Ford Focus – AutoWeek Test

How do I recognize the new Ford Focus?

You see the Ford Focus everywhere. But that’s really only noticeable if you start paying attention. If you don’t, you just walk past the mostly black and gray station wagons that provide the largest sales numbers. If you pay attention, you can now look for the facelifted ones. They are easiest to recognize by the logo at the front, which is no longer on top of the nose, but is now housed in the grille. The sharper and higher placed headlights, the wider and higher grille and the differently arranged front bumper are also easily recognizable.

Since the facelift, LED headlights are standard, adaptive LED headlights like this one are not.

At the rear, the changes are more difficult to perceive. The LED stripes in the light units now have a slightly different shape, but you have to put both variants side by side to discover the difference. Incidentally, it is striking that the Focus is still so popular, in a world that is increasingly dominated by SUVs, crossovers and EVs. In recent years, it has always been somewhere around tenth in the Dutch sales rankings. In 2022, the Focus dropped a little further down the chart; he no longer fights with the Opel Astra or Volkswagen Golf for the title of ‘best-selling C-segmenter’, but with the … Kia Ceed. What a surprise!

Has anything changed in the interior of the Focus?

The main change to the interior of the Focus is the addition of the huge central screen. Because the rest of the dashboard looks a bit uninspired and even a bit dated, that gigantic touchscreen is a bit out of place. Nothing but praise for the qualities of the screen: the work is fast, clear, offers extensive options and is technologically up to date. The buttons for the climate control are also swallowed up by the screen. Because the controls always remain on screen, you won’t get annoyed easily. That is sometimes different with the digitized climate control systems of other brands …

The larger touchscreen is the big news on the inside.

Behind the wheel you will now also find a digital set of instruments, but that can only be arranged to a limited extent according to taste. You expect more from such a large screen. The bright blue background color is also rather sensitive to taste, in the Sport mode of the Selectable Drive Mode – in which the degree of power steering, the engine’s response to the accelerator pedal and the operation of the air conditioning are adjusted – the instrument panel turns dark gray with red.

You’re still sitting comfortably in the Focus. There is ample space for your head, legs and elbows, and many competitors can still (still) take an example from the Ford in terms of the amount of space in the back seat. That is not at the expense of the trunk space: 392 liters fit in the back. If you fold the rear seat down, 1,354 liters will fit in the cargo hold. Figures with which you can show up in the C-segment. Unfortunately, that is less true for the towing capacity of the Focus: a braked trailer may not be heavier than 1,100 kilos. With the 155 hp automatic version and the sporty Focus ST, 400 to 500 kilos more can be towed respectively.

What does that hybrid system do for the performance and consumption of the Focus?

With the 1.0-litre three-cylinder EcoBoost engine, the Ford Focus is by no means underpowered. In the test car, the small turbo block produces an output of 125 hp. He delivers smooth performance in a civilized manner. You are in 10.3 seconds at 100 km / h and the car has a top speed of 200 km / h. If you opt for the 1.0 EcoBoost with 125 hp, Ford will link you to a six-speed manual transmission. It is sometimes a bit of a search for the fairly low-positioned lever, but shifting – partly thanks to the forgiving clutch – is smooth and without excessive shocks through the powertrain.

Ford calls it hybrid, but it’s actually just a mild hybrid system.

The Focus carries a Hybrid badge on its tailgate, but that promises a little more than the car has to offer. Instead of a full hybrid system – which allows the car to drive fully electrically over short distances – the Focus has a mild hybrid system. In other words: an electric assistant that assists the petrol engine at set times with some extra torque, so that the EcoBoost engine has to work less hard for the same performance. And therefore burns less petrol. The Ford engine has been helped, because during the test period we came to an average consumption of 1 to 17.2. Although 2 kilometers less than Ford promises, but a decent value anyway.

Does that still send a bit, such a Focus?

Yes, Ford has an excellent reputation to uphold when it comes to driving characteristics. The Focus steers nice and sharp, offers an excellent contact feeling and also easily follows the entered lines at high speed. It should be noted that our test car is equipped with a sportier (read: harder) tuned chassis, as part of the ST-Line X equipment level.

These door protectors fold out when the door opens. Brilliant invention.

Is that at the expense of driving comfort? Well, that’s great. Ford knows better than any other car brand (without electronic aids) how to find a nice combination between suspension comfort and driving pleasure. The current Focus has not been on the market that long, in its original appearance the car came on the market in 2018. But also in this area, the Focus is still one of the best C-segmenters.

What other engines does Ford have on offer?

Ford has considerably thinned out the Focus delivery program in recent years. In fact, only four engine variants are still offered in the Netherlands. In terms of power, the 1.0 EcoBoost Hybrid with 125 hp (as in the test car) forms the basis of the range. One step higher is a 155 hp version of the same engine, which can be ordered with a choice of a six-speed manual or a seven-speed automatic transmission. Top version is the 280 hp Focus ST, a real ‘hot hatch’ that has trained in the same gym as the Volkswagen Golf GTI and BMW 128ti. Finally, there is also (still) a diesel version of the Focus, with a 115 hp EcoBlue engine. All petrol versions are available as a five-door hatchback and as a station wagon, the diesel engine is reserved for the Focus Wagon.

What about the equipment of the Focus?

The Focus comes standard in the already quite complete Titanium version. Full-LED headlights, 16-inch alloy wheels, the large 13.2-inch screen with navigation and smartphone integration for Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, automatic air conditioning, front and rear parking sensors, Selectable Drive Modes, you name it.

In the back seat, the Ford Focus is quite well endowed

The Titanium X adds a driver’s seat that can be adjusted in ten different directions, as well as the digital instrument panel, 17-inch alloy, a reversing camera, an extensive audio system with speakers from B&O and a wireless phone charger. The ST-Line goes on a sporty tour, with (compared to the Titanium) black moldings around the door windows, the aforementioned sports suspension and a different front and rear bumper. The ST-Line also shows a bit more swagger than the Titanium on the inside. Finally, there is the ST-Line X, but it actually has the same extras as the X version of the Titanium.

The safety equipment of the Focus passes the test of criticism, but no more than that. Things like an autonomous emergency braking system and self-correcting lane support come standard. For adaptive cruise control, a high beam assistant, traffic sign recognition, drowsiness recognition, blind spot warning, an evasion assistant and cross traffic alert – which warns of approaching vehicles when reversing – are all included in the Driver Assistance Pack. Incidentally, that has a very reasonable additional cost, you are actually doing yourself (and your passengers) a short time by not checking this package on the order form.

The luggage compartment is fine.

The choice of AutoWeek test coordinator Marco Gorter

Motor-wise, the choice is fairly limited, the ST and the 1.5 diesel are only available in one trim level and only make up a small part of sales. The 1.0 Ecoboost is available with 125 and 155 hp. In the case of the Titanium X, the stronger engine is attached to an automatic transmission, in the ST-Line X that engine can also be linked to a manual gearbox. The automatic transmission is not the finest of its kind, so if you go for the 155 hp, the ST-Line X is actually mandatory. Then you are stuck with the sports suspension, which makes the already sturdy Focus a bit tighter. Perhaps it is wiser to settle for less power and go for the 1.0 125 hp Titanium X. Supplement it with the Winter Pack (€500) and Parking Pack (€450) and you have a pretty well-equipped car. The additional cost of the Wagon (€1,250) is worth considering given its added value.