Now is not the time for the new Ford Focus III to drop a bomb. On those hefty shoulders of reinvention is a car that has been a ride and handling pioneer in the family hatchback segment since 1998, as well as the decade’s biggest unit shifter.

UK sales of the Ford Focus have exceeded 1.4 million units since 1998

Yet in Ford UK’s centennial year, the new Ford Focus is going global: one car, 120 different markets and 2-2.5million forecasted annual sales. BIG ask.

On the outside

The fact people haven’t been that receptive to the new car’s styling makes me think either (i) the quest for ‘global cars’ is forcing us into some sort of moribund design scene or (ii) we’re losing our ability to be impressed by the new. Judging by the new ‘global’ Nissan Micra, I want to say it’s them, not us.

The kinetic design language still offers obvious hints of Ford Focus -- see large trapezoidal front grille, zig-zag character line -- but there are some elements that look a bit fussy -- see back of car. Global concessions also mean that Ford isn’t making a three-door version of the new Focus, though a five-door hatchback and estate will be hitting UK showrooms in March.

Kinetic Design language continues in Ford Focus III

On the inside

Inside is more resolved and a significant step up in perceived quality over the previous generation Ford Focus, even though it does feel like a big Fiesta. There’s a rich mix of materials with both smooth and angular architecture that keeps this car firmly routed in the now. Unfortunately, the wrap-around dashboard does eat into passenger legroom, so taller peeps should take note.

Compared to the ergonomic but starch conservatism of the Volkswagen Golf, the Focus also lets loose with a baffling panoply of controls. Baffling only to someone (like me) unaccustomed to the masses of tech now being marketed at this price point. The most impressive gadget of which is the optional driver assistance pack which uses a forward facing digital camera to offer adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning plus intervention (see below), automatic high beam and traffic sign recognition.

Engines

The most efficient Ford Focus on sale in March will be the 1.6-litre TDCi Duratorq diesel that claims 109g/km and fuel economy of 67.3mpg. But the biggest talking point is Ford’s new 1.6-litre Ecoboost petrol engine. It’s an all-aluminium unit that’s been turbocharged to offer the performance of a naturally aspirated 2.0-litre petrol but with better emissions and fuel consumption.

Focus uses the EPAS electric power assisted steering that also features in the C-MAX

There will be two power outputs available: a 148bhp version from launch and a 180bhp version I tested that follows in the summer. The 180bhp version has a surprising amount of fizz for a 1.6, with plenty of torque low down in the rev range which helps it accelerate from rest to 62mph in 7.9secs. Both versions will come fitted with Automatic Stop-Start, emit 139g/km and return an almost diesel-like 47mpg on the combined cycle.

The 2.0 diesels are the only models available with Ford’s new dual-clutch gearbox, but it lacks the responsiveness of Volkswagen Group’s DSG system. The bizarre rocker-switch that’s mounted on the gearstick for semi-manual mode (instead of using conventional wheel-mounted paddles) is also an invention the world has not been waiting for.

Dynamics & Verdict

How you benchmark the dynamics of the new Ford Focus will ultimately depend on its intended purpose in your life. Is it to rip up and down the Col de Vence comparing bump absorption and agility on 80mph right-handers? Or is it to provide rich memories of dull, interminable hours spent on the M6, driving to Tesco, the Trafford Centre and any other number of those indoor-outdoor shopping centres that like to architecturally imitate streets.

If the former fulfils your priorities, you may feel that the chassis isn’t so inherently well balanced as the previous generation Ford Focus, nor will you be able to steer the car on the throttle. So perhaps consider buying the Ford Focus II while you still can (it’s still on sale until September). Or perhaps something that isn’t a family hatchback?

For anybody else, the new Ford Focus offers a much more mature, refined and fundamentally better proposition than its predecessor while still being excellent fun to drive.

Bookmark It

Every time another brilliant, snow-covered Monte Carlo Rally marks the opening leg of the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Championships (IRC), I can’t help but lament the passing of Group B.

There’s no denying the breathtaking skill level of the men and women involved in modern day rally, but the way drivers like  Ari Vatanen, Hannu Mikkola and Stig Blomqvist piloted these feral, now sacrosanct machines and gave them an almost balletic grace is pretty difficult to elucidate verbally. So instead, just click ‘PLAY.’

Bookmark It

Nature wasn’t kind to the BMW F800 GS. Symmetry is supposed to be a sign of smooth physiological development, of probable health and fitness thanks to an immune system resistant to parasites that could cause uneven growth. Yet beyond the Gonzo-esque snoot and tricolore war paint, here we are observing one of the biggest lazy eyes in motorcycle history.

The F800 GS may not be a looker, but it's one of the most robust and versatile bikes on the market

OK, it probably has a lot more to do with BMW’s designers but we’re passed finger pointing. I happen to think there’s an industriousness and nontraditional beauty to the F800 GS but regardless, I don’t want to mate Bavaria’s Quasimodo, I want to ride it.

And that’s where the BMW F800 GS excels, both on the road and in the dirt. So what if it doesn’t have the glitzy Charlie Boorman-ator status of the R1200 GS Adventurer? The 85hp 800cc unit, a symmetrical parallel twin, is punchy, beautifully linear in its delivery and more than up to the job.

