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Ford’s revamped Focus range, which enters showrooms in November, will retain its £13,995 entry price as the brand moves to take the best handling honours in the C-segment following significant mechanical changes.
The most extensive mid-life refresh ever applied to a Focus includes significant engine and chassis changes, as well as an upgraded interior and extra technology.
Exterior changes include redesigned front and rear ends including a new grille placed higher on the nose and the slimmed-down headlights previously seen on the Fiesta.
The range still will still feature six trim levels – Studio costing from £13,995, Style (£16,795), Zetec (£18,295), Zetec S (£20,045), Titanium (£19,795) and Titanium X (£21,795). Diesel models start at £17,995.
Ford is hoping that the changes to the chassis – which include new more adjustable dampers, stiffer bushes, retuned power steering and a reprogrammed ESC – will put the Focus back at the top of the list for handling.
Always praised for its on-the-road performance since it first replaced the Escort, the current Focus has in many observers’ eyes lost its handling crown to the latest Volkswagen Golf.
Powertrain changes include a new 1.5-litre EcoBoost petrol engine of 179bhp, matching the outgoing 1.6-litre unit but with seven per cent better fuel economy and CO2 emissions cut to 127g/km.
Across the petrol range fuel economy improves between four and seven per cent while the diesel line-up is 10 per cent more fuel efficient.
Among the technology upgrades buyers can choose the hands-free Perpendicular Parking, which aids reversing into spaces alongside other vehicles, and the latest version of the infotainment and connectivity system, Sync2.
The new Focus is visually different too, the front and rear ends significantly changed and including a new grille placed higher on the nose and the slimmed-down headlights previously seen on the Fiesta.
