It's amazing that the Ford Focus diesel we had sitting in front of our offices wasn't being crushed under a vast weight of expectation. Not only was it a second generation Focus complete with the latest facelift, therefore having a lot to live up to, but it also sported one of Ford's latest generation diesel engines. This was the car that the middle market looked to in order to show the current state of the family hatch art. That's a big ask for such a modest car.

With diesel sales skyrocketing and prices in this case starting from £14,045 with a choice of three or five-door hatches, an estate and a saloon, it's crucially important that Ford get their diesel offerings right. Fortunately, they had three great engines ready to roll from their Focus C-MAX mini-MPV range into the car we're looking at here. The 108bhp 1.6-litre diesel is a development of the 1.4TDCi common rail unit and, like the 1.8 and 2.0-litre TDCi powerplants, was developed in conjunction with Peugeot and Citroen, drawing on the shared expertise of both companies.

Ford's Centre for Diesel Excellence at Dagenham has become a well-respected think tank when it comes to state of the art oil burning engines and the TDCi units do its reputation no harm. The 1.6-litre engine is primarily aimed at customers with an eye on fuel economy, and will return a very creditable 57.6mpg on the combined cycle while emitting just 129 grams of carbon dioxide for every kilometre travelled. Despite the focus on frugality, it'll still zip to 60mph in 10.9 seconds and run on to a top speed of 116mph. Torque is delivered from very low in the rev range and this makes the Focus TDCi 1.6 agreeably quick off the mark when you need to accelerate out of a T-junction into flowing traffic.

"The Focus TDCi is a car that's difficult to fault?"

Though the 115bhp 1.8-litre TDCi is worth considering, if you really want to take advantage of the Focus' excellent dynamics, the punchy 134bhp 2.0-litre TDCi engine makes a capable partner. Backed up by a six-speed gearshift, it develops more torque than a Porsche Boxster S. This means that as long as you keep the needle in the sweet spot around 2,000rpm, you'll have plenty of acceleration in reserve whether it's just you at the wheel or even if the car is fully-stacked. It gets to 60mph in 9.3 seconds and will hit 125mph where conditions permit. Despite this muscle at the command of your right foot, the 2.0-litre model still manages an average of over 51mpg and emits 148g/km of CO2.

Benefiting from Ford's 'kinetic design' approach to styling, the latest Focus takes its inspiration from its larger Mondeo stablemate. Trapezoidal grilles, swept back headlamps, bolder wheel arches, re-shaped rear glass, a contoured tailgate and smarter tail lamps are the key changes. Higher trim grades benefit from chrome detailing and a stylish, body-coloured upper rear spoiler.

Inside, the more upmarket aura continues. Nicer soft-touch plastics now cover the instrument panel as well as the upper front door trim and this is complemented by plusher seat fabrics plus a variety of more attractive fascia finishings. The instrumentation has been re-designed too and, along with all other interior controls, is illuminated in red. Controls for the upgraded audio equipment and two-zone air conditioning have also been ergonomically improved.

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.

Although it seems hard to believe given that almost coupe-like silhouette, the MK2 Focus design actually improved on the rear seat accommodation and luggage space of the MK1. The compact control-blade rear suspension helps the five-door hatch model achieve a hefty 385-litre carrying capacity, as the load bay is completely flat and unencumbered by suspension intrusion. In the Estate version, there's 475 cubic litres of load space with the 60/40 rear bench in place, but drop the seats and there's a cavernous 1525 litres, making the Focus a good deal bigger than many executive class estate cars. With the seats in place the load bay is just over 104cm long, 116cm wide and up to 89cm high. With the rear seats folded you have a 167cm long distance from seat back to tailgate.

Although it's an amazingly complete car, the opposition have closed the gap on Ford's Focus TDCi. Whereas once buying a family hatch other than a Focus was a mark of ignorance or wilful contrariness, these days it comes down to a more personal decision. A Focus 2.0-litre TDCi would still be my personal pick.