Ford Focus ECOnetic revealed

wheels trims???? so how come the golf blue motion has alloys??

By cosworth28 on 6 April, 2011, 3:27pm

Yes agee does seem strange

Especially since even the lightest steel wheels will always weigh more than the lightest alloys...so surely reducing the unsprung weight by fitting light (albeit flush) alloys would have a greater effect on economy? Shame not available with an auto option as from memory VAG DSG options are more frugal than their manual cousins?

By MarkTMorgan on 7 April, 2011, 7:55am

At last...

An eco car I wouldn't be embarrassed to sit in. Low rolling resistance tyres probably means thin, and yes trims are not as flash as alloys but are about 25% of the cost, a price worth saving, me thinks. I like the dashboard that tells you off, puts the blame on you for being heavy footed. Roll it out - well done me old Henry!

By craiglife on 7 April, 2011, 9:58am

FORD FOCUS

I have a petrol engined 1.6 Zetec which I purchased in 2010 and struggle to get 30mpg. I do about 6,000 miles per year and I am not heavy footed but economy is poor.

By delwil61 on 7 April, 2011, 10:04am

Good, but not good enough

Why develope a diesel car when the cost of diesel is now more expensive than petrol. The whole point of why motorists changied to diesel powered cars was the lower cost of the fuel but fuel companies and governments realised this and started to put up the cost of diesel. so they would make even more money from motorist. Seems such a shame we still need reliance on oil and the people who have become very rich from our dependancy!!

By cubandco on 7 April, 2011, 10:05am

what is the price?

Wont be worth buying if it takes 10 years to recover the outlay in fuel savings

By John_H8 on 7 April, 2011, 10:23am

Good idea....in theory

I agree cubandco. The same will happen with road tax, in a few years time when low emmission cars are more popular the government will lower the co2 pricing brackets forcing people who shelled out for "economical" cars like this to pay the £150 mark again. Otherwise the crooked government will be out of pocket?.
But at least we are saving the planet....bullsh!t.

By Monkeyboy76 on 7 April, 2011, 10:42am

stick with the regular Diesel

i had a 1.6tdci focus about 4years ago and that could return upwards of 60mpg using just a 5spd gearbox,it was a nice car except the long list of faults.The sacrifices made in the new econetic to save on oad tax and a few mpg is not worth it.Why do they insist on showing new models in such unflattering colours,this colour looks like my grandads 70s Austin Princess. Diesel is about 5% dearer than Petrol but if a 1.6 petrol is getting barely half the mpg,then Diesel power still makes sense for medium to high mileage users.

By nickbsmooth on 7 April, 2011, 11:26am

yes indeed

But what is the real as opposed to the PR wet dream mpg figure? Incidentally, Ford's clever active grill shutter is also standard on pre-war Lagondas.

By fleabane on 7 April, 2011, 12:06pm

New Focus ECONetic 80 MPG

Once again these offical fuel consumption figures are totally misleading. I have done a fair bit of research into official figures versus real world figures and have found generally that the real world figures are generally at best about 70 percent of official figures. For example I drive a Mazda 3 1.6 diesel (basically the same engine that the Focus will use), the official combined MPG is 64, the best that I (and others) can achieve is about 40 MPG combined driving.
I would bet that this New Focus will be lucky to get 50 MPG combined. For a revealing article on this topic have a look at What Car Feb 2011 edition.

By owend4 on 7 April, 2011, 1:36pm

A welcome improvement

So, there's some complaints about gaps in fuel consumption figures vs. real-world. It is, then, relative, correct? So if this car - a cleaner, more efficient version of a really great small car - gets a boost in economy, is cleaner, and is still a very decent drive, what is all the complaining about? Would news of less comfort, worse mpg and more pollution be easier to take? Great job, Ford!

By jwojewidka on 7 April, 2011, 3:01pm

Why arnt the aerodynamic tweaks, low friction gearbox oil and other tweaks fitted as standard across the range? What we have here is the car all Focus's should be. Others are deliberately engineered down and decontented so they can charge a premium for the proper car.

By hampson10 on 7 April, 2011, 5:28pm

Steel wheels....not a mugs choice

Alloys.. sure they are lighter, and they look pretty.. but steel wheels are more forgiving in this day and age of rutted and potholed roads, and if you do happen to damage them they are cheaper. Also they don't start to develop slow leaks due to loss of lacquer as they age. As for alloys making a difference to economy.. very little.. the difference in weight only has a negative effect when accelerating, better aerodynamics has a positive effect all the time, and the faster you go the more effect it has.

By julianm9 on 7 April, 2011, 8:44pm

Fugly Duckling...

It could be made of Belgian chocolate and be offered on a BOGOF deal and I still wouldn't buy one, It's so ugly it almost makes me barf... :D

By sgtgrash on 8 April, 2011, 12:48pm

Published MPG

Published MPG are always conservative, I can get at least 5MPG more than the manufacturers quoted figure on any car I drive - as long as there is no fault.

By anders on 8 April, 2011, 8:11pm

Still not desirable.

It might be the cleanest and most frugal focus but it still looks ugly and boring. You'd get more fun from a Kia!

By JTravolta77 on 9 April, 2011, 1:29am

OK

At least the wheels don't appear too small as they do on many other eco models and ruin the look of the car. Also, alloys don't always look prettier, witness the Polo Bluemotion. Not only are they an unattractive design, but they are too small resulting in an ungainly appearance. I'm all for eco models but not at the expense of looks.

By erly5 on 9 April, 2011, 7:26pm

About Time!

Thank god they've finally dumped that awful injection system, which has plagued the Focus for the last 13 years.

By davemac123 on 12 April, 2011, 1:22am

Real world economy

I have the current non start/stop Ford Focus Econetic 1.6 diesel 105bhp model since October 2010 and over 13756 miles I have averaged 71.76miles per gallon, on long journeys have had over 80 mpg and on one occasion i have had 99.99 mpg for 40 miles, this clearly shows that the official figures can be better if you try, i drive to get the best i can and as the touque peaks at 1800 rpm this equals 59mph so this is the speed i drive at, the new model would allow me to better these figures, as this is a company car, i am charged for my private milage but with these mpg figures i am averaging 8.94 pence per mile. - a great car and figures are getting better as it get run in and the temps are increasing from the very cold winter.

By Plucky on 5 May, 2011, 10:20am

Lets be honest....

Ford doesn't make the Econetic range with retail customers in mind. They never have. The Eco range is there predominantly for company car drivers, pool cars and any other type of car that a company will get a charge for based on emissions.

When you realise this and THEN contemplate the look of the car.... do you really think companies give a monkeys? Or that the company car drivers who have one ACTUALLY car what it looks and drives like..... or are they counting the exrtra pennies in their purses?

By Varro on 10 May, 2011, 6:05pm