Ford Focus

Photos: Dominic Fraser/Ford

14th March 2008

Unhappy Ford Focus CC owners are swapping their coupé-cabrios for the facelifted version which debuted at the Geneva Motor Show.

Problematic seals on the original drop-top left around one-third of the firm’s 3,000 CC buyers with leaky roofs. But 500 owners are still driving courtesy cars while waiting for a repair, and 100 more have abandoned the old model altogether, as they have been promised a free upgrade to the new car instead.

A Ford spokeswoman admitted that the original Pininfarina-styled cabrio, which it launched in 2006, was “blighted with problems”. First there were criticisms about the speed of the roof mechanism, then the seals began leaking, and finally production ground to a halt when a tornado ripped the roof off the manufacturer’s Italian factory.

As a result, Ford was forced to set up three specialist centres across the UK to carry out the repairs, and engineers from Pininfarina were flown in to train technicians in fitting the redesigned seal. A spokeswoman said: “It’s been horrible, but our customers have been really patient.” She promised all the outgoing cars would be fixed by mid-May and owners will be given a year’s extended warranty to compensate. When the facelifted version goes on sale in July, it will use revised components.

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