Bay Harbour: October 23, 2019

Wednesday October 23 2019
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
BAY HARBOUR
PAGE 27
Ford Focus continues tradition of old
Motoring
Ross Kiddie
WHEN I LOOK back over time
I simply can’t understand why I
let two of my favourite cars go to
new owners, I made some very
bad decisions.
They were both three-door
Escorts, a Mk 1 and Mk 2 Sport.
Today I’m hankering to own
an Escort again, but prices are
astronomical and they don’t often
come up for sale.
The Escort of eras gone by
represented honesty and sporty
performance, depending on the
model. Over the years it morphed
into various shapes and designs,
its concept retained in today’s Focus
– the natural successor to that
incredibly successful nameplate.
The Focus has just been transformed
for 2019, there are four
models for New Zealand, three
hatchbacks and a wagon. The
latter has a 2-litre diesel engine,
but all the others share a threecylinder
petrol driveline. There
are three levels of specification, a
Trend opens the series at $31,990,
ST-Line adds around $5000,
while a Titanium variant lists at
$41,990. This evaluation focuses
on the latter (pardon the pun).
For interest’s sake, the Trend
wagon is listed at $37,990.
The Titanium is plush, it is very
well specced and a value choice. It
is a compact car but it will easily
cater for four, or even five when
necessary. Each occupant gets a
respectable amount of head and
leg room, even in the rear. Load
space is also on a par with what
you would expect from a mid-size
hatchback, but those interested
in more cargo carrying ability
could well be interested in the
entry-level wagon, it would be my
choice in the series.
Under the bonnet sits the
delightful three-cylinder, 1.5-litre
engine. It must be said that threepotters
are different in the way
they sound and react, not that
that is a problem, but there are
harmonics which the occupants
can pick up. I’m a big threecylinder
engine fan, they develop
strong low down torque, and that
FORD FOCUS: Three-cylinder enigne.
is what you want in any engine,
and if you add in turbocharged
boost then the Focus feels feisty
and decisive when asked to perform.
Ford claims a very impressive
134kW (6000rpm) and
240Nm power outputs from the
twin-camshaft unit. The torque
output is delivered low in the rev
band at 1600rpm with a long,
broad stretch to 4500rpm and
that contributes to the feeling of
willingness and urgency. Sure,
a standstill to 100km/h time of
8.9sec isn’t earth-shattering, but
the Focus in this form does have
punch through the mid-range
and that’s what is important, it
will easily make a 5sec 80km/h to
120km/h overtaking manoeuvre.
Drive is channelled through an
eight-speed automatic transmission
and it harnesses the available
power beautifully, the proximity
of ratios means the engine never
goes off song and the correct gear
is always selected for each moment.
The gearing is such that it also
makes economic use of fuel. Ford
claims a 6.1l/100km (46mpg)
combined cycle average. The fuel
usage readout on the evaluation
car was mostly listing around
7.6l/100km (37mpg) with tempting
4.6l/100km (61mpg) available
instantaneously at 100km/h, the
engine turning over leisurely at
1600rpm.
Like its predecessors, the Focus
has quality handling. I’ve long
admired the way European Fords
tackle tight and twisty terrain,
• Price – Ford Focus
Titanium, $41,990
• Dimensions – Length,
4378mm; width, 1823mm;
height, 1454mm
• Configuration – Threecylinder,
front-wheeldrive,
1497cc, 134kW,
240Nm, eight-speed
automatic.
• Performance –
0-100km/h, 8.9sec
• Fuel usage – 6.1l/100km
the Focus steers with precision
and accuracy. The Titanium-spec
Focus does sit a little firm on the
road and that has a lot to do with
the low profile tyres (235/40 x
18in), however, the ride isn’t compromised
greatly, there is compliance
within the suspension.
Ford of New Zealand, and the
dealerships, must still be happy
with their position in the marketplace.
Ranger is still the number
one seller nationwide, and the rest
of the Ford line-up is ticking over
consistently.
The Focus is there to tempt
the small-to-mid hatchback
(or wagon) buyer and it is very
capable in all conditions. And
with petrol sitting at around $2.20
a litre, that wee engine is a real
money-saver.
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