SECOND-HAND SENSE: Anyone who remembers the Ford Escort will appreciate just how radical Ford's "new edge" styling was when the Focus, the successor to the Escort, was unveiled in 1998.
This new edge approach marked Ford's departure from mass manufacturer of three-box saloon cars to a builder of creatively designed cars that had plenty of character.
Not that everything about the styling of the Focus was acceptable though - the hatchback is infinitely better looking than the saloon.
Now set for replacement at the end of this year, the Focus has emerged as far more than a good-looking hatchback. It is a car that has made every other manufacturer sit up and take notice of its dependability record. In 2002 the German equivalent of the AA identified the car as the most trouble-free on sale, over a three-year period. A Which? survey in the same year said the car had a 98 per cent fault-free record.
Despite the fact that the Focus is slotted into the small family car class, it has qualities one would expect from a bigger and more expensive car. Ride and handling are superb and everything from the slick gear change to the responsiveness of the engine (it has to be said, however, that the 1.4 feels a tad under-powered) are suggestive of quality.
Longer and wider than its competitors, the Focus is a very comfortable car for both driver and passengers and, unlike the others, the rear seating area is very spacious indeed. The car has done very well in crash testing and emerged as joint top of the class for secondary safety in NCAP tests. The reliability and quality of the Focus have not been lost on the motoring public and second-hand prices reflect that, but the car is still a keen buy - especially when you consider how long one that has been looked after might last. One garage has a 2000 1.4 model with 19,000 miles on the clock at 11,950, while another has a 2002 model with the same petrol engine at 16,950.
There are almost 20 versions of the Focus on sale, ranging from the basic 1.4 Zetec petrol version to the 1.6 petrol and 1.8 diesels to the 2.0 litre petrol versions. All are quite well equipped, and ABS and power steering are standard across the range.
Although the interior is spacious it is quite dull and dated and, although the Focus almost managed to create a sensation when it was unveiled, the exterior too is beginning to show its age. The Renault Megane is one competitor that shows how the Focus has dated. The new Astra, too, manages to seriously eclipse it, but the new VW Golf does not provide such a foil, toned down as it is.
With the reliability record it has achieved, the Focus is not known for major faults - but it is not without them. Exhausts have been known to rust through, some 1.4 and 1.6 models have problems with spark plug interference affecting the general electronic module, which controls things like central locking and airbag operation. The fuel level sensor in some cars has also caused problems and inconvenience.
Overall, though, it's an excellent car with fantastic reliability, good economy and a generally good dealership back-up. If you get one with low mileage and a service record it might even make a good alternative to a range of lesser new cars.