I recently for work had the company of a New ford focus 1.9 TDCi, at first I was like...hmmm not sure about how good this would be but after several days I was very impressed, for a big sih car it is really easy to park, (forward and back!). The drive and handling were fantastic, and the engine was good, loads of pull, and not too moisey even at high motorway speeds, I spent 2 hours driving on the motorway and got out feeliung like i had gone ten mins down the road!

Congrats to Ford, not eh best car too look at but a nice one to drive!

Role on the ST, will be taking that for a test drive!!!

I get the impression the new Focus is a great car trying to fight it's way out of a dull exterior. The interior looks excellent (far better than the Mondeo which is dire!) and the chassis and engines are good.

At least the ST does something about the looks. Especially in tangerine orange.

Read a review of the new ST in Autocar this week and they say it's full of torque but the engine pretty much runs out of puff at 5000rpm. Don't think that would suit me, I love revs!

I don't like where they placed the handbrake though, and the seat still give me backache from time to time.
The styling is such a disappointment from the mk1.
Other than that, it is good in all other area.

I don't like where they placed the handbrake though, and the seat still give me backache from time to time.
The styling is such a disappointment from the mk1.
Other than that, it is good in all other area.

It isn't great but 99% of the time it doesn't affect your driving! so I wasn't overly bothered by it! It is positioned more of a LHD car.

I get the impression the new Focus is a great car trying to fight it's way out of a dull exterior. The interior looks excellent (far better than the Mondeo which is dire!) and the chassis and engines are good.

At least the ST does something about the looks. Especially in tangerine orange.

Read a review of the new ST in Autocar this week and they say it's full of torque but the engine pretty much runs out of puff at 5000rpm. Don't think that would suit me, I love revs!

A couple of things, first a tangerine Orange Focus ST has appeared in Warrington, I spotted it on the road on Sunday and even in deep cloud cover it was bright as hell! Almost luminous :) It's currently sitting in the dealership on the A49 if anyone wants a look.

Oh, and the Evo review of the ST totally contradicts the Autocar one. Autocar say it runs out of puff before 5000rpm, Evo say the ST really picks up at 5500rpm and pulls stupidly hard to the 7000rpm redline. Hmm.

Good old car mags eh :lol:

Oh, and the Evo review of the ST totally contradicts the Autocar one. Autocar say it runs out of puff before 5000rpm, Evo say the ST really picks up at 5500rpm and pulls stupidly hard to the 7000rpm redline. Hmm.

Good old car mags eh :lol:

I suspect that the autocar reviewer got a bit worried when things got a bit loud, but the Evo bloke was probably trying his best to break it.

Being a past Focus(Mk1 and Mk1.5) owner twice over, I have my reservations over the interior, it is a VW Golf inside and has more of a Mondeo/Passat feel, since Ford poached one of VW's designers, with the "All New Focus", the chassis is based on the Volvo C1 platform, even the new Volvo S40 is nice....at the front and the styling is very Ford.

I have a Focus II and I've been really pleased with it. Can't really fault it, yeh the looks may be dull. But it doesn't take away the fact the car is very very good.

To be fair though, the astra may look better (depending on opinion obviously) but, having driven one I would no way have one over the focus II.

Which leaves the Golf Vs Focus. For me the Golf is even more bland than the Focus II. Having said that 25% discount helped a fair bit in my decision, but I even without the discount I would have the Focus over the other 2.

I would of had another MG but the technology is too out of date now, although another ZR would have been way more fun to drive. :) (here we go, no doubt someone will start saying this component on the Focus is xx years old :guns:):dddc:

Lets hope when MG is reincarnated they can get the quality right and the styling as exciting as when they were released in 2001. If they do, I will be first in line to get another!


