The Focus offers the usual range of seat adjustment as well as tilt and reach adjustment for the steering column. It's a cleaner look, and one that echoes that of the larger Mondeo. Inside, the steering wheel itself is also new, as is the centre stack and console. The flagship Titanium variants add front parking sensors, autonomous emergency braking (AEB), blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert, as well as 18-inch alloy wheels (with space-saver spare) and leather-appointed seats.īeneath the new-look exterior there's revised suspension (stiffer up front and with new dampers all-round), upgraded stability control and re-tuned electrically-assisted steering (now with parallel and perpendicular self-parking ability). The exception is the high-grade Focus Titanium hatch (available only with the auto) which consumes 6.4L/100km – no doubt as a result of the weight of its extra equipment.Īll Focus variants are now equipped with idle-stop, alloy wheels, a reversing camera and rear parking sensors, Ford's SYNC 2 infotainment system with 8.0-inch touch-screen, sat-nav and voice control that actually works and MyKey parental control technology.

When hooked-up to the standard six-speed manual, the new Focus achieves an ADR Combined cycle figure of 5.8L/100km, jumping to 6.2 when optioning the six-speed automatic. This is 7kW and 38Nm more than the normally-aspirated 2.0-litre Duratec it replaces. The new 1.5-litre EcoBoost (Ford speak for direct-injected and turbocharged petrol with variable cam timing) four prefers a diet of premium unleaded, but powers the small hatch and sedan range to the tune of 132kW (at 6000rpm) and 240Nm (from 1600-5000rpm). The 'new' Focus – essentially a revised version of the outgoing model – is better equipped, more powerful and more efficient than the car it replaces.Ī key mechanical change is the move to turbo-only power under the bonnet. So you might say the new LZ-series Focus couldn't have come soon enough and as this week's local launch has shown, the model has certainly lifted its game. This compares poorly to its competitors: the Mazda3 selling 23,252 examples over the same time frame the Corolla 25,323 and the i30 18,551. The model has sold only 4595 examples to the end of July (a 53.6 per cent fall on this time last year).

So where does that leave the Ford Focus? Year-to-date Ford 's dated third-generation Focus has struggled to rate. For years now the Mazda3 and Toyota Corolla have fought tooth and nail for the monthly top spot, only recently out-done by the Hyundai i30. It's no surprise that the small car market is home to Australia's best-selling passenger vehicles.

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