FORD'S award winning Focus ST is high on the wish list of many car buyers.

But prices and insurance premiums on such a high performance car means it's not within the budget of some potential customers.

If if you just want the glamour but not the go of the 280 bhp EcoBoost ST then there is now a sensible alternative - the Focus ST-Line Edition.

The ST-Line has the appearance of an ST - you get full body kit, rear spoiler, ST badges, sports suspension, twin exhaust tailpipes, rear privacy glass and dark headlining - but with a much more modest engine and at a much more modest price.

The cost is just over £24,000 instead of £34,000 for the 155 miles per hour real thing.

The ST-Line is powered by a three-cylinder, 1.0-litre engine. And while that might sound a little uninspiring in practice it's quite lively and an enjoyable drive - particularly if you slip it into sport mode and wind up the revs.

And not only is it nippy but its sportscar-like handling is good enough to really put a smile on your face as the revs go towards the red zone.

Some of the extra zip is attributable to the fact that this car is a mild hybrid so the regenerated power that goes into the 48-volt battery gives the car that little bit of extra boost without you having to think about the problems of plugging in anywhere.

And that little bit of electric power means this is a super frugal car. During seven days of driving my average fuel consumption never dropped below 51 miles per gallon.

With the ST-Line you get a lot of equipment for your money in addition to the body kit.

Satellite navigation is standard with an 8in TFT touch screen, a tyre pressure monitoring system and a Quickclear heated windscreen - a real boon on icy winter days.

There's a choice of three driving modes too, eco, normal and - to liven things up - sport.

And despite having a small engine the ST-Line is surprisingly quiet even at speed.

It's also pleasantly light to handle and manoeuvre. There's no reversing camera as standard but rear sensors and an on-screen illustration showing in red the parts of the car that are getting close to obstacles is the next best thing.

As with all Focus models there's generous rear leg room - for the size of the car - as passengers can stretch their legs out under the front seats. And it's pretty good when it comes to luggage too with some 341 litres available with the seat backs in place and 1,320 litres with them folded down.

Nice little user friendly touches in the Focus include a handle both sides of the tailgate and adjustable cup holders to cope with any size of coffee cup.

And as you would expect from Ford it's packed with sensible safety features including pedestrian and cyclist detection, pre-collision assist, lane-keeping assist and blind spot warning lights in the exterior mirrors.

And just in case someone thinks your car really is an ST rather than ST-Line car and has designs on it there's a full Thatcham Category 1 alarm system.