I took the new Focus out for a test drive this week. The model was the 1.6 Ecoboost 150 in Titanium spec - I wanted to check what the new, smaller turbocharged petrol engines are like.
First impressions were pretty good. The new Focus feels much bigger, like my old Mk 2 Mondeo as a comparison. The rear seat room looks to be only ok though rather than generous, and all the extra bulk the car has had over previous incarnations seems to be at the front. The car has quite a long nose, and the dash is pretty deep.
That deep dash means that there's a good rake on the windscreen. Very little wind noise at 70 mph but there was a little more road noise than I was expecting. I think it was running on 17" wheels but the tread was getting pretty low - 16,000 miles on them. The suspension is also surprisingly firm for a non-sports model. That helps give very light steering, almost too light compared to the heavy Alfa 159 I drive now. But is also means that whilst the Focus doesn't crash over pot holes or bumps, you certainly really notice them. Not so much audible noise, but you definitely feel the movement of the car.
One thing I really did like were the in car systems. Ford has clearly tried to catch up here, and the displays - all in blue - are very sharp on much higher resolution screens. I wanted to also try out the in-built Sony nav system but sadly they didn't have one available to try.
The engine I really liked, although I don't think it actually has any character or soul in it. It doesn't deliver back any beautiful noise, even when pushed, and seems to be more of an engine than a beating heart of the car. Nevertheless, the power delivery was good. There's far more torque than you'd expect from a 1.6, allowing it to pull strongly. Overtaking in 6th gear could be possible although probably not recommended. It did seem stunted in first gear, and I guess that may be part of the design - it didn't feel right though.
The car had a long term average of 39 mpg over 16,000 miles which doesn't seem to be too bad.
All in all I quite liked it, having owned the previous two versions before (1.6 Mk I and 2.0 TDCI Mk II), and would probably get another one, although not new. There's a 180 bhp version of the 1.6 coming out shortly, and I'd be interested to see how that drives.
In the meantime, I'm sufficiently impressed that I'll start to keep an eye out for year-old models coming up for sale either trade or through auction. Seems a decent car although, saving the obvious part for last, the looks are not exactly to everyone's tastes.... especially the rear!
First impressions were pretty good. The new Focus feels much bigger, like my old Mk 2 Mondeo as a comparison. The rear seat room looks to be only ok though rather than generous, and all the extra bulk the car has had over previous incarnations seems to be at the front. The car has quite a long nose, and the dash is pretty deep.
That deep dash means that there's a good rake on the windscreen. Very little wind noise at 70 mph but there was a little more road noise than I was expecting. I think it was running on 17" wheels but the tread was getting pretty low - 16,000 miles on them. The suspension is also surprisingly firm for a non-sports model. That helps give very light steering, almost too light compared to the heavy Alfa 159 I drive now. But is also means that whilst the Focus doesn't crash over pot holes or bumps, you certainly really notice them. Not so much audible noise, but you definitely feel the movement of the car.
One thing I really did like were the in car systems. Ford has clearly tried to catch up here, and the displays - all in blue - are very sharp on much higher resolution screens. I wanted to also try out the in-built Sony nav system but sadly they didn't have one available to try.
The engine I really liked, although I don't think it actually has any character or soul in it. It doesn't deliver back any beautiful noise, even when pushed, and seems to be more of an engine than a beating heart of the car. Nevertheless, the power delivery was good. There's far more torque than you'd expect from a 1.6, allowing it to pull strongly. Overtaking in 6th gear could be possible although probably not recommended. It did seem stunted in first gear, and I guess that may be part of the design - it didn't feel right though.
The car had a long term average of 39 mpg over 16,000 miles which doesn't seem to be too bad.
All in all I quite liked it, having owned the previous two versions before (1.6 Mk I and 2.0 TDCI Mk II), and would probably get another one, although not new. There's a 180 bhp version of the 1.6 coming out shortly, and I'd be interested to see how that drives.
In the meantime, I'm sufficiently impressed that I'll start to keep an eye out for year-old models coming up for sale either trade or through auction. Seems a decent car although, saving the obvious part for last, the looks are not exactly to everyone's tastes.... especially the rear!
