By Sam Hardy

12th September 2007

There’s no doubt about it – Ford is on a roll! Last week came the first official pictures of the all-new Kuga SUV, before that, we saw the exciting Verve, which is set to replace the top-selling Fiesta early next year.

Now it’s the turn of the all-new Focus to take a bow. As shown earlier this year, it features a fresh-looking face that promises to set it apart from the current crop of family hatchback rivals.

The Ford is making its debut at this week’s Frankfurt Motor Show. And the UK’s best-selling car has been totally revised, with a more upmarket feel and a host of innovations aimed at reducing its environmental impact.

On sale in January, the newcomer will kick off the blue oval’s new year in style. As well as appearances by the Kuga and Verve in 2008, the firm will also offer a first look at the new Ka.

The fresh Focus is the latest instalment of Ford’s style-led renaissance, ushered in under the ‘kinetic design’ banner, which began with the S-MAX people carrier at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show.

However, it’s the new Mondeo from which the model draws most of its visual inspiration. At the front, Ford’s trademark twin grilles dominate the Focus’s face, and these are outlined in chrome on flagship Titanium versions. Large Mondeo-style, swept-back headlights extend towards the top of the wheel-arches, and the raised bonnet has ridges running smoothly into the A-pillars.

Ford has deliberately kept the sides of the newcomer clean and uncluttered to the point where there aren’t even any rubbing strips. At the rear, the Focus gets a new tailgate and lights, a revised bumper and a body-coloured roof spoiler for the top-spec Titanium trim.

This new look, which has been penned by Ford’s design boss Martin Smith and his team, is slicker and sleeker, bringing the Focus into line with the rest of the firm’s models. Inside, more adjustments have been made, aimed at raising quality even further and improving comfort. New instruments, with a central display illuminated in red, brighten up the dashboard, while a soft-touch material covers the upper facia and door trims. The dash has been given a fresh look, as well.

The ventilation and stereo controls have been redesigned on all versions, but flagship variants get a new centre console featuring an LCD screen. The trim line-up itself has been streamlined, and the range will comprise only entry-level Studio, plus Style, Zetec and Titanium levels. However, a stack of new options will be made available. For instance, buyers can choose a power button, which is located by the gearlever and allows the engine to be started without the need for a key. Pressing the button twice starts the engine, and a further press will stop it again.

Other choices include xenon adaptive headlamps and fast-reacting LED tail-lights, plus a tyre-pressure warning system and a 230-volt power socket. There are further technical developments under the skin. For the first time on a Ford, the Focus gets a twin-clutch semi-automatic gearbox – the blue oval’s equivalent of VW’s DSG set-up. Called PowerShift, the six-speed transmission has two intermediate shafts with odd-numbered gears on one and even on the other.

Using this method, the next ratio can be pre-selected, cutting shift times and allowing gearchanges to be made even under full power. The system can be used in full automatic mode or manually. And, because it doesn’t require the use of power-sapping torque converters, CO2 emissions are lower than those for a conventional automatic. PowerShift is available on the 136bhp 2.0-litre TDCi turbodiesel, and fuel consumption is said to be 10 per cent lower.

If it’s environmental friendliness you’re after, however, the new ECOnetic variant is the Focus to go for. But that’s not all. Ford has also lowered the emissions of the regular 1.6-litre TDCi to 120g/km (down from 127g/km) by recalibrating its electronics. This has the added benefit of reducing its annual VED to only £35. A 1.8-litre engine capable of running on bioethanol will further strengthen Ford’s green offerings.

With the current Focus’s reputation for class-leading handling, engineers have deemed its dynamics more than up to the task, and the suspension settings will be carried over unchanged. Current petrol and diesel powerplants will also be offered in the new range, including the flagship 217bhp 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbo unit for the ST.

This will receive the same exterior and interior changes as the rest of the line-up, and join freshened versions of the estate and folding metal-roof CC, which are due to arrive in March. With no price increases expected, who would bet against the new Focus extending its reign at the top of the British sales charts?

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