Ford LW Focus: Launch review

Ford LW Focus, Ambiente, Trend, Sport, Titanium

More pics of new Ford Focus range

Sales have reflected this. Even with Ford Australia overcoming many of the issues plaguing the Focus, supply from the South African factory remains a problem. But the South African plant was where the just superseded LV Focus was being built. The all-new LW model tested here will be built for the Australian market at Ford's Saarlouis plant in Germany. After 12 months or thereabouts, production of the Australian-spec car will move to the Ford/Mazda joint venture in Thailand, AAT.

Once that happens, Ford Australia will have fingers crossed that the supply constraints will steadily dissipate. There may be some minor spec changes when Focus production moves to Thailand, but there's no reason to expect build quality will slide. The cars Ford provided for the first local drive program seemed well assembled and the interior of the car was comfortable and stylish overall.

The new Focus is a marked improvement over its predecessor, not least of all in its refinement. Now a global car, aimed at selling in this one basic shape in every market, the new car measures up to the best of what's on offer in our small-car segment.

So the latest Focus should sell in the numbers Ford expects, whatever they are. No one outside Ford is privy to Ford Australia's sales forecast for the new Focus — Lord knows, we tried to find out — but the new car should generate a surge in small-car market demand for the blue oval.

Can Ford meet the demand with its Saarlouis supply chain though? If the company has to wait for the handover to AAT it might be too late to leverage the consumer interest that goes with any car new to the market.

There's a scattering of variants in the four grades across the range, split between five-door hatch and four-door sedan. Ford has three engines on tap, with the 1.6-litre naturally-aspirated petrol four reserved for the base-grade Ambiente. More information about the new Focus range — including pricing — can be read in our news story from the Australian International Motor Show.

In short, the new range kicks off with the same pre-runout pricing as for the superseded LV range, $21,990 for the Focus Ambiente hatch with manual transmission. Powered by just the one engine, a 1.6-litre petrol four, the entry-level model in the range can also be specified with Ford's six-speed PowerShift transmission for $2300 extra — $24,290.

Standard features in this level of trim comprise 16-inch steel wheels, hill launch assist, air conditioning, remote central locking, 60/40 splitfold rear seating, front electric windows, electric mirrors, Bluetooth connectivity, voice control, USB/iPod connectivity, six-speaker audio.

Ford has settled on pricing parity for hatch and sedan. A five-door model of identical spec is priced at the same level as the four-door equivalent, so the for the same price as the Focus Ambiente hatch with PowerShift option, the car can also be purchased in sedan form, but the only transmission in that grade and bodystyle is the PowerShift box. There is no manual variant available, reflecting the more conservative nature of sedan buyers — people who like the transmission to do any shifting for them, and are willing to pay for that.

The Focus Trend is roughly aligned with the LX grade in the LV Focus range. It moves upmarket from the Ambiente, which is aimed more at fleets. Two engines can be specified, a 2.0-litre direct-injection four-cylinder petrol engine with a five-speed manual transmission ($24,490 for the hatch, N/A in the sedan). This engine with the PowerShift option costs $26,790 and can be had in either hatch or sedan configuration. The other engine option is the 2.0-litre turbodiesel, which is only available coupled to the PowerShift transmission and costs $30,500 for either bodystyle.

In addition to the Ambiente specification, the Focus Trend comes equipped as standard with 16-inch alloy wheels, front fog lights, rear parking sensors, manual lumbar adjustment for driver's seat, cruise control and leather gear knob.

Focus Sport replaces the LV Focus Zetec and is available in the same drivetrain/bodystyle variants as the  Focus Trend. The five-speed manual hatch with the 2.0-litre petrol engine costs $27,390, while the same engine and the PowerShift option will set back buyers $29,690 but can be purchased as a hatch or a sedan. $3500 extra ($33,190) will put buyers in the seat of the Focus Sport with diesel power and the standard PowerShift transmission. This drivetrain combination is available as a sedan or hatch also.

A substantial spec upgrade from the Focus Trend, the Focus Sport features the following standard equipment: 17-inch alloy wheels, rear spoiler for hatch variants, heated mirrors with side indicators, , rain-sensing wipers, auto-on/off headlights, follow-me-home lighting, LED tail lights, nine-speaker Sony audio, 4.2-inch centre console LCD, dual-zone climate control, electrochromatic mirror, sports seats, folding rear-seat armrests with integrated cupholders and ambient LED lighting in red.

Topping the range is the Focus Titanium, which is only available with the PowerShift box, but buyers can order either hatch or sedan variants with the 2.0-litre petrol engine, priced at $32,590 or the diesel for $36,090.

Standard equipment for the Focus Titanium, over and above the Sport specification, includes 18-inch alloys, Active Park Assist, Smart Key, start button, partial leather upholstery and heated seats.

