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Dean Slavnich test drives the new Ford Focus
This was always the conundrum that Ford feared most: how to replace one of Europe’s most loved and best sold cars, the Focus.

It was back in 1998, at the Paris show, when the replacement to the old Ford Escort arrived on the scene. The car stunned onlookers, with many saying that Ford had “lost the plot”. Six years later, and some four-million sales worldwide, the current Focus is about to bow out as a winner, surpassing even VW’s saviour, the Golf.

“Even we at Ford failed to predict how completely the Focus would take the car world by storm,” admitted Lewis Booth, Ford of Europe CEO. The problem for Booth, and his Ford team, was not only how to match quality levels of the current Focus, but to also raise the bar even further.“When we set about creating the next Focus we knew we had our work cut out,” he added.

Yet somehow Ford has delivered. The new Focus is not just good, it’s a considerable improvement on the outgoing model, and that’s some achievement. Just when GM execs thought it was going to be ‘their’ year, (check the Opel/Vauxhall Astra review on AE-Plus online), along comes the new Focus to steal all the thunder. Damn.

A focus on driving

From the offset, the new Focus was bound to impress. After all, it’s had a good start to life, being conceived on Ford’s Global Shared Technologies platform which has already given birth to the likes of the Volvo S40, Mazda3 and C-Max.

The new Focus gets an ultra-stiff body shell, making the car ten per cent stiffer. The control blade rear suspension is carried over from the previous Focus but has been enhanced and, along with a new front chassis subframe, is the key to the car’s fine suspension, steering and braking capabilities.

The impossible really has been achieved: the new Focus is a better drive than its predecessor. The car’s chassis and suspension almost flirt with the driver, eating-up the tarmac and taking even the most difficult corners with relative ease.

Road comfort is equally impressive while the road feedback the driver gets from the car only adds to ever increasing handling confidence. The car, if truth be told, almost begs for more speed and more action.

Yet while the Focus provides tantalising tastes of sporting prowess, Ford has ensured the car stays true to its roots, which is, of course, a good thing. For example, when thrown about, and the winy Italian roads offered a perfect platform for this, the ESP safely kicks-in and eliminates possible under steer. The Focus has sublime road manners, which makes for a perfect combination for a car that’s going to fight for sales in Europe’s largest market.

“To establish a benchmark for best-in-class agility, precision, comfort and stability, we evaluated the strongest ride and handling characteristics of our competitors, [but] it quickly became clear the best benchmark was the current Focus,” explained Jurgen Putzschler, vehicle dynamics supervisor.

So, in a bid to improve on the current model, Ford engineers could not rest on old laurels. In came new McPherson struts, larger front dampers and gas-filled twin tube struts. The front lower control arms have been mounted to the subframe by two horizontal bushes which, in turn, have been tuned to offer increased vehicle stability under braking.

Throw in the electric-hydraulic power-assisted steering (EHPAS), which makes it easier to perform manoeuvres at lower speeds and yet preserves precision on the open road, and it’s easy to see how the driving dynamics of the new Focus have once again upped the ante in the family hatchback segment.

Andreas Wohler, vehicle dynamics manager, explained the thinking behind EHPAS. “Increasingly manufactures are replacing straight hydraulic systems – which have the benefits of precision and feel – with straight electric power steering that removes low-speed steering input.

“Rather than compromising in any way, we took the more expensive but ultimately more satisfying approach of developing a hybrid system in EHPAS that has cut low speed steering efforts dramatically while retaining the Focus DNA of precise steering at high speeds.”

Even the NVH levels have been improved. For example, driving at speeds of 100 km/h and above, it becomes apparent very quickly that there’s less wind noise, which has been improved upon by some 20 per cent thanks largely to the thicker front door side glass, the double door seals and lightweight foam insulation in the engine compartment and rear body cavities.

The driving quality of the car is matched by the near superb engines under the bonnet. Starting with the petrol’s and from launch there will be a 1.4 Duratec, 1.6 Duratec and 2.0 Duratec. It’s the midsized engine that’s particularly noteworthy.

The 1.6 Duratec offering is a new development from Ford, with engineers applying twin independent variable camshaft timing. The powertrain, says Ford, has been designed for more torque at higher speeds and that’s exactly what one gets: 155 Nm (114 lb ft) of it coming in at 4,150 rpm. Add the torque to the 115 ps (85 kW) of power from 6,000 rpm and a fuel economy of 43.8 mpg on combined, and it’s easy to see why Ford engineers are raving about this engine.

Onto the diesels and, with a large dollop of help from PSA, the two 1.6 litre Duratorq’s and the higher-spec 2.0 litre Duratorq are both state-of-the-art units.

The lightweight low-friction engines deliver plentiful of torque at low speeds while remaining smooth, refined and quiet.

My personal pick of transmissions was Ford’s first manufactured six-speed gearbox, the Durashift six-speed, which is mated to the 2.0 Duratorq and serves to better the responsiveness, refinement and fuel economy of the engine. A perfect match. Even the ZF co-developed belt-driven CVT system comes good.

A focus on growing

Following the ‘more is better’ car trend, the Focus – like its competitors – has grown in size. The new Focus has had an extra 25mm added on its wheel base and so there’s more knee-room in the rear, something that was particularly needed in the outgoing three-door derivative. Problem solved.

The longer rear-overhang has allowed for the boot to increase its capacity by ten per cent, now offering a class leading 310 litres of luggage space. With the rear seats folded flat in the three and five-door models, the cargo space swells to 1,530 litres.

Remaining inside the car and that slanted cockpit/dashboard design that proved such a talking point for so many in the outgoing Focus has been ditched. Focus drivers now get a very Mondeo look inside, which is not a bad thing. “This cockpit feel will continue to influence the DNA of future Ford models,” said Giovanni De Pasca, manager of vehicle package engineering.

With the wacky lines and slanted angles a thing of the past, the new Focus interior looks far more conventional, neater and planned. It’s matured.

Gone are the wacky lines and slanted angles, instead the new Focus interior has matured and looks more conventional
Much has changed under the skin of the new Focus including an ultra-stiff body shell, an enhanced control blade rear suspension, a new front chassis subframe, and new McPherson struts

A focus on evolution

So, the only thing left is the design, an issue that is highly personal. What is obvious, however, is that Ford – in this era of tough economic times – has lost its courage, a bit like a certain German rival. The car which symbolised revolution back in 1998 has now opted for evolution in terms of style.

The rear-end is better, so let’s start there: the trademark high tail lamps have stayed but are slimmed down. There’s a rear spoiler which gives some sex appeal. Despite closely resembling the outgoing model, the Focus, from the rear, takes on a look that shows it has moved on with the times. No bad thing.

Walking around the car and things still look good. One immediately notes the flared wheel arches and more muscular stance, which must come from the car’s larger dimensions.

The lines are good too, Chris Bird, Ford of Europe’s director of design, explains: “The sharp line that comes very tightly around the front wheel arch and runs the full length of the vehicle I believe [it] expresses a milled out of solid look."

Yet it’s at the front where the shortcomings in design are most obvious. The face of the new Focus seemingly says: “When I grow-up I want to be a Mondeo.” Not good.

According to Ford, the radiator grille, headlights and air dam have flowed from the Mondeo and onto the new Focus. A resemblance in model line-up is all fine, but perhaps near cloning is a step too far, especially in the form of a Mondeo face.

Yet despite the design, and remember beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the Focus is one of the most impressive cars I have driven this year. Ford has raised the bar and overcame the conundrum it feared most. See you in six years time when Ford of Europe will have the same headache, again.