The test programme for this car was significantly different to most of the other cars I deal with. There was very little city and suburban driving, but a lot of long distance travelling. On the first day there was the usual city and suburban driving around Dublin city and county. On the second day we headed up to Belfast, where we took the Stena Line ferry to the new terminal in Cairn Ryan, before continuing through Scotland and northern England to Gateshead. We spent a few days in Gateshead, before returning via Cairn Ryan and Belfast to Dublin. Out on the open road, be it motorway, dual carriageway or simply a country road, the car was a relaxing and effortless cruiser. The 1.6 litre diesel engine, is smooth, silent and powerful. It is also remarkably economical in its thirst for fuel. According to the EU testing standards, it manages a tremendous 76 mpg (3.7 lt/100 km) on the Extra urban cycle, 55 mpg (5.1 lt/100 km) on the Urban cycle, giving an average of 67 mpg (4.2 lt/100 km) on the Combined cycle. While I didn’t actually get an opportunity to measure it myself, I was certainly impressed by the very slow movement of the fuel gauge needle from full towards empty. This frugal use of fuel does not come at the expense of performance. The car cruised effortlessly at 100 kph (62 mph) on country roads and 120 kph (74 mpg) on motorways. It also had plenty of power in reserve for overtaking, even on motorways. This smooth, silent and relaxed performance, is also greatly assisted by the smooth and positive gearchange.
Today's roads, both here at home in Ireland and in England and Scotland, are in a poor condition, with numerous potholes, both large and small, all over the place. While the suspension gives a smooth and comfortable ride, with good roadholding, it cannot be expected to smooth out all these numerous surface irregularities. Have local authorities forgotten, that road tax was introduced to give them the money to build and maintain roads ? Whatever about building them, MAINTENANCE seems to be something they have decided to completely abandon. They seem to ignore the fact that badly maintained roads damage vehicles’ tyres, steering and suspensions thus causing accidents ! Properly maintained roads are SAFER roads !

The weather was particularly cold in Gateshead. On the morning the above pictures were taken, it was minus four and a half degrees centigrade. It took several minutes for the car to demist the windscreen and a lot longer to produce enough heat to demist the driver’s door window. However, once the windscreen was demisted, it was possible to drive off and the air conditioning produced enough heat to make the interior comfortably warm and relaxing. Even after ten or so miles, there was still a layer of frost on the bonnet and the roof. Whatever about the roof, it indicates how insulating the sound absorbing blanket on the underside of the bonnet is.
When travelling long distances, it is important to have comfortable seats and a comfortable driving position. The Focus certainly provides both. The steering wheel adjusts for both reach and height and requires a sports orientated 2.5 turns from lock to lock. The two front seats adjust for reach, height and backrest angle. The rear bench seat is similarly comfortable, especially for the occupants of the two outer positions. I was surprised to find that the centre position was also relatively comfortable, with a softish cushion and adequate headroom. ISOfix fittings, for child safety seats, are provided in the two outer positions.

The rear seats are divided 60/40 to facilitate the carrying of both passengers and awkward items of luggage. The seat cushion may be raised in sections and placed in a horizontal position behind the front seat. The backrest then drops down into the position so vacated, to provide a level extension to the luggage floor. The backrest will also drop neatly onto the cushion, if you do not need a completely level extension.

Normal luggage space is 0.316 cubic metres. This can be expanded to a maximum of 1.101 cubic metres with both seat backs folded down. In addition there is a black polystyrene tray under the luggage floor, that can carry small items. If that is insufficient for your needs, you can carry up to 75 kg in a suitable container on the roof. Where towing is a requirement, the Focus can manage braked trailers/caravans of up to 2000 kg, or unbraked trailers of up to 665 kg. The car had a Spacesaver spare wheel, which is better than nothing, but is not really suitable for towing.

Above left : Normal luggage space ----------------- Above right : Maximum luggage space.

Above : Spacesaver spare and underfloor storage tray.

The instruments and driving controls are mainly laid out for comfort and ease of use whilst driving. The main instrument display contains four analogue instruments and a small, rectangular display panel. The large analogue dial on the left is the tachometer. It has a black background, white lettering and a blue needle. From 4,500 rpm to 6,000 rpm the markings are in red. Matching it on the right is the speedometer. It is black with white lettering and a blue needle. The black background also has several warning lights which illuminate in red. Between them are two small analogue dials, with the fuel level gauge on the left and the engine temperature gauge on the right. Above them the digital panel shows a variety of different information, including the outside air temperature, trip distance, total distance and other selectable information.

The horizontal arms of the steering wheel have switches for the mobile telephone and audio installations on the left and on the right another to select the information required for the digital information panels. There is a digital information panel at the top of the centre console. When not used for audio related information, it shows the time and date. Audio related switches and controls are in the large panel below. Below this are three round selectors for the air conditioning, controlling the fan speed, temperature and distribution. Below these are further buttons for the windscreen demisting, rear window demisting and other associated functions. The armrest between the two front seats contains a storage box and is the location for the cigarette lighter. Just ahead of it, behind the gearlever and handbrake are two cupholders, with a small open, shallow storage space ahead of them.
Overall I was impressed with this latest Focus and especially the version with the 1.6 TDCi diesel engine. My main difficulty would be to decide which body style to go for. Personally I prefer estate cars, but I must admit to being impressed with both the saloon, which I thought looked very like a Mondeo, and this hatchback, which looked like a slightly bigger Fiesta. At the end of the day, it would probably all boil down to which I could afford.

Technical data