| Focus continues to hold number one spot |
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| Tuesday, 29 April 2008 | |
 In figures released for the first quarter of the year Ford occupy first and second place in the car sales league with their Focus and Mondeo respectively.The Focus continues to hold the number one spot with sales of nearly 4,300 in the first three months, yet the company still want to make it even better. So how do you improve the best-selling car in the country? The one major change is the introduction of Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) as standard. Ford was the first company to make airbags standard in their cars and now they are leading the way by making ESP standard; a first for a mass-market car in this segment. The cost of supplying ESP as an option for a car in the Focus segment would be approximately e500, so you are getting an important safety extra at no extra cost. Really this was like a trip back to the future for me as I owned a Focus when it was first introduced in 1999. Yet even an avid Focus fan like me must admit that at this stage the car needed a fresh look. It got a major re-design in 2005, but while Ford claim to have made several changes this time around, they are not very obvious to the average motorist. The headlamps look a lot smarter and there are new bumpers, front and back. The front now has what could be described as a scaled down Mondeo look which of course is not a bad thing. You also get indicators on the side mirrors. Inside there is a brighter/fresher look for the controls on the dash. And as usual with Ford everything is well laid out and easy to use. The slave controls in the Focus are user friendly and well placed just to the left of the steering wheel. I really liked the driver’s seat which seemed to hug your back into a comfortable position. The boot is a decent size and you get a full-size spare wheel, something that’s no longer standard in all new models. However, the fifth door seemed a bit heavy when opening and closing, or maybe I’m just getting weak! Naturally I enjoyed my time in the revamped Focus. It handles very well and the ESP is very useful when cornering at speed. By now the car may have lost some of that wow factor that it had when launched nine years ago. It’s still a very solid, reliable motor and unless you want to make a fashion statement with your car, you will find it hard to get a better value for money car for family motoring. Ford continue to dominate the Irish car market with their Focus and Mondeo, which is not surprising as both models were voted Semperit Irish Car of the Year in the past. And if early reports are correct it looks like Ford could also make a dent in the lucrative cross-over market with their new Kuga which is due here in June. Prices for the revamped Focus have not increased with a starting price of e19,565 for the three-door 1.4. The car is available in five different grades in three and five-door: Freedom, Style, Ghia, Titanium and Zetec. The engines ranges are: 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 and 2.6 petrol and 1.6 diesel. And the top of the range 5-door Ghia will cost you e25,450. |
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Developed by Kevin Flynn