The smaller of the two petrol engines in the range features a DOHC valvetrain and variable cam timing to produce peak power of 92kW at 6300rpm and peak torque of 159Nm at 4000rpm. Fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in combined-cycle testing are 6.2L/100km and 144g/km with the five-speed manual transmission, or 6.6L/100km and 154g/km for the PowerShift variant. As with all three Focus engines, the 1.6 is Euro 4-compliant.

As the other petrol engine in the range, the 2.0-litre four-cylinder Duratec offers direct-injection fuel delivery to produce 125kW of power at 6600rpm and 202Nm of torque at 4450rpm. In combined-cycle testing, the larger petrol engine's fuel consumption and CO2 emissions range from 6.6L/100km and 154g/km for the Focus Trend & Sport with PowerShift, to 7.2L/100km and 167g/km for the Focus Trend and Sport manual versions.

The 2.0-litre Duratorq turbodiesel four-cylinder develops 120kW of power at 3750rpm and 340Nm of torque between 2000 and 3250rpm. With just the one transmission, the PowerShift dual-clutch box, all the diesel Focus variants are rated the same for fuel consumption and CO2 emissions: 5.5L/100km and 144g/km.

Drive goes to the Focus's front wheels, with suspension by MacPherson struts. The rear wheels are suspended by Ford's patented Control Blade IRS system. Stopping the car is handled by front ventilated discs and solid discs, measuring 271x11mm, at the rear. The dimensions for the front rotors vary from 278x25mm for the petrol variants to 300x25mm for the diesels.

Although the plastics inside the cabin were soft and compliant, the interior design for the dash seems lacking in pizzazz in the case of the entry-level Focus Ambiente. To illustrate, the Focus Ambiente lacks the grey metallic-finished plastic decorative trim and chrome found in the centre fascia of the Focus Titanium. The other grades are better in this regard, although the LCD display in the centre of the dash of the higher-grade variants is tiny.

Overall, the Focus's centre fascia design is in much the same mould as the Fiesta's and there's little to note that's negative about the car's ergonomics. As a for instance, the controls on the steering wheel spokes have been located closer to the systems they operate — audio system controls on the left spoke, closer to the centre fascia where the audio  head unit sits; trip computer controls are located on the right spoke, changing the information displayed in the instrument binnacle.

Locating the rocker switch for sequential shifting with the PowerShift transmission took us a little while. We were expecting either shift paddles on the steering wheel/column or a separate détente at the lever. Instead, there's a tiny little switch placed very fittingly for the driver's thumb, on the head of the lever. Frankly, it's a really sensible way of shifting gear sequentially — and if that's not your thing, you won't even notice it.

Other observations: the luggage capacity in the sedan seems huge and is rated at 372 litres with a full-size spare. The Focus Ambiente comes with a standard 16-inch (steel) spare as standard, but the other grades come equipped with a spacesaver, freeing up further room for an all-up volume of 421 litres. Would that the hatch were as well endowed: 316 litres with spacesaver or 277 litres with the full-size spare.

Still at the rear of the car, there's no strap or recess in the bootlid for the sedan, unlike the hatch, although Focus C-Platform Project Manager, Gunnar Herrmann advises that will follow for Australian-delivered production cars.

Ford has heavily promoted the Focus's styling — an evolutionary advance on the Kinetic Design that first saw the light of day with the current generation Mondeo. From the front, around the grille and bonnet sculpture lines, the new Focus reminds of the Mazda6 MPS last sold here in 2007. There's a Z-shaped flourish in the front quarter panels, finishing in a sculpture line along the side to the rear quarter panel. It's distinctive and unique, but the rear of the Focus — especially the hatch — looks derivative at times. The tail lights of the sedan and the boot lid owe something to the Hyundai Elantra and the hatch's rear-end treatment seem to combine inspiration from lots of different sources; everything from Korean shopping trolleys to German high-end SUVs.

In the pre-2009 testing that the previous generation Focus underwent, the score was 35 points for adult protection, 40 for child safety and 15 for pedestrian safety.

The LW model comes equipped with dual front airbags, side-impact airbags for the front-seat occupants, side curtain airbags, ABS/EBD, Torque Vectoring Control, stability control, traction control, Emergency Brake Assist and emergency brake lights (flashing lights during heavy braking).

Ford is also promoting in the Focus what it calls Intelligent Protection System, which is basically an umbrella term for the new car's safety features. In addition to those already listed above, IPS also consists of front seatbelt pretensioners/load-limiters, lap/sash seatbelts for all five seats, collapsible steering column and break-away foot pedals. Probably the most significant element of IPS is the CAD-optimised body with an 'ultra-rigid safety cell' and crumple zones.

