The Ford Focus is back and more stylish than ever
Ford first launched the Focus in 1998 and since then more than 12 million have been sold worldwide, including 6.9 million in Europe – where Ford builds a new Focus every 90 seconds. The new Focus offers a more powerful, yet frugal engine line-up, consisting of the award-winning 1.0 EcoBoost and new 1.5‑litre EcoBoost petrol engines.
Ford’s updated Focus is available in a four and five-door guise, and in the new exterior colour Deep Impact Blue. The new Focus has a lower, wider stance, with a new bonnet, front fascia and grille. The bonnet is sculpted with a dynamic shape from the front pillar to the corners of the upper part of the inverted trapezoidal grille to deliver a strong, proud look. Slimmer, chiselled front headlamps and elongated fog-lamps add to the bolder front end. Subtle chrome details add to the feeling of elegance while the rear of the car also is sleeker with a new fascia and tailgate arrangement, as well as thinner tail lamps.
Ford used a lot of customer feedback when it redesigned the interior of the new Focus. The new black satin trim and chrome detailing contribute to a cleaner, more modern look. Further, the redesigned centre storage console offers more space as well as a new sliding, integrated armrest. The adjustable console accommodates a variety of bottles and cups with the capacity to simultaneously hold a one-litre water bottle and a 0.4-litre cup. Focus customers also will experience superior interior quietness, achieved with thicker carpets, thicker side window glass, and improved engine bay insulation.
The new Focus offers fuel efficiency improvements of up to 19 percent compared with the current model, and a significant reduction in emissions across the range.
For the first time in South Africa, the Focus is available with the 92kW 1.0‑litre EcoBoost engine that was named the International Engine of the Year for an unprecedented third successive year in 2014. One in three Focus models in Europe were sold with the 1.0‑litre EcoBoost engine during the first half of last year, proving just how successful this combination is.
The new Focus is also offered with Ford’s new fuel-efficient 1.5-litre EcoBoost petrol engine that delivers 132kW of power and 240 N.m of torque. Both EcoBoost engines use a six-speed manual transmission. A six-speed SelectShift Automatic will be available on the 1.5 EcoBoost models later this year.
With enhanced handling and steering, the new Focus takes the model’s driving dynamics to a new level. Ford engineers have delivered a more solid, responsive and connected-to-the-road feel.
The Electric Power Assisted Steering has been retuned to make the driver feel even more connected to the road. Ford’s industry-first Enhanced Transitional Stability system monitors vehicle speed and the driver’s steering input to predict a loss of traction before it actually happens and trigger Electronic Stability Control sooner to enhance safety and help deliver smoother journeys.
The highly acclaimed driving experience is further refined with improvements to noise, vibration and harshness that help deliver greater levels of interior quietness, and contribute to a more relaxing and stress-free environment.