The new Ford Focus is fairly attractive, well built, well specced anywhere above Ambiente level, and safe, too. Furthermore, the Focus is a pretty damn important car, being a main contender in the C-segment as well as a major part of Ford’s line-up. So with that in mind, we were all pretty excited when the blazer blue test unit arrived at our Jo’burg office a few weeks back.
The unit delivered was a two-litre oil-burner mated to a PowerShift auto ‘box and dropped into a sedan body. Two-litre diesel auto sedan? I’d be lying if I told you my excitement didn’t wane quickly…
The styling of the Focus caused some consternation too – some of us reckoned the sedan looked better than the hatch, but I just couldn’t get Korea out of my mind when looking at the boot. That said, it’s not an ugly car.
Ford’s kinetic design suits the Focus, with a strong, attractive, albeit fiddly front end, bold wheelarches and a sweeping profile that gives the haunches of the car a muscular look. However, it’s not overly attractive either.
That’s the thing with this car; nothing about it is bad, but there isn’t an awful lot about it that stands out, either. Inside, Ford has used decent materials and they’re put together well. It’s comfortable, even though full leather seats are not an option even on the top-of-the-range model – there you only get partial leather.
Turn the key and the mediocrity continues – the two-litre diesel, which boasts 120kW and 340Nm, isn’t slow, but the combination of turbo and gearbox lag off the mark amounts to 2.2 seconds, and driving around town that’s just no good. Then, when that power does come on tap, you’re treated to one big tug before you can finally cruise along nicely. By which time you’ve reached the next traffic light and have to do it all over again.
Once you’re going though, the car’s Focus nature does start to show through. Overtaking is fast, with 80-120km/h taking 6,9 seconds, and it’s brilliant in the corners. The chassis is taut and makes for great handling and stacks of fun through the bends, although a perkier petrol engine that you can rev more would be nicer under the bonnet through a mountain pass.
Next Page : The gearbox & specifications
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