New Ford Focus is here!

Ford Focus on serious improvements,though shape not for all

Lets face it Ford really do make good cars that drive better than most and sell well,whatif anything can be wrong?
The bad points are they keep engines too long before update,Continue penny pinching by removing say a light bulb for example on say an internal glove compartment on a ghia even though I must say most improvements seen on this car appear to be for the better technially. Apart in my view electric power steering and the horrible bland body shape like all their other models,for the Focus a bad move? The focus had a good shape of its own and was close to being a classic car to match VW Golf if they only matched the germans on interior finish, sorry Ford its seems the US still does not know what makes a good car great.

By browser0072000 on 11 January, 2010, 9:48am

WtheF???

How is it possible for a company that just put out a clever and beautiful fiesta to put out such an ugly design??? The interior is really good though and seems of even greater quality than some comptetitors. Astra for example. Still VW not in terms of desinging a good quality reactangular conservative interior but surely more interesting and plastics look great in pictures. Autocar has far more pictuers.

By giorikas81 on 11 January, 2010, 10:36am

I just hope it is the US version and a more fiesta like is coming for europe...

By giorikas81 on 11 January, 2010, 10:37am

bumbar

Loock the picture from "Ford`s new Focus family", and comparative with new Focus. For me this is bigggggg disappointment. Like a korean car from 2000 year. Big shit

By bumbar on 11 January, 2010, 12:49pm

Hmmm

I can't decide yet if I like it or not. It would certainly appear to be quite a bit bigger than the current Focus. Rear light clusters are an interesting shape extending into the rear flanks, shame AE couldn't get some shots of the interior. Unofrtunately I think Ford have succumbed to making it into a similar shape in the rear profile to virtually every other manufcturer, e.g. Vauxhall's Astra, Mazda 2 etc. The current focus does have an edge in that respect but I'm not sure if the new Focus has what it takes to beat these in the styling department. We'll see.

Engine options sound good though. Maybe Ford could make up for the lack of enterprise in the styling department with a decent standard equipment list, even for the entry level models.

I think I'd have to see one in the flesh in order to make a valid comment about its appearence.

By nick7 on 11 January, 2010, 3:50pm

Hmmmm 2

Having stared long and hard at the pictures again, I'm still not convinced. I wouldn't be as harsh as some here to say it's outright ugly, but it certainly doesn't fill me with the urge to buy one. The front looks nice enough although not a big departure from what has already gone before, but that profile, especially from the three quarter view, I can't see myself getting one, even if I had the finances to do it. If the car took a hit on that rear flank it's going to be really costly to repair I think. That rear light cluster goes a long way into the rear wing area. The lens itself is huge in itself so just to replace this on its own isn't going to be small beans.

By nick7 on 11 January, 2010, 4:00pm

Focus world car, lets hope not.

Was hoping it was going to be another stunner from Ford like the new Fiesta.

Ford will have a tough time selling this Focus, when its up against the new Golf, and the stunning new Astra.

Was expecting something a bit better than this from Ford.

By Richie767 on 11 January, 2010, 4:32pm

Oh...

The face and the ridiculous tail lights are the issue here. The lines on the lower grille, and the rounded edges of the headlamps where the fiesta has points, make the car look ugly. An americanised version of a great european car. I think the current model looks nicer

By 05li139 on 11 January, 2010, 5:17pm

Yawn

Well I don't like the current Focus, which doesn't drive anywhere near as well as some say it does, and this is just a total bore, with the ugliest, most rediculous tail lights I have seen on any car for some time. Nowhere near radical enough and compared to the new models coming from Vauxhall and others, not good enough. In another year, it will already be old fashioned. As for trying to emulate the Fiesta, well the front view of that is fine, but from the back.........er no thanks, don't bother.

By Debbie312 on 11 January, 2010, 5:48pm

Good overall effort, spoiled by stupid tail lamps.

Hopefully, as with the Fiesta, the Focus has been tweaked ever so slightly for the American market and the Euro version will be better. But I don't have much hope for it given the complexity and expense of offering a different design on a 'world car'. The rear / front bumper and grille assembly is likely to be better resolved for the European model, as the Americans seem to often produce somewhat incongruous looking models for the home market. However, I don't think this Focus is all that awful, until that is it's seen in hatchback form, from behind. Those tail lights are well and truly horrible. This is where they've missed an opportunity I feel. These are the worst looking tail lights since those unfinished looking units on the current Megane 5dr and the most ridiculously oversized lamps I've seen since the 207 SW. They're just outlandish and completely oversized for their function. They also don't seem to bear any relation to the overall design language of the car. They are stupid. The sedan benefits from looking like a cross between a Fiesta and a Mondeo, albeit a tad funkier than the latter. The tail lights by comparison are more in keeping with the overall forms of the car, I quite like it. But the hatch just doesn't gel. I'll take a Giulietta thanks.

