Ford Focus gets a facelift

Ford has released the first official pictures of the new Focus ahead of its debut at the Geneva Motor Show

The upgrade includes design tweaks, Ford’s latest corporate grille, a “cockpit-inspired” interior, state-of-the-art in-car technology, plus new engines.

It’s also the first Ford globally to offer the new hands-free Perpendicular Parking technology, which helps drivers reverse into spaces side-to-side with other cars.

Engine options on the Focus will include the new 1.5-litre EcoBoost petrol and new 1.5-litre TDCi diesel engines, improving economy by as much as 19% over current Focus. A mean 99 g/km CO2 version of the 1.0-litre EcoBoost will also be on offer, along with an all-electric option.

The Focus will also feature the European debut of SYNC 2, Ford’s new in-car connectivity system that features a high-resolution colour touch screen and advanced voice control for easier access to audio, navigation, climate control and mobile phones.

Externally the Focus bears more than a passing resemblance to its little brother, the Fiesta and upcoming Mondeo, thanks to its Aston Martin-esque grille and slimmer nose. The rear of the car has been tidied up too, and features new lights.

The Adaptive Front Lighting System has also been improved. It will now adjust the beams of the new Bi-Xenon HID headlamps to best suit the road layout.

At high speeds, such as on a motorway, the headlights will be raised to project a longer, straighter beam for visibility further ahead. In towns, where speeds are lower and street lighting more intense, the beam will spread out downwards to more intensely illuminate the road immediately ahead. When cornering at lower speeds, the system projects a beam towards the side of the road to make cyclists and pedestrians more visible.

The new Focus also will be available with a paddle-shift option, enabling drivers to control gear changes while keeping their hands on the steering wheel.

“We weren’t satisfied with being No 1; we wanted to blow people away with a stunning new version of the Focus,” said Stephen Odell, president of Ford of Europe, Middle East and Africa. “New Focus marries modern design, advanced technology and leading fuel efficiency with the fun-to-drive DNA for which Focus is rightly acclaimed.”

Ford first launched the Focus in 1998 and since then more than 12 million have been sold worldwide, including 6.9 million in Europe.

Factories in Germany, US, Russia, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan and Argentina produce more than 1.5 million Focus cars annually at a rate of more than two vehicles per minute. In Europe, Ford builds a new Focus every 90 seconds.

The new Focus, currently the No 2 bestseller in the UK behind Ford’s Fiesta, goes on sale this summer.