Ford Focus 1.6 EcoBoost
Titanium Five-Door review
by David Finlay (17 March 2011)
It may take me some time to get used to the styling of the third-generation Ford Focus. Side-on, it looks like a stretched-out Fiesta, and it shares that car's bizarre back-half window design (also favoured by Renault and Vauxhall) which seems to treat visibility as either completely unimportant or something to be prevented if at all possible. And there's something about the rear light clusters which reminds me of the 2002 Kia Rio, a car I've spent a long time trying to forget.
At least you can't say of this Focus, as you could of the last one, that it looks dumpy. And it's not only the design that is sharper than before - the same applies to the driving experience too. The original Focus, launched back in 1998, was a remarkably nimble car which made its 2004 successor feel as if Ford had decided to introduce large quantities of marshmallow to the steering and suspension. In 2011 the Focus has once more become a car you might drive simply for the fun of it.
That applies particularly if it's fitted with the 148bhp 1.6-litre EcoBoost turbo petrol engine reviewed here. Among the models available from launch this one is right at the top end of the CO2 emissions scale, but thanks to its stop/start system those emissions amount to a relatively modest 139g/km, which means you'll be paying £110 per year in Vehicle Excise Duty.
In return for that you get sturdy performance which can't quite match that of a two-litre diesel at lower revs but nevertheless makes the Focus a relaxing car in most conditions. It's also generally very quiet, though noise suppression on the Focus in general is so good that the diesels aren't too far behind in this respect.
I say it's "generally" very quiet because under hard acceleration the EcoBoost unit starts to sound a lot more sporty than usual. That's quite deliberate - in fact, Ford developed something called a "sound symposer" for that very purpose. This device picks up sounds from the air intake and directs them into the passenger compartment so that they overcome the swoosh of the turbocharger as it picks up boost. It may seem like a lot of trouble for a trivial result, but I must say it appeals to the boy racer in me.
The interior is very neatly-designed, if not especially radical, and the seats are very comfortable, though at six foot three I found the rear a bit cramped and had some difficulty getting my feet in. There's a slight feeling of claustrophobia back there too, thanks to that daft window design.
Luggage capacity amounts to 316 litres up to the parcel shelf with all the seats in place, or 1101 litres to roof level with the rear seats folded down - that's unless you spend an extra £75 on the optional full-sized spare wheel, which would be my personal recommendation over the standard mini version (though at least Ford doesn't try to palm people off with one of those stupid tyre repair kits).
Either way, there is actually less luggage space in this Focus than there was in the previous model, even though this car is both longer and wider. Access to the boot area isn't as good as it might be, since there's a surprisingly high load sill in the way.
The tailgate opens very wide, almost to the extent that it points vertically upwards. This is great for taller fellows since we couldn't bash our heads off it if we tried, but more modestly-proportioned types may find it difficult to reach up to close it once they've loaded their goods and chattels inside.
From launch, this particular car costs £19,745 without options. If that seems a bit steep, it's partly because the Titanium trim level is the lowest available with the EcoBoost engine. There are no Edge (cheapest) or Zetec (probably most popular) versions, so if you don't want the Titanium the only way to go from here is up to the £21,245 Titanium X.
In fact the test car was worth a bit more because it was heartily festooned with extras. Of these, by far the most impressive is the Driver Assistance Pack, which consists of Active City Stop (the City Safety system developed by Volvo, which Ford owned until recently) plus Lane Departure Aid, Lane Keeping Aid, Traffic Sign Recognition (which can read upcoming road signs and display them on the dash), Driver Alert, Blind Spot Monitoring and Auto High Beam).
The entire package costs £750, an impressively low figure for so much technology and one which Ford people can barely stop talking about. I can't say I blame them. Adaptive Cruise Control, another important safety feature, costs a further £750 all on its own, Active Park Assist (which finds a parking space for you and can steer into it, though you have to keep control of the pedals) adds £525, and there are a great many other Packs and individual options of a more whimsical nature.
The technology and the driving experience are, to me, the best parts of the new Focus. In other ways I do not think it's as good as it could have been, but even in this state it provides an extremely tough challenge to other manufacturers of mainstream C-segment models.
Update (14 April 2011): A second, longer test of this car emphasised the fact that it handles extremely well when it's being pushed hard. That's not likely to be the way most owners drive it, though, and I would have traded that aspect for better ride quality (on 17" wheels it may ride better, but every petrol Focus made available so far to the UK motoring press has been fitted with 18s and low-profile tyres).
In many hundreds of motorway miles the EcoBoost used fuel at the rate of just over 40mpg. I'd be surprised if a diesel version couldn't beat that by at least 5mpg, but given the EcoBoost's performance I thought this was a respectable showing. Noise levels are very low when you're cruising, and more generally this test demonstrated how well Ford is able to give a premium feel to a mainstream car (as it also does with the Fiesta).
The modern styling of the new Focus doesn't appeal to everyone. A Cool Young Dude of my acquaintance, who I might have expected to appreciate the looks of this car more than those of its more soberly-styled predecessor, surprised me by saying he thought it looked ugly. There's just no pleasing some people.
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