Ford Focus: Smart looks, luxury features

The latest Ford Focus may be less dynamic but is an accomplished all-rounder. Photo / Jacqui Madelin

Ford's third-generation Focus was designed as a world car and will sell in 120 countries - with New Zealand's launch next week. We took to British roads to sample the 1.6T EcoBoost petrol in up-spec Titanium format.

What's new
This body follows Ford's kinetic design theme and its smartly sculpted lines drew universal praise.

New Zealand is likely to follow Australia with the 92kW/159Nm 1.6-litre duratec petrol engine, the 125kW/202Nm 2.0-litre direct injection petrol and the 120kW/340Nm 2.0-litre common rail turbo diesel with five-speed manual or six-speed double-clutch auto transmissions, the latter a step up from the outgoing four-speed auto.

Ford has revised the rear control blade multilink suspension and again opted for MacPherson strut up front.

British cars access a wide variety of up-market specs and my test car included "active city stop", one of the features drawn from Volvo during Ford's ownership of the Swedish brand. At under 30km/h it uses windscreen-mounted sensors to detect slower-moving or stationary vehicles ahead and slams the brakes on if the driver fails to react.

Research indicates that Volvo's system prevents about a quarter of the low-speed impacts common in commuter traffic when compared with similar vehicles. But New Zealand will not get the tech, nor many of the the high-tech goodies fitted to my demo car, such as lane departure warning and blind spot warning.

The company line
Ford New Zealand's line-up will be similar to Australia's and includes the top-shelf Titanium spec.

The super-frugal EcoBoost engine won't be available at launch but hasn't been ruled out. Price and specification will be confirmed next week.

What we say
Focus is a smart car, with an equally smart cabin that's clearly laid out with the cock-pit style centre console angled to the driver and easy to navigate.

The 316-litre boot is 1148 litres with the seats folded but some of the kit supplied seems over the top, such as the keyless start with a fiddly button which seems odd when you need the key to unlock the car.

On the road
Our British drive included semi-urban and open highway, where we found performance reasonably brisk rather than sparkling.

The stand-out feature was the 7.6l/100km thirst despite a vigorous approach to the throttle, no doubt partly thanks to the stop-start that helped pin thirst through urban gridlock (Ford's claim is 5.9l/100km).

The car's handling is notable for confident body control and little roll, although the steering feels a tad remote.

Overall, this Focus is likely to flatter the average driver but not encourage a keen one, which may disappoint those who bought the outgoing car for its dynamic character rather than its everyday capability.

Why you'll buy one
Smart looks and luxury-car features in a Corolla-bracket car. It's a shame we won't get the EcoBoost's competitive performance allied to frugal thirst.

Why you won't
It's not as dynamic as its predecessor, and Ford may take the cheaper, low-tech route.