New for 2008 - Ford release new 'Kinetic' Focus

[Donington]

Sorry to bump...
I saw one of these yesterday in town, it's one of the worst facelifts ever, 2nd only to the Hyundai Coupe facelift of 2000.

I wholeheartedly disagree. I think it looks a lot better now, the old one was so generic it was probably driven by men called Gene Generic who live in nice new-build generic houses in Generic-on-Sea.

The ST and RS versions look fantablous too, but those are yet to appear.

 

[killpanda]

I quite like it, but I really prefer the original lightly restyled Focus.

 

[luvcars]

It looks best in ST form! not the best looking, but a BIG improvement!

 

[dinp]

I'm about to buy one and I like it...

You cruel people...

:lol:

Do they still do the 1.6Ti-VCT engine where you are because they've discontinued it in the UK. It seems that the new Fiesta will have the 1.6 Ti-VCT engine so perhaps they've dropped it from the Focus because a new, better engine is on its way. I sure hope so.

I've seen a few of the new Focus cars around and I think it looks really good. Never been a huge fan of the rear but its inoffensive. The front and side profiles now look much better IMO, more aggressive

 

[edkwon]

No matter what trim, the 3rd gen focus looks better than the garbage we get

 

[Hidden_Hunter]

No matter what trim, the 3rd gen focus looks better than the garbage we get

The US focus has to be one of the most offensively ugly cars of recent times

 

[RUU-CHAMA]

The US focus has to be one of the most offensively ugly cars of recent times

At least we still have the Mazda 3 and MazdaSpeed3. And I am now seeing the Saturn Astra running around. BY the way, is ford going to put their future twin turbo setup in the Focus?

 

[Vltros]

Do they still do the 1.6Ti-VCT engine where you are because they've discontinued it in the UK. It seems that the new Fiesta will have the 1.6 Ti-VCT engine so perhaps they've dropped it from the Focus because a new, better engine is on its way. I sure hope so.

I've seen a few of the new Focus cars around and I think it looks really good. Never been a huge fan of the rear but its inoffensive. The front and side profiles now look much better IMO, more aggressive

Yes we still have the sweet 1.6Ti engine in here. I don't know why you don't get that engine with the new Focus whereas here we do. I've got the new brochure and it's on it. 115bhp and the same fuel consumption than the 1.4. What else could I ask for?

 

[JCTK]

I liked the pre-facelift better. It just looked more muscular, somehow.

+1 on that too~!

either that or I'd much rather go for the new Fiesta~

 

[edkwon]

yeah my thoughts is new front fascia looks good on the Mondeo, doesnt really suit the Focus, altho the dressed up ST version remedies that a little.

 

[pandaP2]

Not sure of the basic model, but the ST looks awesome! What color options does the ST have? Still the orange and blue?

 

[Cobol74]

Well, in the UK:

http://www.ford.co.uk/ns7/focmca/-/sbe_foc_config_iapp/-/-/-/-

1. Colorado Red
2. Frozen White
3. Moondust Silver (Metalic 350 GBP Options V)
4. Panther Black (Metalic)
5. Performance Blue (Metalic)
6. Sea Grey (Metalic)
7. Electric-Orange (metallic 695 GBP Option)

 

[zeroSignal]

I test drove the facelifted Focus, and I have to say I loved it. It was the 2.0 150hp version, with all the bells and whistles, and it was excellent. I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

 

[Z102]

My dad bought a new Focus last month and I have been driving daily for the last three weeks (my poor Fiesta was hit by a truck and is being repaired ), so I can give you my impressions on what the new Focus is like.

About the new styling, I have to say I have mixed feelings about it. First of all, I love the new "Kinetic" design. In my opinion, They have managed to improve what was already a pretty car. My main grudges are about the interior. I was a bit disappointed by the quality of some of the plastics and some details of the interior trim. I understand it's a pretty basic model, but some details are unforgivable, even in a basic model. On the possitive side, it's got plenty of interior space, and five people can travel in it with relative comfort. Besides, the new dials look fantastic, and the Sony stereo sounds very good.

About the driving, I must say that it's a nice car to drive. It's not the same as my Fiesta, but it handles and drives very well, even though the suspension isn't sporty at all. The worst part is the engine. It's got the 100HP 1.6 petrol (same engine as my Fiesta) and it shows that it's a bit low on power, even if it's more than enough for highway cruising at legal speeds. I find it lazy, and a bit noisy, and doesn't give the impression of refinement that the rest of the car tries to give. I think the VCT-i engine is a much better choice, and I don't understand why it has been removed from the UK market, unless they want to promote the Diesels there.

To sum up, I think it's a nice car, and Vltros, if you really want to buy one, I don't think you'd be disappointed.

 

[Vltros]

To sum up, I think it's a nice car, and Vltros, if you really want to buy one, I don't think you'd be disappointed.

Thanks mate!

I'm really looking forward to the moment I'll buy it (probably after summer). Good review about the car too. I'm still not sure about the options I want with the car though. It depends on wether I pass my civil worker tests (a.k.a Oposicions) or not. I'm interested in the Trend version as it has already plenty of gadgets and the exterior doesn't look bad at all. And one of those options I wasn't sure about it's getting the Sony stereo. But after reading your review I'll probably get one

BTW Has anyone tested the VCT-i 1.6 engine?

EDIT: I'm sorry to hear about what happened to your Fiesta Z102. Hope it gets fixed soon

 

[Cobol74]

Sorry no, but I drove a 1.6 HDI (MK2) for six months and it was brilliant fun. Nothing broke, comfy seats on long journeys, and a great motorway cruiser as well as good in the twisties.