Until recently the most popular car in the UK, the Ford Focus is about to become a truly global car.
The latest model due in showrooms in March will share up to 80% of its components with Focus models in all 120 markets it will be sold in globally, and it will be built in six factories.
Its platform will eventually be used for 10 different products, with the Ford C-Max and Grand C-Max already on sale. This leads to useful economies of scale, so the Focus arrives better equipped than before and with a huge range of new technology available.
The latest model due in showrooms in March will share up to 80% of its components with Focus models in all 120 markets it will be sold in globally, and it will be built in six factories.
Its platform will eventually be used for 10 different products, with the Ford C-Max and Grand C-Max already on sale. This leads to useful economies of scale, so the Focus arrives better equipped than before and with a huge range of new technology available.
The styling gives the Focus more character than the 2005 incarnation, and stands out more than the sober Volkswagen Golf and Vauxhall Astra with its sweeping front and rear light units.
Inside, while the materials feel slightly plusher than before, there is also more personality injected into the Focus, with tall, narrow air vents while the dashboard centre in the high-specification Titanium models we tested, was a focal point of the interior.
It doesn’t feel especially roomier inside than the previous Focus, not did it especially need to be. Perhaps disappointingly, though, there is slightly less boot space than in its predecessor, although some is scavenged back if a puncture repair kit is specified over the space-saver spare wheel.
When the previous Focus was launched, and some rivals had already adopted electric power steering, Ford decided the extra 1mpg that would liberate was not worth sacrificing for the feel and feedback of a good hydraulic power steering system.
The world is a very different place now, however, and every unit of fuel consumption is vitally important to customers.
It means Ford is now using an electric power steering system on the Focus, which allows other technology to be offered, such as lane keeping assistance and parking assistance.
The steering rack has been made more direct so that the Focus feels a little sharper and more responsive when turning in.
But although progress has been made with the technology over the years, the Focus was guilty of providing inconsistent feel at times over our twisty test route. This probably won’t matter to most drivers, but as the steering feel of the previous two generations of the car has been peerless in its class, it’s quite a disappointment.
There are a number of improvements to the chassis that make the Focus feel a little more polished than before, including what Ford calls ‘torque vectoring control’, standard on all models.
Essentially it’s an enhanced feature of the electronic stability control, and can help eliminate understeering in bends by subtle and imperceptible use of the brakes.
The Focus can be equipped with a lane departure alert, using information from a windscreen-mounted camera, while a further setting can also ease the car back towards the centre of the lane if it veers too close to the lines. Repeated intervention results in the car recommending the driver stops for a coffee break.
The lane keeping aid is part of the driver assistance pack (along with blindspot warning, traffic sign alert and automatic main beam) and is one of seven options packs, while there are 10 stand-alone options.
Engine choices include a revised 1.6-litre diesel with 95bhp on the entry-level Edge, or 115bhp available across all equipment grades, a 140bhp 2.0 TDCi and a 163bhp 2.0 TDCi, both 2.0-litre versions offered with the six-speed Powershift dual-clutch automatic.
The entry-level petrol engine is a 105bhp 1.6-litre (priced from £15,995 on the road), with a 125bhp version sitting above it in the range, or a 150bhp turbocharged 1.6 Ecoboost. It will be joined later in the year by a 182bhp version. All petrol engines have CO2 emissions below 140g/km.
Both petrol Ecoboost and the 1.6 TDCi come with automatic stop-start technology as standard, while the Focus is also fitted with movable vanes behind the grille that improve aerodynamics and improve fuel consumption further.
The Focus is a well equipped range that offers optional big car features and class leading safety kit. It is still the class benchmark for ride and handling (just) while its improved running costs will also be welcomed.
By Simon Harris
Inside, while the materials feel slightly plusher than before, there is also more personality injected into the Focus, with tall, narrow air vents while the dashboard centre in the high-specification Titanium models we tested, was a focal point of the interior.
It doesn’t feel especially roomier inside than the previous Focus, not did it especially need to be. Perhaps disappointingly, though, there is slightly less boot space than in its predecessor, although some is scavenged back if a puncture repair kit is specified over the space-saver spare wheel.
When the previous Focus was launched, and some rivals had already adopted electric power steering, Ford decided the extra 1mpg that would liberate was not worth sacrificing for the feel and feedback of a good hydraulic power steering system.
The world is a very different place now, however, and every unit of fuel consumption is vitally important to customers.
It means Ford is now using an electric power steering system on the Focus, which allows other technology to be offered, such as lane keeping assistance and parking assistance.
The steering rack has been made more direct so that the Focus feels a little sharper and more responsive when turning in.
But although progress has been made with the technology over the years, the Focus was guilty of providing inconsistent feel at times over our twisty test route. This probably won’t matter to most drivers, but as the steering feel of the previous two generations of the car has been peerless in its class, it’s quite a disappointment.
There are a number of improvements to the chassis that make the Focus feel a little more polished than before, including what Ford calls ‘torque vectoring control’, standard on all models.
Essentially it’s an enhanced feature of the electronic stability control, and can help eliminate understeering in bends by subtle and imperceptible use of the brakes.
The Focus can be equipped with a lane departure alert, using information from a windscreen-mounted camera, while a further setting can also ease the car back towards the centre of the lane if it veers too close to the lines. Repeated intervention results in the car recommending the driver stops for a coffee break.
The lane keeping aid is part of the driver assistance pack (along with blindspot warning, traffic sign alert and automatic main beam) and is one of seven options packs, while there are 10 stand-alone options.
Engine choices include a revised 1.6-litre diesel with 95bhp on the entry-level Edge, or 115bhp available across all equipment grades, a 140bhp 2.0 TDCi and a 163bhp 2.0 TDCi, both 2.0-litre versions offered with the six-speed Powershift dual-clutch automatic.
The entry-level petrol engine is a 105bhp 1.6-litre (priced from £15,995 on the road), with a 125bhp version sitting above it in the range, or a 150bhp turbocharged 1.6 Ecoboost. It will be joined later in the year by a 182bhp version. All petrol engines have CO2 emissions below 140g/km.
Both petrol Ecoboost and the 1.6 TDCi come with automatic stop-start technology as standard, while the Focus is also fitted with movable vanes behind the grille that improve aerodynamics and improve fuel consumption further.
The Focus is a well equipped range that offers optional big car features and class leading safety kit. It is still the class benchmark for ride and handling (just) while its improved running costs will also be welcomed.
By Simon Harris
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