RoadTest: Ford Focus II: The new Focus has all the right things in the right places to keep Ford at the top of the Irish pile. Michael McAleer reports.
Some car designers have it pretty easy. Think of those at Porsche, for instance. They show up in the office once every eight years, reveal the efforts of their hard work ("here we have the new cigarette lighter and revolutionary stitching on the gear lever"), and then it's back to the summer house in Lanzarote for seven more years.
Some of Ford's designers seem to have got in on the act. The Focus team hasn't exactly been overworked in the six years since the first version took to our roads.
Of course, they refer to the new Focus II as "evolution, not revolution", a favourite catchphrase for car companies that can't explain why the "new" car looks identical to the old one.Evolutionary design is relatively simple: just take a photo of old version, then photocopy at 120 per cent. Hey presto, a new evolutionary version!
The two versions of the Focus look so alike that we were rather disgruntled by the total apathy of the general public towards our test car, arguably one of the most important new cars on the market this year. Not a second glance.
In fairness, you have to understand Ford's reluctance to change. Here's a car that's continued to top sales leagues in several national markets even in its final year, which has had plaudits both for practicality and driver enjoyment, and which even now doesn't look that dated. Yet with everyone else in the market changing and upgrading line-ups, Ford couldn't be seen to be lagging behind.
The US giant has always had a thing for the small family hatchback. Ever since the glory days of the Mark I Escort, the blue oval has managed to wow car fans with a fun drive while keeping the rest happy with comfort and space.
The Escort was an icon. To some its rear-wheel-drive antics symbolised the best of motorsport. To others it was the workhorse, tootling along from family visits to daily commutes.
Yet it soon became a blank canvas upon which boy racers played with coloured stripes and spoilers. It seemed to have a magnetic attraction for furry dice and as time went on, the Escort scaled new heights of naffness and Ford decided to call it a day. It was time for a radical redesign and - excuse the pun - a refocus of efforts.
Enter the Focus in 1998. A world away from the Escort, it had noticeably better build quality and a look that put the company back on top of the small hatch sales.
As the Escort symbolised all that was staid and mediocre about the Ford brand, the Focus stood for a future where owners didn't have to accept second best. Since then over 49,000 have been sold in Ireland, making it the best-selling car several years in a row.
The Focus was more sedate than the Escort, but for all that it's still our favourite small hatch in terms of ride and cornering. This new one is no different.
Eager and well balanced, it pitches into corners with a grip that makes you think its attached to the road with velcro. Match these traits with the right power output and you can see why it's such a seller.
It will take a keen eye - and probably an anorak - to tell the new Focus from the old, but one key difference is size. The introduction of the C-Max derivative last year was a clear signal of the direction Ford was going to take with this Focus. Although the roof remains pitched towards more sporting lines, parked beside the old version there's a clear difference.
Inside there's a wealth of space - and when the saloon comes out early next year it will even challenge its supposedly bigger sibling, the Mondeo, in terms of roominess (at least until the arrival of the next generation Mondeo, which is set to be bigger still).
Our test car was the three-door 1.6 Zetec. Legroom in the back equalled anything in the fully-fledged saloon market. Enormous doors open into an airy cabin. The only downside is the long reach back to the seatbelt, something that could be annoying to the more diminutive driver and passenger.
Interior design remains as functional as ever, but plastics are good quality and build seems on a par with some of its German competitors, if not quite as swish and stylish as the upmarket entrants.
The 1.6-litre petrol seems perfect mated with the body and handling, though fuel consumption averaged 26.9 mpg over our time in the car - high but acceptable given some energetic driving. The five-speed gearbox is smooth and well ratioed and engine noise is not intrusive.
Ford has avoided any immediate profiteering with the new model - prices are relatively on a par with the old version. The best-selling LX, for example, is up about €400 on its predecessor.
In summary, here's a Focus with a facelift and extra space that has not exactly taxed the design department. It retains its lead in driver enjoyment and will likely top the sales figures here next year. The car looks good and will sell well. Ultimately that's the sort of news Ford badly needs to hear as it fights off Asian advances.