Ford Focus – All Time Winner
The Ford Focus was introduced in 1998 and is now in its 3rd generation. Right from the start it has maintained its position as a class leader. Apart from the latest VW Golf no rival has even come close to the Britain’s best seller. The latest Focus is all new with a new chassis and stuffed with gadgets similar to the upmarket luxury saloons. Recently a new 1.0itre Eco Boost petrol has been added to the range. It comes as an estate or a five door hatchback. The Ford Focus is not a top scorer in looks. Overall it is neatly designed but detailing is a bit odd. The front hosts triangular air intakes and there is a gap between the Ford badge and the bonnet, however, it is much better at the back.
The body hosts many creases and lines to support Ford’s kinetic look. There is choice of many bright colours and alloy wheel designs. The interior of the Focus is quality built and a good place to be, the cabin has blue lighting. The dashboard is driver oriented with easy to access controls and smart dials. The central console is in neat piano black colour and switchgear is of very high quality material. The Ford Focus has the best drive in its class. The steering is quick, chassis is agile and the wind and tyre noise, all of these combine to give a rewarding and comfortable ride. Ford Focus has a broad range of engines with 1.6litre petrol guising from 104bhp up to 180bhp and the diesels include 1.6litre and 2.0litre that range from 95bhp to 161bhp.
The 1.0litre Eco Boost engine returns a fun and frugal ride, the 1.6litre Eco Boost performs well but is expensive to run. The 1.6 TDCI with 113bhp gives the best fuel economy at 67mpg. Ford Focus has been awarded with a full five star Euro NCAP crash test rating. The standard safety equipment includes six airbags, electric stability control, ABS, anti skid control and a lane departure warning system. Overall Ford doesn’t have any reliability issues, so expect that the Focus will not be making too many visits to the garage. Overall the cabin is very accommodating thanks to the reach and rake steering and fully adjustable seats.
The new five door hatchback offers plenty of space for the rear passengers and can easily accommodate here full sized adults at the back. The long journeys are very comfortable. On the other hand, at 316litres the boot space is not class leading but that can be increased thanks to the split/folding seats. The new Focus has extra kit but Ford engineers have worked really hard to keep it lighter than its predecessor. The new engines are very good in terms of efficiency with carbon emissions from 99g/km to 140g/km hence putting it in low tax bands. Ford Focus has good residual values but not better than the Volkswagen Golf.
