Ford Focus CC
Road test - October 2007

“The best laid plans o’ mice an’ men
Gang aft agley”
..... Robert Burns

Actually it was less of a well laid plan and more of a spur of the moment thing. The weekend prior to collecting the Focus CC was bright and sunny, so I was really looking forward to my road test of this coupe/convertible. The weather forecast for the week ahead looked promising too, so I decided it may be the perfect time for some exhilarating, open top touring. I could drive over to England and visit my daughter in Newcastle, spending a day touring the Lake District on the way there or back. But the plan, as Robbie Burns would say, “went agley.”
The car I had been testing the week before had a beautifully comfortable seat. On collecting the Focus CC, I went through my normal routine of adjusting the steering, seat and mirrors, before driving off. However, after spending some considerable time making these seat adjustments, I just could not find a truly comfortable position. I decided there and then, that if I could not get really comfortable, there was no way I was going to undertake a long journey in it.

Those tan leather seats looked beautifully comfortable, with the driver’s seat having, reach, height, backrest angle, cushion tilt and lumbar support adjustments, but initially I just could not find a position that suited me. The centre console was always in close contact with my left knee, while the audio controls under the steering wheel got in the way of my knee, every time I operated the clutch pedal.
Over the course of the test I acclimatised myself to these annoyances, accepting that they were part of the price one had to pay, in order to enjoy some really exhilarating open air motoring. It was such a pity, as in many other ways, this Focus CC was one of the best convertibles, of this type, that I have had the pleasure of driving. Given the choice, I would prefer a folding soft top every time, but, of the folding hardtop brigade, the Focus CC is one of the best I have tested.
As the pictures show, the Focus CC was finished in a gleaming black, with a tan and black interior. This latter colour scheme is very popular amongst the Italian upper crust and is nearly the standard offering in cars like Ferrari and Maserati. At least it beats an all black interior ! The Focus CC also included some satin finish metallic silver items of trim, to brighten up the black. While it may not be my preferred choice, I could live with it, without too much difficulty.

Day one was bright and sunny, so I took the opportunity to pursue my first preference and drove it top down all day. I went to bed that night with a smile on my face. I like sitting down low, so the wind flowed up over the windscreen and well clear of my head. In fact I drove with all the windows down too and at no time was I ever troubled by draughts or chilly breezes. As the sun was setting and it began to get cooler, I tried it with the windows up and that too was pleasant and comfortable. The heater seemed to be well able to cope with top down driving conditions. However, I must give a note of caution here, the test took place in late autumn, not winter, so I cannot vouch for the heater’s winter performance, but on the basis of what I found, I have confidence that it is up to the job.
Starting off, the roof takes twenty seven seconds, to go from fully up to fully down. In the reverse direction it takes around twenty four seconds for the roof to be fully up and a further three seconds for the windows to close fully. This is about average for this type of car. You have to keep your finger on the operating rocker switch for the full duration and the car must be standing still. When the job is satisfactorily completed, an audible notification is given. The Focus CC also had a digital reading of the operation in the instrument panel, so you can watch the indicator blocks appear or disappear as the operation progresses.

In the past I have been ticked off by well-wishers for concentrating almost exclusively on the open top aspects and sadly neglecting the coupe side of these cars’ personality. On day two, I decided coupe mode would be the order of the day, so all driving was done with the top up and the side windows down. This produced a very draughty ambience in the interior. If you are prepared for it, with windproof coat and cap, it can be quite refreshing, especially in hot weather, but on a fine Irish autumn day, I would have preferred to have gone topless, as it would have been more comfortable.
Day three it lashed rain for most of the day, so there was no alternative to driving top up and windows up. In these conditions the Focus CC is just like any other closed top car. However, remember it is a coupe, so you need plenty of space on either side to be able to fully open those long and rather heavy doors. Our stingily narrow standard parking bays are almost totally inadequate for a car like this. This is not, I hasten to add, a fault of the Focus CC, but is a difficulty faced by coupes in general.
In adverse conditions, the air conditioning worked well to provide a comfortable ambience inside the car and to keep the windows clear. The windscreen wipers worked satisfactorily when on a full wipe cycle, but when on the intermittent mode they proved to be most annoying. When you did not need them they wiped away like crazy, but when you did need them they appeared to have gone off on a holiday to the other side of the world.
Perhaps road safety could be dramatically improved if we did away with all these fancy, automatic gadgets. If you want something on, why not just flick a switch to turn it on, rather than flicking the switch and then expecting some dumb electronic gremlin to decide when to operate and when to go on vacation !