By pdmccmdp on 11 January, 2010, 6:51pm

Not a looker, but it'll drive well?

Like others I had hoped for something as stylish as the Fiesta. Shame we can't have the Astra's or Civic's looks with the Ford's drive quality and the Golf's build.

Fingers crossed that it looks better in the metal.

By spindler1955 on 11 January, 2010, 9:40pm

Another Dull Focus

What happened to the excellent designes that you published a few weeks ago? I thought that they were the finished product, but it seems you have done it again - you show us pictures of superb looking cars, which I assumed were the official product, then the manufacturer releases something like this. It has happened time and time again.
Also, Ford, please don't make your interiors, for me the most important part of the car, look like German ones. They are all so dull.

By raylat on 12 January, 2010, 8:53am

Another Dull Focus

What happened to the excellent designes that you published a few weeks ago? I thought that they were the finished product, but it seems you have done it again - you show us pictures of superb looking cars, which I assumed were the official product, then the manufacturer releases something like this. It has happened time and time again.
Also, Ford, please don't make your interiors, for me the most important part of the car, look like German ones. They are all so dull.

By raylat on 12 January, 2010, 8:54am

World Economy will help this car

I have already given a view above,however Listen Ford - we might forgive the rear shape, BUT do yourself a favour and put a rear camera as standard on all models and Luminous paint on all Knobs and internal switch/gear a major improvement for many , body design re streamlining is fine for fuel economy but you can't park easily and sensors are not total answer.
These 2 areas have been far long overlooked by stupid designers and penny pinchers car co accountants ..
Dark interiors and dashes need visual switchgear.Lets see them please.

By browser0072000 on 12 January, 2010, 10:55am

Out of Focus?

Hmmm. I'm not sure about the front end treatment, looks as though someone changed their maind! The rear lighgts are awful. The blank panet below the lens is presumably to allow for a redesign at some point in the future without changing metalwork. The existing Focus rear lights had to go becuse of visibility prolems; they get covered in snow too easily.
The real challange will be interior fit & finish - this is where Ford lag behind VW. And a starting price of £15000. That's not cheap. As soon as Ford start discounting, residual values will suffer - as usual for a FOrd. It's a good try Ford, but perhaps too conservative once again?

By j_harden on 12 January, 2010, 1:32pm

UGLY, UGLY, UGLY!

Can you envisage looking at that every morning, you be praying for snow so you wouldn’t have to drive it and it would be hidden from the neighbours! Ford designs over the years have generally been very good, especially the new Mondeo and Fiesta. Take the badge off this ugly mug and a Far East European design copy springs to mind. What's with the lights, they're hideous! I can't understand the propensity these days for bigger and bigger light units. Take a leaf from Alfa's book and look at the Romeo, they don't have to be out of all proportion and ugly!

With the four price rises last year and now this, if I was looking for a mid-size car I would look at a Golf, but favourite would be the Kia Cee'd, because it now looks better, it’s cheaper, and comes with a seven year warranty as standard. Sadly, looks like Focus is now sliding down the new mid-size car list at a rate of knots.

By soulrebel on 12 January, 2010, 2:58pm

Disappointing

UH! How can Ford change such a beautiful concept into such a hideous vehicle?
Considering the earth shattering prices they expect us to pay for a Ford in the UK now I expected something a little more exciting.

By rayj2010 on 12 January, 2010, 3:52pm

Designed by Committee. Badly

This a blatant branding exercise.

The big cheeses at Ford have jumped on the 'lets-make-all-cars-in-our-range-look-the-same' band wagon.

What's worse is that they've not developed the best features from other models in the line up, and furthermore they've taken design cues from Vauxhall?!

Front headlights - Signum / Corsa / New Astra

Wheels - Astra, last model. changheable yes - but for a show?!?!)

Front bumper - Mondeo, not a design cue I'd take. and too tall.

Back bumper - Fiesta - uninspiring and drags it down in percieved value

Back lights - J-U-S-T- -A-W-F-U-L (better on the saloon - was it designed around the saloon originally - looks like a mini Mondeo?)

Overall I agree with LegioIXHispana - the whole is less than a sum of it;s parts. It looks like a Kia Cee'd. No. It looks worse than a Kia Cee'd.

And as a Mk 2 pre-facelift Focus ST owner, who feels the facelift was a massive step in the right direction, I'm appaled that Ford have dropped their balls and then proceeded to run them over.

They should, should, should look at AE renderings...

By Cavester3 on 12 January, 2010, 9:02pm

Designed by Committee. Badly

This a blatant branding exercise.

