Is the ford focus st considered a sports car? - 1

Is the ford focus st considered a sports car? - 2

No, it is a family car. A more powerful engine can't make a FWD car a sports car.

Yeah, right. And a paper airplane is the Space Shuttle.

No, it's a hot hatch.

I consider it to be a sporty car.

it has some performance parts like a stronger engine, sports suspension and better steering but its still based on a regular car platform.
same goes for the Golf GTI and other hot hatchbacks.

for a sports car I personally think you need rear wheel drive.Rear wheel drive is more expensive to build than front wheel drive.It also uses up more interior space than front wheel drive.
the difference in how a car with front wheel drive performs compared to a rear wheel drive is the defining feature between a sporty car like an ST or GTI and a sports car.A sports car with rear wheel drive is able to do continuous donuts, easy burnouts and drifts, with front wheel drive this is not always possible.
now as performance increases, so does the range of acceptable technology like AWD or more seats.
cars like an audi S5 or mercedes E63 amg are based on cars that are not sports cars but their sheer performance makes them so.
by the time you start getting to cars with mid mounted engines you get supercars. They are super because they start losing features that even regular sports cars have like any sort of ride comfort, small rear seats or a somewhat usable trunk for the sheer purpose of performance.
when you start grossly outperforming these cars and disregarding any sense of economy you get hypercars.Cars like the bugatti veyron, porsche 918 or ferrari laferrari are so dedicated to speed that they completely disregard their cars being somewhat economic (the veyron costs more than 2 times that of a porsche 918 which is faster on a track yet people keep buying the veyron)

Liam has made valid points but front wheel drive is not a fail point for a sports car.Definition is: a nimble well handling 2 seater performance car.often having open or removable roof. The actual wheel drive pattern is irrelevant for the class designation but handling characteristics are very different from rear.
so the car though built on normal car chassis does handle very well. ( a relative of mine owns one) has spirited performance etc it can be argued either way. If we look at many originals (sports cars) the term sporting meaning as stated.Lively with good handling.Was very often only applicable in two seaters due to weight and size etc that otherwise would have had a major impact on handling and performance.Hence we had many early cars only having 2 seats ( some had more seats but essentially for small kids as adults would NOT fit! ) e.g.Early MG. We go up through years to say E type jaguar ( sports ) but the 4 door 'sedan' or family jaguar though handling well and good performance was never seen as a sports car as such.
so actual drive pattern is a moot point unless we try and throw in better handling? In which case front wheel drive wins.Rear wheel can be more enjoyable e.g.Easier to 'drift' etc but that in itself does not rule front wheel cars out.Many have personal choices here.
as far as manufacturer is concerned the ST was designed in line with its earlier cars designated as RS ( rally sport) and therefore, yes this car IS a sports car (except to those whom only want a rear wheel drive 2 seater low slung car.)