Phill

Being a past Focus(Mk1 and Mk1.5) owner twice over, I have my reservations over the interior, it is a VW Golf inside and has more of a Mondeo/Passat feel

Reservations over which interior, the Mk2??!! Surely not Kev, the Focus Mk2 interior is great. No offence but the original one I really didn't like, both the design and the materials used were not too hot.

Phil - a good level headed post. I suspect the Focus Mk2 is an excellent car. I think we all agree it's not as exciting on the outside as the original was but we can't have it all. Like you say it still looks better than the Golf.

If I had 20k to spend on a hot hatch I would definitly test drive the Golf GTi because it sounds like an excellent car, but I really don't like the looks. So if the Focus ST was as good I'd definitely have the Ford, and it's a LOT cheaper. Stunning though it is, the Astra would never get my money!

Plus I discovered that the base 17.5k model doesn't have Ford's heated front windscreen system. Perfect!

Reservations over which interior, the Mk2??!! Surely not Kev, the Focus Mk2 interior is great. No offence but the original one I really didn't like, both the design and the materials used were not too hot.

Phil - a good level headed post. I suspect the Focus Mk2 is an excellent car. I think we all agree it's not as exciting on the outside as the original was but we can't have it all. Like you say it still looks better than the Golf.

If I had 20k to spend on a hot hatch I would definitly test drive the Golf GTi because it sounds like an excellent car, but I really don't like the looks. So if the Focus ST was as good I'd definitely have the Ford, and it's a LOT cheaper. Stunning though it is, the Astra would never get my money!

Plus I discovered that the base 17.5k model doesn't have Ford's heated front windscreen system. Perfect!

Whats wrong with the heated windscreen system? Have no probs with mine. Works rather well in my car, mega handy for when ur cars misted up from the inside, blowers and the heated windscreen = mist goneddddddd :toastie: (change the left guy to a windscreen and you're there :bgrin: )

The ST is gonna be an amazing car aswell! Has knocked like 8-10secs off the old RS round nurburgring and that was never a slouch. The Astra just has way to much power through the fronts.

As a rule I say upto 225bhp through fronts is the limit. Anything over is just dangerous on a normal road car, imo. Did you see it when they took it round the top gear track and they did that hair pin. Thought the camera man was a goner lol.
Also, a 340bhp 4wd focus has been spotted aparently :bgrin2: . Should mean the new RS is on it's way hehe.

As for level headed, I try to be. The focus was a very level headed decision on my part. When I bought my MG ZR back in 2001 that wasn't that was more a "passionate" decision. Saw the pics of it and was drooling immediately. I still miss the beast like hell though :( and would still be a happy owner of it had some :cus: not stolen it.

Blimey I been rantin a bit. lol.

Whats wrong with the heated windscreen system?

You spend 17k and don't get it... I think that's was the problem....

I've had a few new Focuses (Focii?) in the past couple of months as work cars and whilst they do handle really well for a ordinary family car I think the interior is rather dull, acres of plastic. It does look though, as if it would stand up to a lot of abuse from small children, which I guess is what it's supposed to do.

This is what amazes me, people either say the interior is good or rubbish. I've gone through a few of these new Focus's and IMHO the interior is not just styled worse than the original (don't get me wrong, I thought the elongated 'teardrop' interior used in earlier models was a horrible look and the plastic was v. cheap) but it's also made of the worst plastics Ford could buy. The only good thing about it is that it should be harder for little kids to destroy and cheaper to replace what they do so good for a family I suppose but I doubt its of benefit to any owners.
I agree about the outer styling though - the bright orange paint job on the ST's hardly does much to offset the fact the car looks like a boat or skip upside down mated to the bottom half of an uninspiring styled car.....
I think the biggest saving grace for the new Focus has nothing to do with how well it handles, etc. because sales of cars from all makers shows this is not the main driving force behind sales. It will do well in this country purely because of unjust bias against the Vauxhall Astra (which I would rather buy than a Focus), is better put together than a Pug 307 / Citreon C4 (the more C4's I've seen them the less I like them) and looks better than it's blood brother the Mazda 3 and the 'boy did we get the styling wrong' Renault Megane.
But most of all, because people are actively encouraged to buy it by the motoring press.

