Review of the new Ford Focus 4-Door Range

Ten years ago, the thought of trading in your large luxury saloon for something smaller wasn't too appealing. In doing so, you would be trading in refinement, power, handling and comfort. Why would you want to do that?

Today, there are still excuses for not doing the environmentally sensible thing and driving something smaller - but they're very different. A class-leading family hatchback like Ford's Focus drives with nearly all the refinement of any luxury saloon and probably handles better. The engines on offer are acceptably rapid and there's all the luxury you would expect from something bigger if you want it.

It's hardly surprising then, that sales of compact family hatchback-based four-door saloons remain significant, particularly in Europe. Here in the UK, they struggle however, with only Volkswagen's Jetta managing to record any worthwhile sales figures, though Renault's stylish Megane Sport Saloon deserves to eat into the German car's total. The cause of the Ford Focus 4-door featured here isn't helped by its maker's decision to offer it only in top spec Titanium specifications. The Ford marketeers contend that the plusher models are the only ones that older small saloon customers tend to buy.

"The boot takes either a golf bag or two clamshell-type suitcases - but then any saloon that can't manage that is hardly worth bothering with."

Pricing is just a little above that being demanded for the equivalent Focus hatch, starting from £16,045 and running up to £17,862. The engine choice includes Ford's 98bhp 1.6-litre petrol unit and a 143bhp 2.0-litre petrol powerplant. Alternatively, there are 1.6 and 2.0-litre TDCi diesels developing 108 and 134bhp respectively.

As you'd expect, the 4-door model shares an identical front end design with the other Focus bodystyles to it gets the latest facelifted look but makes a much better job than its predecessor of translating the fast hatchback silhouette into what Ford describe as a 'classic limousine body'. That may be stretching things just a bit but this saloon is certainly a better looker than the MK1 Focus 4-door, described to me at the time of its introduction in the late Nineties as 'an aberration' by a top Ford executive. No such harsh words for this effort. It's even pretty practical, offering a maximum boot cargo space of 526 litres, though that has been achieved only by using a mini-spare tyre. Apparently, the design imperative for bootspace was to incorporate either a golf bag or two large clamshell-style suitcases. We'd suggest that any saloon that can't manage that is hardly worth bothering with.

Since the saloon shares the same wheelbase as the hatchback Focus (one of the longest in the class), you'll find that it also has the same impressive cabin space. For rear passengers, that means class-leading head, shoulder, leg and knee room. It's not quite as impressive a story for those at the front (legroom is only average) but head and shoulder room are still impressive. Luggage space however, is only average, though you can boost it by folding down the 60/40 split rear seats.

Inside, the plush ambience is quite appealing and of course equipment levels in these plush flagship models are strong, including air conditioning, power heated door mirrors, a 'Quickclear' front windscreen, automatic headlamps and wipers, a Sony CD stereo, privacy glass and power driver's seat height adjustment.

Taking its cue from the C-MAX mini-MPV, the Focus' interior looks reassuringly expensive. The branded Sony stereo, the metallic detailing on the centre console, instruments and chunky-rimmed steering wheel, the soft-touch fascia and the silicon-damped hinges all smack of executive class investment. Developers have worked to ensure that the feel of the switches - a push button in the door, for example - should have the same sound, feel and travel as a push button in the centre console or the sunroof control and that rotary switches retain the same feel whether they marshal mechanical or electrical applications. The riot of crazily intersecting hard plastics that was the first generation Focus interior has been replaced by something far more assured, more mature - a word Ford repeated frequently in their release literature.

Ford were the first of the major manufacturers to realise that people were growing in size - both out and up - and designed the original Focus to suit drivers of all sizes with wider opening doors and more headroom than the class norm. The latest Focus expands on this theme, offering an optional electrically adjustable pedal set. The multi-adjustable steering column helps in ensuring a comfortable driving position and Ford have integrated a number of practical aspects from the C-MAX mini-MPV including a glove box big enough to house a 1.5-litre bottle, a sunglasses holder, a dash-top cubby and class-leading luggage space.

We liked the little touches: the two-touch remote control that prevents you unlocking all the doors at the first plip. The key-operated lock for the bonnet, hidden behind the Ford badge on the grille. The 'get-you-home' electronics that keep the engine running, even if all the coolant disappears through a hole in the radiator.

Ford has thought long and hard about this car, about the competition and about the kind of people who will buy it. Whether all that will be enough to overcome British buyers' general apathy towards small saloons is another matter. Probably not. Yet that doesn't stop this from being a very competant car with the odd dash of excellence in places. A good reason to downsize? You could say that.

TOP 5 FOCUS DEALS

The results below show the top FOCUS deals on buyacar

Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi 115 Titanium 5dr Diesel Hatchback
Price £15,908 Read Focus Reviews	Save £3,937
Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi 115 Titanium 5dr Diesel Estate
Price £16,736 Read Focus Reviews	Save £4,209
Ford Focus 1.0 125 EcoBoost Titanium X 5dr Hatchback
Price £16,185 Read Focus Reviews	Save £4,560
Ford Focus 1.0 125 EcoBoost Titanium 5dr Hatchback
Price £14,869 Read Focus Reviews	Save £4,126
Ford Focus 1.0 125 EcoBoost Titanium 5dr Estate
Price £15,696 Read Focus Reviews	Save £4,399
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