SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

My most recent drive is on the home page. Archived reviews and opinion pieces are in the active menu down the left side. Hover your cursor over a heading or manufacturer's name and follow the drop-down.


Maintaining focus: The 2015 Ford Focus 1.0 EcoBoost Trend Hatchback

Keeps on impressing

Posted: 8 July 2015

The cheat sheet
Basic Price: R 234 900
Engine: 998 cc, DOHC, 12-valve, three-cylinder, turbopetrol
Power: 92 kW at 6000 rpm
Torque: 170 Nm between 1400 and 4500 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 11.1 seconds
Maximum speed: 192 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 6.4 l/100 km
Tank: 55 litres
Luggage: 316 – 1101 litres
Warranty: 4 years/120 000 km; with 3 years’ roadside assistance
Service plan: 4 years/80 000 km; at 20 000 km intervals

Intro: Some cars grow on you. Others never will. Still others, after a quick trip to the shops and back, make you say: “I want that.” Ford’s newest Focus is one.

It fits like a comfortable pair of jeans and tee, it feels solid and dependable, it’s quiet, the gear lever is placed exactly right, the ‘box is smooth and precise, the handbrake is just where it should be and it’s almost ridiculously easy to drive. Even the indicator wand is on the right side, where one expects to find it on a “British” car, but seldom does.

What you get: Despite the fairly big 4.5-metre Focus body, Ford’s multiple-award-winning little one-litre engine doesn’t struggle to get mobile. Or to impress. The zero-to-100 km/h dash is dealt with in just over 11 seconds and it surges on to 192 km/h. The acid test, out on the freeway, sees it pulling strongly from 100 km/h in sixth (top) gear for quick overtaking or simply easing away from potential trouble. At 120 km/h it’s loafing along at 2600 rpm - solidly within its torque band - which, for a little engine, is pretty impressive.

It’s obviously no ordinary one-litre mill. Displacing 998 cc from three cylinders (less friction than four), it develops 92 kilowatts of power and 170 Newton-metres of torque. That lugging potential is available from 1400 rpm all the way up to 4500. That’s why it pulls like a carthorse at cruising speed.

And in case your left brain tells you that three cylinders, firing at 120-degree intervals, is inherently rough or unbalanced, don’t fret. Ford engineers found a cheap and simple solution. Cleverly placed counterweights curtail vibrations without any need for the usual expensive and power-sapping balance shaft.

The engineering doesn’t end there. Its suspension, already more sophisticated than most cars in its price range, has been tightened up to reduce unwanted movement and make the car handle even better; new shock absorbers provide improved control and comfort and are expected to last longer; the electrically assisted power steering was retuned to improve handling, responsiveness and feedback, while body stiffness was increased to make it handle and feel better.

Then they listened to customer feedback, making music and computer controls simpler and easier to operate, with fewer buttons to confuse you. Finally its outside was made handsomer; with redesigned headlamps, fog lights, grille and tail lights. They’re all slimmer and smoother - making the car look slimmer and smoother too.

Kit: Basic equipment in entry-level Ambiente versions includes four airbags; disc brakes front and rear with ABS, EBA and EBD; ESP with traction control; hill start assist; power windows in front with one-touch for the driver; powered mirrors; ISOFix on the outer back seats; central locking with autolock; tyre pressure monitor; MyKey for junior driver supervision; rear fog lamps; a manual air conditioner, cloth seats; steel wheels; a six-speaker audio system with 4.2-inch dot matrix screen and steering wheel buttons; Ford Sync with Bluetooth, voice control, two USB plugs and auxiliary; and a trip computer.

Energy saving kit includes battery recharging during coasting and braking, active grille shutters, a gear shifting reminder and auto stop-start.

Trend versions, like our test car, add side curtain airbags, alloy wheels, front fog lights, an armrest to go with the adjustable cup- and bottle holder and 12-Volt socket in the centre console, cruise control, leather steering wheel, powered child-proof door locks and electric rear windows with one-touch for all.

An optional Driver Assistance Pack (for Trend only), priced at R11 940, adds a TFT colour screen, active parking assistance (parallel and perpendicular), parking sensors at both ends with camera at the rear, lane departure warning, cross traffic alert, active city stop, automatic headlamps with follow-me and high beam control, automatic wipers and an automatically dipping interior mirror. It looks like a bargain.
 
Hands on: The hatch lid opens down to about 70 centimetres but instead of the usual flat deck, you find a loading lip about 17 cm deep. There are four bag hooks, two lights, it opens wide and the space is nicely shaped. A steel spacesaver is under the floorboard. The rear seatback on both body styles splits 60:40 and folds flat, in line with the floor. Luggage volume on hatches is 316 litres vs 421 on sedans, so why hatches sell for R5000 more is a bit of a mystery.

A plastic funnel, for times when you need to refuel from a can, is held in place on the right-side wall with an elastic strap. Don’t lose it because the fuel pipe is one of those non-siphon jobs without a cap, and only the correctly sized fuel nozzle can open it. Of course, if some unworthy person pinches your funnel and then steals your fuel, we can’t help you. Just be alert.

The 6’1” backseat passenger, seated behind the driver’s chair adjusted for himself, found “enough” headspace but knees and feet were interference fits. And getting back out was awkward. Door bins are rather small but, because this is the Trend model, a second seatback pocket is provided.  Three head restraints, three full belts and the ISOFix mountings mentioned earlier look after safety. There is no central armrest or additional cup holders. For some odd reason, backseat passengers aren’t allocated panic handles, but both those in front are.

Moving forward, we found the adjustable bottle-and-cup holder quite novel, the storage box under the central armrest is narrow and would probably hold about four CDs in cases. That’s also where you will find the second USB socket and the auxiliary plug. The main glove box is decently sized and overall fit and finish, with a mix of hard and soft surfaces, is neat. Unlike some others at this price point, doors and boot close solidly.

Control pedals are adequately spaced, allowing room for large left feet to find the footrest comfortably. We were enthusiastic about hand control placements and gearbox action earlier, but we found it possible to “beat” its clutch action occasionally – it can be quite sharp if hurried.

Outro: Ford’s Focus offers good basic- and safety equipment, handles well, is respectably priced and is solidly built. Although there were a couple of minor issues, we still say, “I want that.”

Test car from Ford SA press fleet


What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so they can see I do actually exist.

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