Road Test: Ford Focus Zetec

By Feann Torr - 16/8/05

How could Ford take its amicable Focus to a new level of design when the original model had such a cutting edge appearance? The answer is simple - it couldn't.

Well, FoMoCo probably could have if it wanted to be painfully different, but advancing the previous arrow-like Focus would have ended in it being too extreme for some, and the result is that Ford of Europe has toned back the advanced styling.

Even so, the new look Focus is more than just a more conservative-but-pretty face.

Packing a new Duratec 4-cylinder engine and one of the finest 5-speed manual transmissions this side of a luxury saloon, a good complement of safety features and a chassis that's been tuned to deliver World Rally Championship wins, it looks like a very appealing package.

Competing with vehicles such as the new Astra, Mazda3 and other small cars in the market segment, the German engineered Focus makes an impressive case on paper, but what's it like out in the real world? Let's have a look:

The Ford Focus Zetec has a flat cornering attitude

Power from the 2.0-litre 4-cylinder engine builds early in the rev range

Our first Focus drive was in the Zetec model, which gets a more expensive suit compared to the entry level models, and I must say it looks rather striking in the flesh, sitting on large five spoke alloy wheels.

Driven by a new 2.0-litre duratec engine, output is rated at 107 kilowatts of power, which about 146 horsepower on the imperial scale, and when coupled to the short shifting 5-speed manual gearbox it makes for a fairly zippy little hatch.

I should probably improve the description from 'zippy' to 'strong', as it will spin up the front hoops pretty easily and revs quite freely: jab the clutch in second gear at a decent clip and capable engine overcomes traction without any fuss whatsoever (much to the chagrin of nearby pedestrians).

The power tapers off pretty quickly after 5500rpm, despite peak power listed as 6000rpm, so revving the engine out doesn't achieve much, save for making a right-royal din and wasting precious petroleum.

Even without variable valve timing (it gets butterfly valves though) the engine feels strong and puts the power down through the front wheels with alacrity. There's a nice sense of urgency from down low in the rev range, something smaller 4-cylinder engines don't always manage. With just the driver in the car, the 2.0-litre engine sat on 3750rpm when cruising at 100km/h in top gear (5th).

While the bottom end has been on a strictly beefy diet, with good levels of torque early on (185Nm @ 4500rpm), the top end is at odds with similarly sized Japanese designed and built motors that often thrive on revs. It'll pull cleanly from about 20 or 30 kays in fourth gear, but runs out of puff well before the tacho needle is bounces off the rev limiter.

The end result is a driving experience that's perhaps a smidge less involving at the limit than some of the Japanese four pot screamers out there, but on the flip side it is a much easier car to drive day-to-day with ample punch from low in the rev range.

The suspension in the Zetec model has been tuned for more response, but I found it to be quite pliable nonetheless. It has been adjusted to allow for a bit of wheel travel, helping to nullify steps, cracks and chunks taken out of the road, but when tipped into a corner it exhibits little body roll, remaining relatively flat.

Handling wise, the sporty Focus Zetec does a pretty good job of sticking to the road through corners, equipped with Ford's Control Blade rear suspension.

I managed to force a loss of traction only once, after thinking that its grip levels were unusually high, but that was early in a drive session when the tyres were still quite cold after a chilly night.

The chassis is very well sorted - the brakes are capable too - and it's a remarkably easy car to get the most out of with very little effort. One can only imagine what the AWD RS Turbo model would be like hacking round a corner under full boost, but sadly there's Buckley's chance of it coming to Australia.

The Ford Focus has a sensitive rack and pinion setup, one that's fairly light and won't rip your arms off when torque steer makes it's presence felt. This sensitivity ensures it's steering is quite direct, and seeing as the steering wheel is rather small you don't need massive steering inputs to get the thing to turn, which is always a bonus in the city and when parking (and when accelerating along winding roads too).

One of the things that first surprised me about the Focus was the driving position - it really suited my 6'1" frame and pedals aren't too close together either, good for people with big shoes. The seats could do with more adjustment points, but all in all it's pews are well designed, offering a slightly-higher-than-normal view of the road ahead.