On/off-road versatility of the BMW F800 GS is tempting my budget away from four wheels onto two

Plus, when you’re not on a six month sabbatical to the Andes (which due to factors like ooh, I don’t know, ‘a job,’ will be NEVER) you’ll actually praise the bike’s lighter weight and narrower profile with those wide enduro bars for making it a synch to manoeuvre through traffic. It’s also considerably cheaper, though sadly not cheap enough. Soooo, would anybody be prepared to lend me £7,650?

Bookmark It

The Audi A1 has just scooped this year’s prestigious What Car? Car of the Year gong.  It may not be as high profile or new gen as the all-electric Nissan LEAF, but it shines light on a supermini segment that continues to polarise into very functional cars (see the Nissan Micra) in one direction and more premium-feeling cars in the other. Until recently, that premium market was almost exclusively covered by MINI.

Every carmaker starts the night with champagne and unlimited prospects, but Audi A1 was crowned overall winner

They say you’re never supposed to be more than 6ft away from a spider. In London, it’s probably the same sort of statistic for spotting a MINI. Nobody can deny it’s a quality item but they also say familiarity breeds contempt and Audi smells blood.

In the A1, Audi has displayed more convincingly than any other manufacturer that downsizing does not have to mean a step down in quality, technology or refinement. Thanks to its platform, engine and drivetrain sharing techniques with sister companies Volkswagen, SEAT and Skoda, it has also shown that there can be more than meagre profit margins in small cars. Those decisions also make it easier for the company to justify creating the low volume Quattro version expected later this year, that will keep enthusiasts happy.

Laughs were supplied by comedian Al Murray, though some of us were blushing down to our bow ties

You could argue that the Audi A1 is just a vaguely tarted up Volkswagen Polo, and you would of course be right. But the fact Volkswagen didn’t nail the What Car? criterion last year as resolutely as Audi did this year shows the importance of badge value, and prejudices in these matters are hard to shift. Taste is so bound up with self-esteem, particularly in economically sensitive times, that a sense of superiority to those with lower brands is almost impossible to relinquish without risk of identity-crisis.

Bookmark It

The Nissan Micra has become such an integrated part of British culture, we’ve adopted it as ‘one of our own.’ Built at Nissan Sunderland since 1992, the cute supermini was the first Japanese car to win European COTY in 1993 with a focus on compactness, comfort, reliability and value for money. All of those traits still appear present and correct in the latest fourth generation Micra, but it now seems like it’s being exalted as some kind of hero to the bland.

The new Nissan Micra is uniformly competent but painfully featureless

Yes, you cannot question that the new Nissan Micra is cleaner and more fuel efficient and safer than the previous car, thanks to six airbags and a four star Euro NCAP rating. There’s more room in the back and the insurance group is lower, too. But in its application for 160 markets -- the Micra is being described as Nissan’s first ‘global car’ with production shifting to India, China and Thailand  -- this car has lost the 3dr model variant and some, no, most of its character, embracing mediocrity like it’s some kind of lifestyle choice. Unless you get excited by turning circles, that is -- 4.64m apparently. A Hackney Carriage does it in 8m.

That may be good enough for other car markets, but the UK is like bootcamp for the B-segment. With a £9k starter point, this car is pitching itself up against a fiercely competitive line-up that includes the Ford Fiesta, Fiat 500 and Hyundai i20.

Some cars behave like white goods. Their function is simple and clear cut, so it either does its job or doesn’t. The Nissan Micra is one of those cars. We know it will start, it will stop and odds are it will be reliable. At that very basic level, it will perform your tasks competently and dutifully. However, if you want a supermini with a bit of character, something that you can actually feel vaguely proud of or attached to, I’d be tempted to look elsewhere.

Bookmark It

The final edition of Max Power magazine has hit the newsstands and after reading an impassioned tribute by editor Mark Guest, I’m trying to figure out where it’s all gone wrong for Britain’s most significant car-modifying title.

In the late 90s, Max Power was to the car-modifying scene what The Face magazine was to music lovers.  The UK’s then biggest-selling car mag offered its monthly readership of 200,000 a cultural education into car customising from across the globe. Once again, cars were becoming the social glue for a diverse set of young people brought together by a mixture of boredom and mutual awkwardness.

Though I attended the weekly cruises and consulted the Haynes modifying manual like it was some sort of religious tome, I never felt like a true Max Power boy. I appreciated the craft of these car conversions immensely, but felt rather embarrassed by all the extraneous smut that went with it.  The Max Power Live events at the NEC always seemed to be a poorly judged balance of cars, glamour girls and fetid, libidinous men. Then when the magazine strapline shifted from ‘Modified and Street Legal’ to ‘The Definitive Guide to Arsing About in Cars,’ and the content moved onto discussing 50in LCD monitors in your boot (why?), I knew I had beome an integer in a random series of numbers.

Max Power will always have a special place in my heart, but I still find myself deeply frustrated by the dichotomy of content in the final magazine. For every cracking feature – check out the Monster Vorsteiner BMW M3 – there remains some girl from Romford desperate to display her muff and detail whether she would spit or swallow.  I’m not suggesting every magazine needs to be produced by people that are weaned on Twinings English Breakfast tea, but there has to be some standards.

Were this not the last ever Max Power magazine, I doubt I would have even given it a second glance. Which says it all, really.

Bookmark It