Over the years I have often wondered if the people who design cars, ever actually drive those cars themselves. This Focus CC is a case in point. Look at that beautifully laid out driving environment. The instruments are easy to see, the audio equipment is both easy to see and within comfortable reach of the driver. Look again and between the two spokes on the left hand side of the steering wheel, you will see a set of switches. Those closest to the hub of the steering wheel are for the cruise control, while those closest to the rim are for the audio equipment. What you cannot see is how low these latter set of switches are below the steering wheel, so in my most comfortable seating position, they obstructed my left knee every time I operated the clutch pedal. Believe me, that is not comfortable ! Then there is that centre console itself. It is fairly wide, so when my left leg was not operating the clutch pedal, it was forced to lie uncomfortably up against the side of the centre console structure. The audio equipment is housed in an attractive silver and shiny black unit. Between the CD slot and the central round knob, is the digital readout for the clock. Unfortunately the ambient light reflects off that shiny black surface, so for most of the time the clock cannot be seen !
The transversely mounted front engine, with front wheel drive layout, started to gain popularity in the late nineteen sixties and early seventies. BMC of course, popularised this layout from 1959 onwards with their Morris and Austin models. Most of these new front wheel drive machines had very poor and imprecise gear shift mechanisms. Ford did not go this route until 1977 when they introduced the Fiesta. At the time we were told it was because they wanted to have a top notch, beautifully precise, by the standards of the day, gearchange. To give that first Fiesta its due, it excelled in this area. Ford, however, do not appear to have moved on since then, so the gearchange in this Focus CC, was nothing to get excited about, unless it was to vent one’s frustration with its imprecise feel. First gear did not like to be selected, so sometimes you found it and other times you didn’t ! This is not the sort of thing that helps driving enjoyment.

Provided your two front seat occupants are not too tall, it is possible to accommodate two adults, provided they too are not too tall, in the two rear seats. While there is a bit of space between these two passengers, they will find their opposite sides, hard up against the sides of the car. Kneeroom and footroom is just barely adequate, but then most four seater convertibles suffer from this situation. Those two rear seats are equipped with ISOfix fittings for child safety seats. The backrests of both front seats tilt and the cushions then slide forwards to provide access to the rear seats. Getting out is a whole lot easier when the top is down, as you can stand upright first and then step out. In coupe mode it is a matter of crawling in and then having to crawl out again. Entry and exit, is of course, a lot easier for front seat occupants. Their main worry is to prevent those wide doors from banging off the vehicles, or other obstructions, on either side of the car.

