The new Focus ST automatic is Ford’s first auto hot hatch

The 280PS hatch, which is marking its first year on sale, impresses in six-speed manual gearbox form, but now for the first time gets the option of a seven-speed auto for £1,450 more.

Like the manual, of which Ford has sold 2,000 over the past 12 months, the auto gets a dedicated Sport button on the flat-bottomed steering wheel giving direct access to sport mode. There’s a rotary gear selector along with paddles behind the steering wheel for manual control.

With no RS in the Focus line-up any more, the ST is the sportiest mainstream car Ford makes. Its turbocharged 2.3-litre EcoBoost all-aluminium engine is the most powerful ever offered in the ST. In auto form it is slightly slower than the manual, at 5.7 seconds for the 0-62mph sprint (the manual does it in 5.7 seconds), but the top speed of 155mph remains the same.

As ever with the blue oval’s sporty cars, though, the appeal lies as much in the overall package as a few bald figures. So much so that a while back we picked the ST as the all-round benchmark in its class, albeit a class currently awaiting arrival of the new Volkswagen Golf GTI.

The ST auto is priced from £34,710 and available in hatch or estate body styles, and if you order one now you can have one in July.