I've had a few new Focuses (Focii?)

Now you're being silly....

Focus, as in "Clear Vision" / "Concentrate" could be Focii, but that is a dictionary word.

Focus as a name, would become Focuses, or Focus'
Just like James becomes James'.......

It's a name......

Nope. if you're talking about maths, more than one focus would be a pair of focii. it's the Latin you see, the same way that the correct plural for virus is not viruses, but virii.

I like that, the idea of relating a Focus to a virus..... Focii gets my vote ;)

i used a new focus for a week. its huge and u sit on it with ur feet dangling beneath u. for a sporty hatch the driving position is awful. the interior is bland as hell. it is a vw golf, right down to the golf one touch indicator stalks and bizarrely placed handbrake/armrest. the interior has no personality. i hated the teardrop mk1, but at least it was unique. personally i prefer my 96 rover 400. o and the panel gap shut lines are disgraceful. and the 1.6 zetec engine is garbage.

but, and it is a big but, it has the finest handling iv ever experienced in a family car, with pin sharp steering with so much feedback that down some country lanes u really cant exploit its potential. its supreme and cos its so wide u can go over square speed bumps without touching them.

o, and why is it group 7 insurance? cos if u parked one against a wall ud never notice it exists cos its so dull

You spend 17k and don't get it... I think that's was the problem....

No sorry I wasn't being very clear. I meant the 17k model would do me fine as I wouldn't be bothered about the extras on the more expensive models.

Unless it's improved a hell of a lot I don't like Ford's heated front windscreen, sure it's convenient but I found it caused me eye strain when driving at night as it's sometimes distracting. This was on a older Mondeo, maybe they've improved it since then...

i used a new focus for a week. its huge and u sit on it with ur feet dangling beneath u. for a sporty hatch the driving position is awful. the interior is bland as hell. it is a vw golf, right down to the golf one touch indicator stalks and bizarrely placed handbrake/armrest. the interior has no personality. i hated the teardrop mk1, but at least it was unique. personally i prefer my 96 rover 400. o and the panel gap shut lines are disgraceful. and the 1.6 zetec engine is garbage.

but, and it is a big but, it has the finest handling iv ever experienced in a family car, with pin sharp steering with so much feedback that down some country lanes u really cant exploit its potential. its supreme and cos its so wide u can go over square speed bumps without touching them.

I have no complaints with my 1.6 Ti-VCT engine. Was miles smoother than the numerous 1.6 Astras I have used at work. It's a Very smooth engine and has nice grunt when u wind it up a bit and the panel gaps are pretty close on my car aswell.

The car isn't even classed as a sporty hatch so I dunno where u get that from. Yeh the Zetec Spec models get firmer ride, so it will probably get stated as "sporty ride" which it is. But they're not classed as sporty hatches by no means. Now the ST, thats gonna be sporty and them some!

Also, I have no problem with the driving position in my car and I'm 5'3'' and it's a far better driving position for raking it or driving normally than my old ZR. I have done 5 hour drives in my Focus and felt fresh as a daisy at the other end.

The Handbrake was odd when I first got the car, but a half a day of driving sorted that out and it feels like normal now.

Either way I'm very very happy with my car and I personally cannot fault it what so ever and unless MG bounce back with a good car when they get running again, I will be buying new Fords from now on.

No sorry I wasn't being very clear. I meant the 17k model would do me fine as I wouldn't be bothered about the extras on the more expensive models.

Unless it's improved a hell of a lot I don't like Ford's heated front windscreen, sure it's convenient but I found it caused me eye strain when driving at night as it's sometimes distracting. This was on a older Mondeo, maybe they've improved it since then...

