The Escort replacement’s enthusiastic following was mainly due to the car being a hoot to drive. It was the first car in its class to have independent suspension on all four wheels. New Golf has now caught up with this version as it has a similar type of rear suspension. But VW guess what, Ford has moved the game on – again!
While ‘B’ road journeys were always a joy in the old car and twisty roads child’s play the new car has a greater feeling of comfort and quality while still encouraging you to take the long way home.
Dimensions have increased (don’t they always!) and the boxy hatchback rear-end is replaced by a more ‘Fastback’ like slope that allows the boot to grow to an impressive 385 litre (up 10%).
While clearly the new car lacks the initial visual wow factor of the original, in every other sense it is pretty impressive. The long front overhang that always made the car look nose heavy (when viewed side on) has been visually lessened by design trickery, in fact it has grown a bit.
The rear overhang is greater to accommodate the extra boot space. Now the car looks balanced. The Focus has grown up a bit and this is plain to see with the interior. Gone is the sweeping slash-like Avantgarde dash. It is replaced by a very conventional Mondeo/C Max like affair.
The burning question with Focus can only be answered from behind the wheel - Does it handle? I took a three-door 2-litre petrol (145 bhp) for a blast day one and the 2-litre five-door diesel on day two. My petrol test car featured sports suspension and 17” alloys (205 section tyres) but otherwise looked fairly understated. The weather was dry and warm (18 degrees) and the road surface was good and smooth. I had a very calm and stress free time behind the wheel.
The new Focus just goes where you point it. It only complains if you push it hard around hairpin bends and then it only offers up a bit of tyre squeal while staying firmly on track. The revised rear suspension stuck to the road and was very hard to unsettle despite my best efforts! New also is speed sensitive power steering that has been linked up to a quicker steering ratio.
The five-speed manual gearbox was crisp and all the controls were light and easy to use. The dials have been raised to help drivers keep their eyes on the road. The seat and steering wheel have a greater range of movement.
Day two I travelled the reverse route and felt content with loads of torque and a slick six-speed gearbox. My test car was a five-door in Ghia spec. It had 16” alloys and a very comfortable yet sporty ride. It is a shame but VRT will banish this car to the back of the showroom as its retail price is bound to be too steep. If I were a ‘user chooser’ this would be the Focus I’d go for. The powertrain is just perfect for the car, making it very easy to live with. Diesels make up about 10% of Focus sales and the less powerful 1.6 diesel will do well. The car is far quieter than the outgoing model thanks to extensive work on soundproofing.
Of course being a Ford everything is in the usual place. The interior is as the Focus C Max hinted in terms of trim, with everything where it should be, like a familiar friend.
Chief designer Claudio Messale is very proud of the daylight opening which gives the interior such a nice airy feel. He also pointed out the new blue interior ‘plastics’ colour, which certainly cheers things up a bit. The ‘A’ pillar has been moved forward and the ‘C’ pillar heavily revised to give as Claudio says a “carved from solid look”. The flat exterior panels of the outgoing car are replace by more interesting ones at the side and along the bonnet (very Mazda 3 like). Claudio wanted to make the Focus more a ‘Premium’ product and he has succeeded.
Ford Europe was keen to make any accessory or addition to the car valid and affordable and they came up with the ‘Affordable Relevance Test’. Unfortunately when you add crippling Irish taxes to many of the very relavant options the ‘affordable’ part goes out the window.
Eddie Murphy Chairman and MD of Ford Ireland said the Focus would be a “hard act to follow” but after driving it he is delighted with the result. In six years the Cork based company through its dealer network has sold 50,000 of the multi award-winning car. There will be five Irish specification levels: LX, Zetec, Sport, Ghia & Titanium. Ford will also do a runout ‘well equipped’ version of the big selling four door Focus as saloon buyers will have to wait till next Spring for the newer version to hit our shores.
A massive 30 % of Focus sales in Ireland are four door models, which is far more than everywhere else.
Technological highlights that will make Irish showrooms include; Adaptive lights (€600), Keyfree system, Voice control, Bluetooth & Solar Reflective windscreen. Six airbags are standard as is ABS & EBD (electronic brake force distribution) plus a six speaker Cd with an ‘Aux.’ input (MP3/Mini Disk etc.). A full size spare wheel is standard also. All 2005 Irish Fords will have Km/h dials fitted.
At the time of going to press there were no retail prices available but we expect the Zetec version to cost roughly €20,250. This is a huge car for Ford and the timing of its arrival is just right as Eddie states that by the end of January 17% of the years sales are completed and by March 50%.
On first impression the new sweet handling Ford Focus can lay claim to class leadership. It should be safe too as a five star EURO NCAP score is predicted.
- Michael Sheridan
