The Focus was always going to be a hard act tro follow, but Ford has made it bigger, quieter and tighter on the road. Andrew Hamilton got the behind the wheel of the new version of Ireland's best-selling car
It's a hard act to follow and everyone at Ford admits it. The Focus broke radical new ground away back in 1998. Now it's being replaced, but the new model that we drove last week in Italy is now more evolutionary than revolutinary.
Ford was deemed daring and avant-garde when it took the wraps off the successor to the very mundane Escort. The public everywhere liked what they saw and the Focus became Ford's best-selling car.
About four million went on European roads, 15,000 of them in Ireland. Quite apart from distinctive looks, the Focus won many accolades for its dynamic driving qualities, a benchmark for rival manufacturers looking for superior ride and handling.
We put the Focus Mark 11 through its paces on a 200-kilometre Tuscan test route that was peppered with amazingly sharp bends and steep gradients. "It's deliberate," said Ford's Ian Slater. "We wanted a route to emphasise that the dynamic character of Focus is still there and indeed has been enhanced."
New Focus uses the same platform as the Mazda 3 and Volvo S40. Wider tracks and a longer wheelbase have given it the benefit of increased stability but on the challenging bends it seemed impossible to induce any cornering body roll.
The two models we drove, 1.6 and 2.0 litres, maintained a leech-like grip on the road, always showing poise and discipline despite all provocation.
There were things that needed fixing from the old car, according to Gunner Hermann, vehicle line director. One was noise, vibration and harshness, known in the trade as NVH. "It was a top priority. It wasn't that the old Focus was noisy, just that the competition was getting quieter."
And, of course, it's bigger, being almost 160mm longer than the current model and identical in length to the current C-Max.
For Chris Bird, the design director, the objective was "a new Focus that looks more mature and grown-up emphasising sportiness and spaciousness and, of course, quality." Striking visual impressions from our Tuscan drive were of the bigger and wider profile and an almost coupé-like roofline.
The quality aspect is strongly evident in the interior which was the overall responsibility of Mick McDonagh, from Tobercurry, Co Sligo.
"People sense quality in the touch and feel of knobs and handles," he said. Significantly there is now a two-tone finish to the fascia with a posh-looking blue option for the upper part. "Some people told us they didn't like black," McDonagh added.
There's not enough space to accommodate all the facts and figures about new Focus. It goes on Irish sale late this year in readiness for the start of the 2005 market. Engines extend from 1.4 to 2.0 litres, including diesels but the big Irish sellers will be the 1.4 and 1.6 litre petrol versions.
Irish pricing has yet to be fixed. It will be keenly observed by those handling the many competitors including the Toyota Corolla, Opel Astra and VW Golf. The Focus evolution is on its way.