We did more than spy the new Ford Focus the other day - we sat in it doing the all-important touch, feel and smell test. It happened in the most unlikely location of the new British Embassy in Berlin.
It wasn't that the Focus exudes any particular Britishness, just that Ford thought the embassy's modernistic lines tied in with the car's 21st century architecture. Surprisingly, you can hire out the embassy for a commercial gig - Robbie Williams had it for an album launch.
No driving was permitted. No photography was allowed - instead Ford released this very bland photo, officially calling it a four-door concept that will be shown at this week's Beijing motor show.
Ford, like other western makers, has gone into Auto China 2004 with the best new model armoury it can mustered - new Focus is part of that. China and Asia Pacific are at the epicentre of global growth, with medium-sized cars like the Focus representing the core of its major markets. The European-built Focus will go on sale here early November.
First impressions are that the car retains the overall shape of the outgoing model. Chris Bird, Ford's chief designer, told us it was one of their most difficult balancing acts. "We wanted to ensure the car was different from today's Focus but still be very recognisable as a Focus." It appears to have succeeded, for new Focus is more than an expensive reworking of what went before.
It's best exemplified in the three-door version which very strikingly looks like a coupé. Like a lot of coupés which are smart in looks, the notion is that there couldn't be much in the way of rear seat accommodation, especially for heads. The designers of the new Focus appear to have indulged in a nice bit of trickery here, because of the lower configuration of the seat. Nevertheless you don't sit too low in the back and there's plenty of leg and arm space too.
Bird thought that it was a "silhouette that is distinctive and sticks in the memory and promotes a perception of athleticism."
The four-door should be more conservative given the nature of its buyers, but it too is marked by a sweeping roofline and alluring gentle curves from front to rear screen. Both it and the three-door come with another design feature of Focus 2005, significant creases around the wheel arches.
Internally, there's much emphasis on soft touch-and-feel characteristics. Bird is in no doubt that this Focus has "the best feeling door handles in the industry".
Ford also claims the widest opening trunk area, flat and uninterrupted and concealing the spare wheel underneath. Dimensionally, there has only been a slight increase in size.
Ford has had its problems recently, but Focus (the old or outgoing car that's six years old) has been a reassuring success and even in its twilight months it has been a best-seller. More than four million have been sold, with the Irish market accounting for around 50,000. It has won over 75 awards including European Car of the Year.