The Ford Focus is not a car that I would normally consider purchasing, which makes it all the more appealing to drive one. It's aimed at the family market of course, providing lots of the space and practicality that is needed when transporting little ones. At the moment, it's only me that needs transporting around - but that didn't mean I couldn't put it to the test.

My only association with kids is being 'Tawny Owl' to a group of Brownies in my local area. Every year we take them away on 'Pack Holiday' and we stay in a village hall somewhere a bit different. We take them out on day trips to various locations and the girls love being away from home and spending time with their brownie friends. This year we took them down to Chichester and decided to do lots of day trips. As we could all fit in three vehicles, we thought that this would be a good idea. This trip coincided with my loan of the Focus Estate - making this trip the perfect way to scrutinise this vehicle for the family buyer.

I don't know how much you know about Brownies. They are girls aged between seven and eleven prone to making as much noise and get as dirty as they possibly can. They also have to make sure that they do a good turn everyday and that they try their best at everything they do (which when combined with getting dirty can get very messy indeed!) I was dreading handing the Focus back at the end of the week.

As the only driver of a five-door vehicle, I was the chauffeur for one of our brownies who uses a wheelchair to get around. Getting her into the car was no problem, as long as someone held the door for her, so that it didn't swing away. Her wheelchair fitted very nicely in the back as long as I made sure that the brakes were securely fastened: with that much space in the rear it could start rolling around. There was plenty of room in the back for packed lunches and swimming kits but you wouldn't expect anything less from the estate. The boot hides a comprehensive first aid kit with instructions to guide you through treating injuries at an accident.

"If it's practicality that you are looking for, then you can't get much better than a Focus?."

Ford have been generous with the room for the rear passengers and if you don't need the third seat, a small centre unit can be pulled down to reveal drinks holders and a small secret storage compartment, perfect for a deck of cards or a few sweets. There are small pockets on the back of the front passenger seats, but there is no storage space in the rear doors, meaning that the kids had to find somewhere else to put their crisp packets. The girls had a whale of a time in the back. They had lots of room and were soon swinging their legs around happily. The child locks were great to ensure that doors weren't opened during the ride and even the windows had a safety mechanism in the front to prevent the girls from opening them as the model I tried had air conditioning.

If it's practicality that you are looking for, then you can't get much better than a Focus. Ford have thought of almost everything to make this car perfect for the family. If safety is your key consideration, then you will be pleased to hear that the new Focus is amongst the best in its class with a Euro NCAP 5-star occupant rating and a 4-star child protection rating. The Focus Estate comes with drivers, front passenger, side curtain and front seat side airbags as standard along with ABS and the Intelligent Protection System.

I was impressed from my first look at the Focus Estate. As I stepped into it, I was pleased to note that the interior looked simple and unfussy. The only thing that really marked this out as a modern car was the touchscreen DVD navigation system, which comes as a pricey extra at £2,250. There was plenty of room in the front, but only a very petite glovebox, just enough to fit the manual in and a few CDs. I was impressed by the centre console: you could fiddle with the air conditioning and the stereo without having to either consult the handbook or mess about with tiny indecipherable buttons.

The driver's seat was easy to move into place. After scrambling around at the bottom trying to find a lever to hoist myself forward, I found two buttons, one to push me forward and up, and other to bring the back forward or down. Much more graceful than having to yank yourself into position.

The Focus almost felt like an executive saloon the drive was so smooth and it was hard to believe that this is just an estate version of a family hatchback. With prices starting just under £14,000 for a Focus Estate Studio and going up to just under £19,500 for the Titanium 2.0-litre TDCi with Diesel Particulate Filter, the estate version is very affordable.

The day trips were a great success and the Focus made everything a lot simpler. The Focus coped very well with having a disabled passenger as well as the other girls. If I needed the space, then the Ford Focus Estate would be near the top of my list.