Ford Focus Review

July 22, 2007 | By | Add a Comment

Introduced to Australia in 2002 the Ford Focus is celebrating its 6 year of Australia sales over that period the car has been a consistent performer in a market sector that is spoilt for choice. According to Ford Australia Ford Focus sales rose by 63% in 2006 compared with the previous year.

The current model released in late 2007 offers increased safety levels, a diesel option (the first time a diesel Focus has been offered in Australia), 2 new body configurations, and a new styling.

The new safety options see as standard across the range dual front airbags and ABS with EBD. Additional driver and front passenger side airbags have been added to the LX, TDCi and Zetec and Ghia specifications and with the latter two also receiving dynamic stability control, traction control and emergency brake assist.

While increasing safety features Ford has been able to reduce the recommended retail pricing for most models in some cases the price has decreased by as much as $1500. According to Ford Australia Vice President of Marketing and Sales, Mr Winslow “Focus has always represented outstanding value for money, but the new pricing structure makes it one of the best deals available.”

The two new body styles introduced to the range are the Zetec sedan and a Ghia hatchback. Major styling changes to the new model include externally exterior door mirrors incorporating turn indicators, new alloy wheel designs, two new exterior colours.

The new model also continues the practice of only offering electric power windows to the front in the base model. This is extremely frustrating if you have children who continually wind down the rear windows.

The base model Ford Focus has a recommended retail price of $20,490 (plus ORC) and this includes a 2 litre Duratec 16V engine and a 5 speed manual transmission. The automatic will cost you an extra $2,000.

The Focus is available in 9 colours and a single interior colour. Options to the base model include a “smooth pack” and a “safety pack” which cost $1,400 and $1,300 respectively. The “smooth pack” incorporates power adjustable colour coded mirrors, 15 inch alloy wheels and a cruise control with leather steering wheel. While the “Safety Pack” includes curtain airbags, Dynamic Safety Control and Traction Control with EBA. If you can only afford one or the other option our preference is to purchase the safety pack as this provides much needed additional safety options especially for a car of this size.

Other models range in price from $20,490 (plus ORC) through to $29,490 (plus ORC) for the Focus Ghia. The Focus Ghia which is the top of the line for the standard Focus sedan/hatch with a 2 litre engine has all option as standard with the exception of curtain airbags which are available at an additional $400.

For those wanting a little more excitement the Focus XR5 turbo will set you back $36,990 (plus ORC) and the Focus Coupe Cabriolet $45,490 (plus ORC).

The Ford Focus with all safety options has recorded a 5 star Ancap rating which places it on a par with the new Mazda 2, Holden Astra and Fiat Punto among others.

Fuel economy for the 2 litre Duratec 16v engine is reported by Ford to be 7.1 litres per 100klm for the manual and a slightly higher 8 litres per 100klm for the Automatic. Those seeking even better fuel economy should consider the TDCi which is a diesel option and has a fuel economy of 5.6 litres per 100klm but is only available in a manual.

According to a recent RACV survey on operating costs the cost per kilometre for the Ford Focus was reported to be 56.41c with the range for the vehicles tested being between 52.54c and 73.21c per kilometre.

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