IT’S one of the best-selling cars in the UK but Ford knows that the Focus is constantly facing stiff competition from the Golf, the Astra and new players like the Hyundai i30.
With an all-new Golf introduced last year, Ford had to do something to keep the Focus feeling fresh, so it’s updated the styling, improved the cabin and cleaned up the engines. Below we’ve outlined five of the top highlights of the updated Focus.
1. The interior
Ford has worked hard on improving the cabin, both in terms of usability and quality.
As well as the new satin black inserts and chrome highlights, you’ll find nice little touches like matt grey strakes in the air vents. What’s more, the host of fiddly buttons on the centre console has been replaced by a clear, easy-to-use touchscreen.
2. The engines
It gets a brand new 1.5-litre four-cylinder EcoBoost engine, boasting 148bhp and 178bhp. Ford says that compared with the engine it replaces there’s as much as a 5.5 per cent improvement to fuel economy.
Meanwhile, the existing 1.6-litre diesel units offer up to an 8 per cent improvement in fuel economy and there’s a new 1.5 litre diesel engine with 95 PS and 120 PS outputs. That’ll mean lower BIK all-round for all Focus models. Plus, Ford is planning to offer a new 99g/km version of the 1.0-litre EcoBoost. Since there’s no 3% diesel surcharge, this model will likely be the company car pick of the range.