Ford Focus Past & Present
Ford has fallen on hard times in terms of financial restructuring and internal politics prevalent in cooperate America. The former brought about by sky rocketing oil prices meaning their fuel guzzling SUVs and pick-up trucks are no longer as lucrative.
The Ford Focus however, targets the practical and efficient end of the market, as well as targeting the global market that appreciates a vehicle that does not hog two lanes, is a nightmare to parallel park and above all else pounds the wallet at the pump!
First Generation
Ford‘s model name for this Focus was the Mark One (MK I). The first Focus entered the European market in 1998 as a replacement for the Ford Escort. There were three versions of the car, namely; a 4-door Saloon, a 5-door Estate and a 3-door Hatchback. In 2001 a 5-door Hatchback was added to the line-up.
Second Generation
This generation was named the Mark Two (MK II) and was launched at the 2004 Paris Motor show. Three versions were shown namely; a 3 door Hatchback, 5 door Hatchback and an Estate. The Saloon version of the Focus was launched in the summer of 2005 borrowing design features from Ford’s Mondeo and Fiesta line.
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Third Generation
This is the current incarnation of the Focus designated the Mark Three (MK III) an improved version of its predecessors, with better handling, as well as meeting the emissions standards that have become mandatory in the modern age. This generation comes in either a three or five door hatchback variant as well as the five door saloon.
Focussed Power
The Focus has a wide range of engines to suit every taste. The car offers a combination of diesel and petrol power plants.
First up is the 1.0 litre, three cylinder, petrol unit that comes in two variants, a 100HP unit with 150Nm of torque, mated to a five peed gearbox and a 120HP unit with 170Nm of torque and mated to a six speed gearbox. The latter offers a maximum of 200Nm with the Overboost function.
The next engine is a 1.6 litre Duratec petrol engine, also in two variants. The first one produces 105HP and 150Nm of torque, the other unit produces 125HP and 159Nm of torque. The former has an acceleration of 12.4 seconds from rest and a top speed is 118 mph. The latter has a 0-60 time of 11.2 seconds with a top speed of 121 mph.
Next in the line-up is the 1.6 litre Ecoboost petrol engine fitted with a 6speed manual gearbox. One variant produces 150HP and 240Nm of torque, 0-60 comes up in 8.7seconds with a top speed of 132 mph. The other variant produces 180HP and 240Nm torque, 0-60 is done in 8.0 seconds and it has a top speed of 139 mph. Both variants come with Overboost function that increases the torque to 270Nm.
The top rated petrol is the 2.0 litre Ecoboost engine that produces 247HP and 340Nm of torque, acceleration from 0-60 takes 6.5 seconds, with the top speed peaking at 155 mph.
The 1.6 litre Duratorq diesel engine also comes in two variants a 95HP, 230Nm unit, with a 0-60 time of 12.6seconds and top speed of 113 mph. The other version produces 115HP, 270Nm with 0-60 coming in 11.0 seconds and top speed of 121 mph.
Completing the line-up is the top rated 2.0 litre Duratorq diesel engine with six variants to choose from. There is the 160HP, 288Nm engine, that does 0-60 in 12.6 seconds and has a top speed of 113 mph. This version only comes in a 5 speed manual. The other two are fitted with six speed manual transmissions. One producing 140HP, 320Nm of torque, does 0-60 in 9seconds with a top speed of 130 mph; and the other producing 163HP, 340Nm of torque, doing 0-60 in 8.7seconds and a top speed of 137 mph.
The remaining three are mated to a six speed automatic, first up is the 115HP, 300Nm unit, it does 0-60 in 11.0 seconds and has a top speed of 123 mph. The second one produces 140HP, 320Nm of torque, does 0-60 in 9.6 seconds and has a top speed of 129 mph. The top rated diesel produces 163HP, 340Nm of torque, does 0-60 in 9.0 seconds and has a top speed of 135 mph.
In Sharp Focus
The current Focus interior is borrowed from Ford’s C-max range. It delivers a high end piano black finish that gives the dashboard instant class. The seats are firm and comfortable hugging the passengers in and making long journeys a joy. It seats five adults comfortably. The rear seats offer taller people with enough head and leg room which is essential for weekend getaways. The boot is a good 300 litres with the rear seats up, fold them all down and the space is a cavernous 1,060 litres.
The sturdy steering wheel comes wrapped in leather as standard across all trim levels. It is also adjustable to tweak the sensitivity to your liking. The centre console consists of a large touchscreen that eschews a lot of buttons and knobs meaning a clutter free console. This also means that Ford have thrown in a few new touches like, voice activated audio and GPS system meaning multi-tasking without distraction for the driver.
Other nuance touches include; LED door strips that glow from red to pink as you open and close the doors, Bluetooth, iPod and MP3 player connectors among others.
Technology Focus
The Focus is fitted with a pleasing array of technological features including: the collision avoidance system which applies the brakes should you be heading towards another object, the lane keeping assist and finally a torque vectoring system that distributes power during hard cornering manoeuvres.
Mirror, mirror on the wall who is the focused of them all?
The new Focus offers all the goods; it is well equipped, practical, offers a refined drive and is economical. Expect to pay between £14,000 and £23,000. The Focus is the bona fide trendsetter in the very competitive hatchback market.
Image credit: photo