alloy housing for it. Oh, and an ECU remap.

With this box of bits comes an extra 24bhp, bringing the Ford’s horsepower up from the standard 247bhp to 271bhp.

Worth it? Well it makes the car a bit more special because it becomes a Mountune Focus ST with the badge to prove it. But the real benefit is the extra mid-range power.

The standard Focus ST isn’t short of poke but as the engine revs to around 4,000rpm you can feel the power tail off a bit.

In this car that doesn’t happen and the rush of acceleration is constant. The suspension can just about handle this.

The ST Mountune’s front wheels wriggle at the edge of annoying torque steer but never actually go their own way.

The Mountune upgrade doesn’t include any suspension changes so the Focus ST retains its sporty yet compliant ride.

Just as it does with the Fiesta ST, the Mountune package turns a great car into an even greater one.

The facts

Ford Focus ST Mountune five-door hatchback

Price: £23,470

Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder, 271bhp

0-62mph: 5.9sec

Fuel consumption: 30.2mpg