A four seater convertible is a touring car, rather than a sports performance machine. Drivers naturally want an exhilarating driving experience, but that sheer exhilaration does not have to come from a scintillating velocity alone. Equipped with a 2.0 litre petrol engine, tuned to deliver a specific output of 53.526 kW/lt, this Focus CC has a top speed of 208 kph (129 mph), which I think most drivers will consider to be more than satisfactory. Its acceleration is not lightning fast either, with the 0-100 kph sprint taking 10.3 seconds. Many saloon cars manage that today without bother. It is not so much what it can do, as the manner in which it does it. Top down on a fine day, even ambling along at 60 kph can be a sublime pleasure. That rusty screwdriver, in a bucket of equally rusty nuts of a gearchange, certainly does not encourage the driver, to exploit the potential with some nifty gearchanging.
The ride and roadholding was good, given that I was never tempted to push it to the limits to see what it could do in this area. Many designs converted from normal hard top models, suffer from body rigidity when converted into open top versions. At no time was I conscious of, or troubled by, body shake during my test of the Focus CC. Ford and Pininfarina appear to have done a good job in this regard with the Focus CC.
The folding roof certainly adds a lot of weight to the car. Even so its power/weight ratio still comes in at the upper limits of what can be considered to be sporty, with 18.224 kg/kW. Weight is, of course, the enemy of both acceleration and fuel economy. On the urban cycle, the Focus CC returns 10.6 lt/100 km (26 mpg), while on the extra urban cycle this improves to 5.7 lt/100 km or 49 mpg. This yields a combined cycle average of 7.5 lt/100 km (37 mpg), which will probably keep most people happy, provided you do not do most of your driving in an urban environment.
The steering is pleasantly direct with 2.9 turns from lock to lock. The hydraulic power assistance, takes most of the effort out of steering, but leaves sufficient feel for driver confidence and comfort.
There was one area where I was less than happy with the Focus CC. It comes without a spare wheel, jack or wheelbrace. In its place, below the boot floor is a polystyrene tray that provides additional storage space and holds the air compressor and container of latex for repairing punctures. I have absolutely no confidence in this solution. A Spacesaver spare wheel and tyre would be a whole lot better in my view.
Like most of the folding hardtop fraternity, luggage space has to be compromised when the roof is lowered. In the case of the Focus CC it offers 0.248 cubic metres when the top is down and 0.534 cubic metres when the top is up. This puts it at the top of the class. No other folding hardtop offers as much space, either with the top down, or with the top up. Only the BMW 6 series convertible has marginally more space with the top down, but the Focus CC offers far, far more than the BMW when the top is up. The BMW is, of course, a folding soft top, so we are not comparing like with like.
I know that Ireland is populated by golf fanatics, so as to your burning question, yes, the boot will carry a set of golf clubs - just - and still allow the top to be lowered.

Above left : Top down luggage space below roller blind cover
Above right : Top down luggage space with golf clubs

Above left : Top down ------------------------------- Above right : Top down with golf clubs

Above : Maximum luggage space

This brings us to the crunch question, what sort of deal does the Ford Focus CC offer to the Irish motorist who wants to enjoy open top motoring ? There is a brace of smaller size convertibles that do not offer the same space as the Focus CC, cars like the Peugeot 207 CC, Nissan Micra CC and the MINI Convertible, to name just three. These are generally speaking less expensive. Taking the middle size brigade, The Peugeot 307 CC and the Opel Astra Twin Top are around the same price as the Focus CC, while the Volkswagen Eos is more expensive, when comparing, as far as possible, like with like specifications. The well established Renault Megane CC only comes with a 1.6 litre engine, which is more expensive than the Focus CC with 1.6 litre power. It is about the same price as Focus CC 2.0 with the Zetec specification. Like with like is the difficulty here, as the Opel Astra Twin Top, that costs around the same as the Focus CC 2.0 Titanium, has a 2.0 litre turbocharged engine, so its performance will be more exciting. The Volkswagen Eos has a very sophisticated direct injection, turbocharged engine and as a result its performance is absolutely scintillating, but you do have to pay considerably more for this exhilaration.
Finally the prestige models, with a folding soft top like the Audi Cabriolet, Mercedes-Benz CLK and Saab 9³, all cost considerably more, sometimes up to twice as much, while the Volvo C70, with a folding hardtop and the new BMW 3 series, also with a folding hard top, likewise costs considerably more. All this suggests, that the Ford Motor Company, as gone back to its roots and is doing what they did so successfully for years, namely offering the motorists of this world, good value for their money.

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