The big cheeses at Ford have jumped on the 'lets-make-all-cars-in-our-range-look-the-same' band wagon.

What's worse is that they've not developed the best features from other models in the line up, and furthermore they've taken design cues from Vauxhall?!

Front headlights - Signum / Corsa / New Astra

Wheels - Astra, last model. changheable yes - but for a show?!?!)

Front bumper - Mondeo, not a design cue I'd take. and too tall.

Back bumper - Fiesta - uninspiring and drags it down in percieved value

Back lights - J-U-S-T- -A-W-F-U-L (better on the saloon - was it designed around the saloon originally - looks like a mini Mondeo?)

Overall I agree with LegioIXHispana - the whole is less than a sum of it;s parts. It looks like a Kia Cee'd. No. It looks worse than a Kia Cee'd.

And as a Mk 2 pre-facelift Focus ST owner, who feels the facelift was a massive step in the right direction, I'm appaled that Ford have dropped their balls and then proceeded to run them over.

They should, should, should look at AE renderings...

By Cavester3 on 12 January, 2010, 9:09pm

Jeff Longhurst

It looks nice from almost every angle but my opinion changes when i see the front. It gives the impression of pimp my ride gone wrong . It would look a thousand times better if it had the bumper styling of the silver focus "on the horizon" article, very similar to the front bumper of he current focus St .

By mrjlonghurst on 14 January, 2010, 10:08am

Doesn't look like a Ford.

At least for the US market. Looks like Ford is going to finally start selling the European versions of its lineup of smaller cars here in the US, which I've thought they should have done years ago to give consumers a alternate choice over Mustangs, Taurus, F-150, and so on.

I liked the first focus. It was tastefully done. But this version to me looks like just about any car that could be produced by any number of primarily Asian automakers. That's not to say that its a bad design. This car will probably do a lot for Ford in the US market simply because it is shockingly different from the product they sold here for decades. It looks modern, well-engineered, and has the aforementioned Asian influenced design that young drivers in metro areas like NYC and San Francisco tend to go for. So if they are trying to recapture the youth market- other than the type of consumer who buys a Mustang GT, then this and the Fiesta are good steps in that direction.

By setharp4 on 14 January, 2010, 3:47pm

No, No, No. What went wrong Ford?

As a long term Ford fan, they seemed to have dropped the ball again and gone for a mismatch of styling ques for the Mk3 Focus. How could they gotten it so wrong? For some reason whenever Ford release a great/interesting new design of car (new Mk 6 Fiesta anyone?), for the next car they release, they put out a few very promising sketches before releasing a boring/compromised design (Mk 5 Fiesta/Fusion/Ka Mk2 ring any bells?). I only hope this is just for the American market and not Europe otherwise Vauhall/Opel and VW will be rubbing their hands with glee! Get it sorted Ford!

By Pinski on 19 January, 2010, 3:08pm

They've produced an ineptly detailed Astra! After the dour Mk2 Focus I'm surprised that they've not produced something that's at least a bit more dynamic looking - they seemed to hit the mark with the current Fiesta and Mondeo.

The original Focus was a rare beast - a mainstream car that was genuinely different and desirable. I'm just disappointed that they both rust and have somehow managed to keep their value (they're now at the sort of price I pay for a motor!).

By cakewalker90 on 21 January, 2010, 12:33am

ITS A FORD SO WILL SELL

I quite like the overall look but dissapointed that Ford have not designed a car more cutting edge as they did with the first Focus. being a Ford it will drive well, wear well and sell well, but why oh why that grill?.

By botved on 27 January, 2010, 3:57pm

Well in my opinion the car is more beautifull than the current focus(mk 2)and i love the rear lights more than the boring rear lights of this focus.I see that many of you are writing about the ugly rear lights of the new focus and then i remember all the bad comments that we had done about the first focus(mk 1).The design of the first focus was so different from the escort that many of us said that focus will be a total failure...But when we saw focus new technology(esp,control blade)superior handling and how thrilling was its driving we forgot everything,we forgot its design(for me the first focus was the best looking of all focus but revolution in now days is something very difficult)and the car became a best seller!Mutch more than the escort.I am sure that the same will happen and with the ford focus mk 3.It contains technologies like my ford touch,ford sync,dynamic corner control,electric power assist,driver warning,auto parking plus that we will have new engines and a new driving experience in the c-segment compare to ford and its easy to see why focus will sell.The only thing in my opinion that must be change to that focus is the infront.Well done ford!

By Mrx34 on 9 February, 2010, 7:45pm

Dull Dull Dull!

This car looks like a hundred other cars on the roads. Ford really need to buck up their ideas or they will be forever linked with having crap cars that no one with taste would touch.

By bigbazza on 15 April, 2010, 3:51pm