From the drivers seat, the Focus comes across as modern. Some might say Euro chic. The dash is well laid out, with big chrome rimmed dials and a useful little dot-matrix type trip computer wedged between the speedometer and tachometer, offering up a lot more data/telemetry than I had expected (such as average fuel usage and distance to empty).

The steering wheel, while cheerless visually, has a number of buttons scattered across it, the majority of them relating to the intuitive cruise control system. Behind the wheel there is also a small audio fob, which allows you change modes, stations, tracks and volume without taking your hands from the wheel.

A thoroughly modern take on the small hatch- back, the Focus makes quite a visual impact

The interior is roomy and ergonomic, the gear shifter a dream, but some plastics are lacking

The fittings are quite nice inside too - not up to Peugeot 307 levels, but well above average to be sure. Surface ground aluminium door handles and metal locks are first-class (and long-lasting too), and the stereo looks nice with an easy to read display and four directional buttons used to navigate its systems.

The overall interior design will appeal to the fashion conscious, and though I'm not sure if I'd put myself in that category, I really liked what I saw. The centre console is rectangular in shape with purposely sharp edges and a faux carbon fibre finish. Though these sharp edges go against the grain somewhat (and are in sharp contrast to the contours of the previous Focus model), they still manage to look integrated somehow.

Even with its high quality fittings and aluminium features, some of the plastics were wanting. I have a sneaking suspicion that Ford spent more of its R&D dollars on the exterior than the interior, but when all things are considered the interior is both highly functional and easy on the eyes.

We tested the 5-speed manual Focus Zetec, and located below the centre console is the gear shifter, and I must say I was in awe of both its design and shift quality; no surprise then that it's the same MTX75 manual transmission used in the new Jaguar X-Type.

The tight little unit has very a slick shift feel with minimal notchiness, and the distance between the gates is tiny - it shifts more like a 350Z than your typical runabout. You barely need to move your forearm; I know this sounds clichéd, but it's all in the wrist.

Another great feature of the gearbox - and yet one more positive part in the Focus's ergonomic interior design - was the positioning of the gear lever itself. I know that when I drive a car, and a passenger rides shotgun, they often like to sit with their legs splayed wide, particularly if it's a male passenger. When this happens, you often bang their right knee repeatedly as you shift between first and second gears, which is annoying at best, and distracting at worst.

This doesn't happen in the manual Focus (not sure about the auto model) as the gearshifter is positioned quite high, and it's very compact too, so when combined with the short throws between gears, it makes a lot of sense. Kudos to the European interior designers who had Australian men in mind when creating the interior!

On the outside, the Focus Zetec is rather handsome; it's bullish front end lends it a decisive demeanour, and it attracted a bit of attention on the street too. The angular front end has a very solid look to it, with hints of Ford's Mondeo in there, and the headlight clusters look great with their vertically arrayed indicators. The 17-inch wheels work well with the flared wheel arches, giving the Focus a subtle ego boost when compared to its predecessor.

Despite the powerfully styled front end, the rear of the Focus is possibly the more striking. Its raised brake lights make a bold statement, while the Zetec-issue rear apron with mock blacked-out diffuser add a touch of sportiness to proceedings.

Looking at the rear of the Focus from a puritanical point of view, Ford design manager (Asia Pacific) Paul Gibson summed it up well: "Through ingenious packaging of the components beneath, we have created a very fast profile at the rear." This 'fast' profile is quite arresting and will keep the new Astra on its toes as both models vie for style supremacy.

Overall: 3.5/5

Ford's new Focus a splendid looking car with a tight chassis, a practical engine, and don't get me started on the gearbox. The interior, too, is well designed and well put together, the only issue being the quality of some plastics used.

I was expecting a smaller interior - the new Focus has a longer wheelbase and wider track than its precursor - but as it turns out there's plenty of room for four passengers in a car of this size. And boy does it drive well. It'll stick to the road not matter what you throw at it, yet is almost effortless to punt through peak hour traffic, such is the light steering and marvellous gearbox. Not as powerful as some hot hatches out there, driver involvement is most impressive, and whether commuting or cruising, the Focus is a wonderfully easy car to drive.

Even if you're not after a fashionably trendy European-designed car, the Focus is a very capable vehicle with a mechanically impressive setup. And if you are in the market for a trendy Euro-hatch, you could do a lot worse this.