I don't have any problems with eye strain at all when driving at night. You can "just about" notice it. But, it's minimal I find. :)

Nope. if you're talking about maths, more than one focus would be a pair of focii. it's the Latin you see, the same way that the correct plural for virus is not viruses, but virii.well I reckon (without checking) that in Latin the correct plural for virus would be "virus" with it being a fifth declension noun. Not sure, mind.

I can imagine this being of paramount importance when calling for the quack. "Doctor, doctor! You must come. There are at large in my person at least two virus...or viri"...aaarrkkk (as in aaarrkkk of snuffing it...)

That means a potential plural for "focus" is "focus". Can it mean "hearth" I wonder? I'm sure I have seen "foci" in the past as though "focus" were second declension. Andie babes should know this! Calling Andie babes, calling Andie babes! (Now I have to explain why I have not used her exact username...)

Re the Focus. A car I have actually driven in Mk1 form. True, lots of electric wires in the windscreen made it pants to see forward. The wing mirrors were far too wide, so it would not fit in my garage and I would never consider one.

The throttle response? Clarkson could have come up with something negatively amusing involving yoghurt.

Given that, I don't even want to try liking the Mk2 and say "thousands of L-drivers can't be wrong!"

pat

PS "Vires adquirit eundo" - "Vires" is third declension and means strength, as in "she (Rumour) builds strength as she goes..."

I quite liked the mk2 Focus I drove, but I couldn't cope with that dashboard long-term... Dreadful... I've seen more tactile brickwork.

Well the Ford dealers near work has a Focus ST (in that wonderful orange colour) in the showroom so I was compelled to go and have a look tonight. Typical, it has been moved back outside the showroom and was sitting there locked up. Still I had a good look over it.

The verdict? Very impressive indeed. I think it actually manages to look meaner than my Mk2 ZS180. Sure the ZS is a very good looking car, but it some ways it looks a bit weedy proportion-wise (mainly the front section) because the new designs are so chunky.

And that orange colour is stunning. It might look flat from a distance but close up it has an amazing sheen to it, pretty much like the MG monogram colours.

Inside looked nice, but the problem with Fords is the interiors do look nice from a distance or in photographs but once you sit in the car you realise they're not that nice!

Oh, and the facelifted Fiesta was in the showroom too, must have been a new arrival because the interior stunk of adhesive and there were white patches of gunk all over the place. The new headlamps have lumps in them which I didn't realise from the photographs which kind-of ruins the look of them. The interior is different, the dash is better than the old model but on the car I saw the dash was blue yet the doors were exactly the same as the older model and therefore black. Not nice...

something i noticed about the new fiesta in an advert, was that to make the engine euro 4, the 1.4 is only 80ps, it used to be over 90.. i dont know what went wrong there lol.

something i noticed about the new fiesta in an advert, was that to make the engine euro 4, the 1.4 is only 80ps, it used to be over 90.. i dont know what went wrong there lol.

Jeez I hope the 1.25 isn't down on power too, my gf has one of these and it's bloody underpowered as it is. I suppose it's got a bit better with nearly 15000 miles on it, but when she first got the car it wouldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding!

I spent 5 years or more with Fords and the Heated Front Windscreen and I barely noticed it. I had it in my 3 Focus ST170's and a Mondeo ST24. That is actually one feature that I really miss in my ZT. Especially as I have to leave it out on the driveway at night.

I am sure that the Ford Focus drives very nicely, but I am so put off with the boring styling. The interior looks fabulous and I am sure that the exterior will be tidied up nicely when it gets a bit more colour coding as a result of a mid-term update - a bit like what the Mondeo has had done to it.

Before Christmas, I had a Focus C-MAX 1.6 TDCi as a hire car and what a fantastic car to drive. The gearknob was in an absolutely perfect position and the made for a very relaxing drive. The engine was excellent with plenty of grunt in all of the gears. If it went well in the heavy MPV body, it must be fantastic in the lighter hatchback bodyshell.