Improved but not totally new

Nearly a decade after it was first introduced, Ford has completely redesigned the Focus for 2008. It’s the lowest priced vehicle in Ford showrooms, with styling inspired by the midsized fusion.

Ford seems to finally be catching on to what competitors like Toyota, Nissan and Honda have known for years. Forty-four percent of all first time car buyers choose a small car. If you can build product loyalty here, you will eventually be able to move customers up through the ranks to more expensive and highly profitable larger vehicles.

Toyota does it with its highly successful Scion, Yaris and Corolla vehicles, Honda with Fit and Civic and Nissan with Sentra and Versa.

Ford says 17 percent of total new car sales are in the small car segment and Ford has only 6 percent of the total segment.  Ford has no place to go but up in a segment that could soon account for up to one-third of all vehicle sales.

The most obvious change to the Focus is the new sheet metal, which, at best, is getting tepid reviews from the automotive press.  While an improvement, it certainly can’t be considered cutting edge.  Considering how important this segment is, I question whether Ford has done enough to pull buyers from the Asian brands.

However, there is a bright side to this redesign. The new interior is downright attractive, especially compared to the previous generation Focus.

While there’s still ample use of hard plastics everywhere, the build quality, fit and finish and materials are much better. I liked the silver-metallic trim on the upgraded SES model.  On SE models, the center console and dashboard center finish panels feature contrasting colors. 

A  new “top of dash” display positioned at eye level at the top of the center stack is easier and quicker to read, keeping the driver’s eyes on the road.  The instrument cluster, center console, steering wheel and door lock and window switches are lit with new Ice Blue Lighting.  Optional color ambient lighting, borrowed from the Mustang, allows the driver to choose from seven different colors - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet - to light the inside cup holders and front and rear footwells. 

I have nothing to complain about regarding driver room or seat comfort.  Cloth is standard, leather optional. Noticeably absent were armrest door pull handles, which made pulling closed the large door on the coupe a reach.

The new Focus can be equipped with the all-new Ford Sync. Developed jointly by Ford and Microsoft, the Ford Sync is a cutting-edge way to use cell phones and media players inside a vehicle.  Ford Sync uses voice recognition, Bluetooth and USB connections.  Simply touch the telephone button on the steering wheel or dash and speak what you want. Tell it to  “Play Beetles” and Sync instantly recognizes what you have downloaded and begins to play.  It even downloads your cell phone contact list and recognizes every name by voice.  No other competitor offers anything near Sync. It comes standard on SES models, a $395 option when it isn’t included in a trim package.   

I drove the new Focus in and around the hilly terrain of Seattle and immediately noticed a smoother, quieter ride along with better handling.  Ford added a new acoustic windshield, thicker side windows and stuffed it full of sound deadening insulation.  The result is the quietest economy car I’ve ever tested.

A 140-horsepower, 2.0-liter Duratec inline 4-cylinder engine powers all Focus models.  A 5-speed manual transmission or an optional 4-speed automatic is available, same as last year.  Gone is the 2.3-liter engine upgrade from last year that Ford claims just wasn’t popular enough.

Standard safety features include dual front, thorax side air bags and side curtain air bags for both front and rear seat occupants.  Focus has not been crash tested.

Focus will be offered in just two versions, a new two-door coupe and a four-door sedan.  Gone are the hatchback and wagon versions. 

While Ford has seemingly fixed all the ills from the previous generation, I can’t help but feel a bit cheated that Ford chose to re-skin the old Focus rather than bring us the excellent European-spec Focus introduced there in 2004.  That model includes a 225-hp engine, edgier styling and even a retractable hardtop-convertible.

Given how crowded this segment is with numerous outstanding competitors like Mazda, Honda, Scion, Hyundai, Kia, Toyota, Suzuki and others, I wish Ford would have played it  a little less safe and brought us a vehicle that would have struck fear in the hearts and minds of competitors.  The new Focus, while improved, seems just mildly better and not quite as interesting as the competition. 

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