MOTORNETNEWS  ROAD  TEST  -  OCTOBER  2007

FORD  FOCUS  TDCi DIESEL HATCH

Ford's Focus is now the company's second best seller and, with the introduction of the new diesel option, could eventually overtake Falcon as the top seller. It has already surpassed the Territory this year. The Focus is a smart, modern looking small car with excellent use of interior space, very good ride and excellent handling characteristics and now with a very reasonably priced diesel engine up front. The economical turbo diesel has almost sports car performance and the only drawback is the absence of an auto transmission option.

OUTSIDE:

The sleek good looks of the diesel Focus are shared with its petrol siblings - curvy lines, swept back lights, flared guards and wide mesh air intake. The five-door hatch incorporates three windows each side and a nicely rounded off rear end with high-mounted taillights running up the C Pillars and a small dust deflector/sunshade extending from the rear roof line. Chunky five-spoke alloy wheels complete the very neat picture.

The guard flares are joined across the bottom of the doors with a sculpted crease line. Body coloured exterior mirrors and door handles add a touch of class as does the rubber insert in the rear bumper. There's a rear washer/wiper system on the panoramic rear window.

The engine hood is opened with the ignition key inserted into a lock hidden by the Ford logo emblem in the grille. The engine layout is neat and tidy with good access to dipstick, battery and screen washer reservoir. 

INSIDE:

The cloth trim is black with patterned inserts in the comfortable seats. the front seats are fully adjustable. Above the window line the trim is in a lighter grey to give the interior a quite light and airy ambience. The steering column and front seat belts have height adjustment.

The dashboard layout is uncluttered  with large, simple audio and air-conditioning controls with the audio ones repeated on the steering wheel. The cruise controls are also on the wheel and are very user friendly. The 4-spoke wheel has silver trim highlights and the dashboard also has silver  trim additions.  Ahead of the driver is a deep binnacle with large white-lettered, black background dials. 

There is a centre, two-tiered armrest/bin between the seats and two 'make believe' cup holders in the console.  Each sun visor has a covered vanity mirror, there is a smallish glove box and door bins.  The hand brake and cupholders are obviously designed for the European left hand drive version. 

Leg room front and rear is extremely good as is the head room all round.  The rear seats are adult friendly and very comfortable. 

LUGGAGE AREA:

The roomy boot has a cargo cover and is quite deep with a bit of a lift to get heavy items over the rear lip. The rear seats have a split fold feature to increase luggage space, however, there is plenty of room in any case for a family's luggage.

The solid floor hides a  steels pare wheel and temporary tyre.  The hatch door opens easily on gas struts. The squared off design of the luggage area is very luggage friendly. The baby seat restraint lugs are on the seat backs so that the straps don't intrude on boot space.

ON THE ROAD:

With 320Nm of torque developed from 2000rpm, the 2-litre, turbo diesel performs extremely well with flashing acceleration and the ability to run at quite low speeds in the high gears. This helps to make the Focus a very economical means of transport and a week of almost all urban driving resulted in a very good economy figure of 6.1 litres per 100km. The diesel engine is fairly quiet once you are on the move and there is only a slight diesel knock when idling. 

The six-speed manual gear box is a joy to use and combined with the excellent handling makes this a fun car to drive. The ride tends towards European sports car with some harshness at low speeds but it is  a small price to pay for the great grip and cornering performance. On rough broken surfaces the suspension can become noisy at times.

PRICE:            $27,990 plus on road costs - manual only available.

STANDARD:    Dual front & side airbags; ABS brake system with Electronic Brake Distribution; air-conditioning; 16" alloy wheels; cruise control; fog/driving lights; engine immobiliser; power mirrors, steering & windows; 4-speaker radio/CD; rear spoiler; front seat belt pre-tensioners; trip computer.

OPTIONS:        6-stacker CD player $350; metallic paint $310; Safety Pack $650.