Looked at another way, what Ford is asking for the entry-level Focus is a high price to pay for a car with a 1.6-litre engine in this era. The point there being no fleet buyers would pay that amount for the Focus Ambiente anyway, but neither Ford nor the fleet buyers would advertise that. On paper then, the Focus is definitely aimed at buyers who are more likely to buy a Volkswagen Golf than a Proton Gen.2.

With more than one diesel variant in the range (with a self-shifting transmission as well), the Focus has the measure of the Mazda3 — although the Mazda is still a car close to our hearts. Other 'premium' small cars that are likely to be confronted in the market by the Focus include Holden's Cruze, Honda's Civic sedan, the previously mentioned Elantra, Kia Cerato, Mitsubishi Lancer, Subaru Impreza, Suzuki SX4 and Toyota Corolla.

At the higher end of the market, Focus could conceivably face off against Euro brands too. In addition to the Golf, there's the Renault Megane and — although it's nominally a mid-size car in fact — the Skoda Octavia. In many ways — but on a slightly larger scale — the Skoda is the car that comes closest to matching what the Focus is and does.

As a small car powered by a four-cylinder diesel, the Focus oiler is just about class-leading for NVH. Coupled to the PowerShift transmission it operates very well, with just occasional vibration as the box selects a higher gear than entirely appropriate for the engine revs and road speed. Otherwise, the diesel is very hard to pick as a diesel from within the car until the driver is working it a bit harder.

Developing 340Nm, it doesn't feel ultimately as strong as many of the other diesels around the traps. As one example, the Mazda3 diesel — admittedly with added displacement — provides an extra 20Nm of torque and feels stronger from launch. The advantage the Focus offers lies in the PowerShift option and its substantially better NVH — two considerations hard to overlook.

Fuel consumption for the drive, according to trip computer and over a route comprising freeways, country roads and Melbourne's Punt Road in peak hour, was 7.3L/100km. Given journalists don't usually drive for economy, that's a pretty impressive figure for the day.

The 2.0-litre petrol engine is smooth and willing to rev. It offers a flat torque curve, in the sense that there's no blip in performance when the engine appears to get its second breath. It just accelerates at a linear rate from idle through to redline. It sounds pleasant and achieves a balance between refined and sporty. There's no droning, no thrashing, just a crisp but muted exhaust note. Perhaps that's why it doesn't feel as gutsy in its straightline performance. Fuel consumption we saw (without the freeway section back to base at Ford) was 11.6L/100km, according to the car's trip computer. That figure arose out of peak hour traffic cutting across Melbourne from St Kilda to Fairfield, plus the usual motoring writers' proclivity to give it heaps wherever possible.

The 1.6-litre petrol engine wasn't tested by motoring.com.au, although the correspondent was on board the Focus Ambiente powered by this engine when a writer from another organisation drove it. His opinion was that the 1.6 is not an engine for open-road touring. While it's quiet and free-revving, it doesn't offer the sort of acceleration we've come to expect from our most popular small cars — and that was with the standard five speed manual transmission. It would be perfectly acceptable driving around town, but it's probably not a recommendation we would make for country touring, hills or hauling around heavier payloads (more passengers or stuff in the boot). Yet, on paper, it develops power and torque that would have been on the money for a 2.0-litre engine five or 10 years back.

On the subject of the five-speed manual, it's easy to use, providing shift quality that is light and precise, but if the budget is available, the PowerShift transmission is easily the preferred box for any variant of Focus. There's an extra ratio, for a start and its shifting is seamless and way faster than any human driver could change gear with a manual. Having driven to the Focus launch in a Volkswagen with a DSG transmission (the same principle as the PowerShift box), the writer can attest that the Ford/Getrag setup is extremely smooth and capable.

If the PowerShift transmission contributes to an overall impression of quiet and comfortable ride quality, then the tyres and suspension play an even larger part in that too. Over some coarse-grade bitumen encountered during the drive program, the Focus's tyres were generally pretty quiet across the range. And the Focus does ride well too, particularly over larger bumps at low speeds (speed humps, for instance) and secondary-level imperfections in the road at higher speeds. These are instances where you really notice the Focus's ride comfort, but it gives away nothing in roadholding or handling. The Focus corners in a flat stance and will step out at the rear on a trailing throttle, but is usually content with a neutral attitude.

If there's one dynamic characteristic that is arguably a step backwards, it's the lower level of feedback through the steering wheel. Turn-in remains responsive for the most part, but the level of power assistance for the steering occasionally lends the car a lighter weight through the wheel and some feel is masked by the nature of the car's electric assistance. It's still a good steerer by the standards of the class, but the Golf 6 is very likely ahead on points now; such comparisons should wait until we can place the two back to back.

Key to pictures: YGC-708 (silver) Focus Ambiente hatch, YGC-711 (silver) Focus Trend sedan, YGC-713 (blue) Focus Sport hatch, YGC-722 (red) Focus Titanium hatch; interior photos show Ambiente (manual) and Titanium (PowerShift)

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