February 9, 2011. Copyright 2011, Graphic News. All rights reserved

New Ford Focus technology will dethrone VW Golf, for a while
By Neil Winton

LONDON, February 9, Graphic News:  Ford has loaded up its new Focus family car with so much technology you could be forgiven for thinking its main competitors were premium BMWs and Mercedes rather than more humble Volkswagen Golfs and Renault Meganes.

The computers on board the new Focus, which goes on sale around the world this spring, will help you park, warn you if another car is passing dangerously close, wake you up if it thinks you are dozing off, wrench the steering back to the straight and level if it senses you are veering off course, and even apply the brakes if you are about to crash into the car in front. Oh yes, it will also switch on the lights when it starts to get dark, turn on the wipers when it rains, and tell you, with a little display on the dashboard, what the current speed limit is. There’s a gizmo to fix a speed limit too. Just like Jaguar, BMW and Lexus, Focus buyers can opt for adaptive cruise control, which uses radar to cut the car’s speed when it approaches a slower one, and automatically accelerates back to the selected cruising speed when the coast is clear.

Ford of Europe has designed this new Focus as the U.S. parent company’s first global car since the 1990s. Europe’s Focus will be made in Saarlouis, Germany. U.S. buyers will be served by Wayne, Michigan. The Focus will also be made in Russia and China.

The Focus looks a bit like a large Ford Fiesta, and it’s no bad thing being compared with that little beauty. Inside, the quality of the materials and the style of the design will impress possible buyers. On the roads around southern Spain, where Ford launched the car to the international media, the Focus proved itself to be a quiet and fast highway cruiser and was nimble and competent on the back-roads. Initially, buyers can choose from 1.6 litre petrol engines, and 1.6 litre or 2 litre diesels. There’s a six-speed automatic option.

Initially, the Focus is expected to sell so well in Europe that it will push the best-selling Golf into second place for a year or two. According to IHS Global Insight, Ford will sell about 350,000 Focus models in the European Union in 2011, getting on for 10,000 more than the VW Golf to take first place. VW will storm back with its new Golf in 2013, no doubt having to spend heavily to match Ford technology. This small family car segment is the biggest in Europe, accounting for about 30 percent of total sales and likely to reach 4.3 million in 2011.

You won’t be surprised to hear that all this technology comes at a price, although the basic version of the Focus sells for £15,995 (pounds)-18,675 euros after tax. The base U.S. version retails for $16,995-12,400 euros before tax. But if you opt for just some of the technology available, prices will quickly soar past £20,000 (pounds)-23,400 euros, and keep on running well into BMW, Mercedes and Audi territory. That is likely to be a bridge too far for the Focus.
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Factfile: Ford Focus 1.6 EcoBoost Titanium

Engine -- 1.6 litre, 4-cylinder petrol
Power -- 148hp
Torque -- 240 Nm @ 1,600
Drive -- front-wheels
Gearbox -- 6-speed manual
Acceleration -- 0-62mph-100km/h -- 8.6 seconds
Top speed -- 130mph-210km/h
Fuel consumption -- claimed combined -- 47.1mpg-6.0 l/100km
C02 -- 139g/km
Emissions class -- Euro V
Suspension -- semi-isolated front subframe/multilink
Length -- 4,358mm
Width -- 1,823mm
Height -- 1,484mm
Wheel-base -- 2,648mm
Weight -- 1,333kg
Boot capacity -- 277 litres
Competition -- VW Golf, Renault Megane, Hyundai i30, Kia C’eed.
For -- handsome, high quality, drives well
Against -- prices dangerously close to premium competition
Rating - 4 stars out of 5
Price £19,745 (pounds)-23,100 euros
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