One of the crucial points about attending the press launch of a new car is that it may be the only chance you ever get to drive the models at the bottom of the range. Manufacturers tend not to make these available later on for press evaluation, for the understandable reason that they want to show off the more impressive models. I sometimes feel, though, that it would be a good plan for journalists to have greater access to the cheaper machines.Hurrah, accordingly, for Ford's willingness to send us a three-door 1.6 Zetec version of the immensely popular Focus. There are, it is true, cheaper cars in the range, but not many. Of all the available types of the UK's top-selling car, this one has just about the fewest pretensions to being anything other than humble family transport. Vanilla motoring - that's what it represents.Well, I quite like vanilla. I rather like the Focus, too. It has never been my absolute favourite medium-sized hatch, but it's not far off it. And while I think other Focus models miss their intended target by a wide margin (the ST170 being the most drastic example), the 1.6 Zetec seems to have got pretty close to the bull's-eye.The initial shock of the New Age styling having now worn off almost completely, the Focus shape is familiar and, I think, comfortable. Likewise, the interior design, which once seemed so adventurous, is now merely a little fussier than average - and how strange it is that the current Fiesta, which was launched much later, is so far behind its larger sibling in this respect. Room for both passengers and luggage is, if not astounding, at least thoroughly acceptable.And I do very much like the way the Focus drives. It is still, five years on, one of the sharpest-handling cars in its class. It's no sports car, but it turns in nicely and holds its line through a corner without fuss. While you might not set any records on a trip over interesting roads, you would at least get to the other end without feeling that the car had let you do all the work.That 1.6-litre engine is quite a strong performer, too, to the extent that I had to check a couple of times to make sure that I wasn't actually driving a 1.8. Again, it doesn't have enough power to make any sense at all as a track car, but in a week of normal road driving it never left me feeling that I needed more (though I might have felt differently if the car had the automatic gearbox rather than the five-speed manual).Some Fords give you the feeling that a lot of cost-cutting has gone on in the build process. The Focus almost entirely avoids this. Only an occasional creak on undulating roads gave away the fact that this is a car produced in very large numbers, with the production tolerance issues that that implies.Don't buy a Focus 1.6 Zetec if you want to impress everyone on the road. But if you want a nice car that does the job well, give this one some thought.Second opinion: Yes, it's interesting that the Focus hatchback - although not the saloon and estate, which I tend to approach scattering garlic around - still seems so freshly styled. And the three-door is probably neater looking. The thing you can't take away from the Focus is that it's just about the best-balanced car in its class, and it has the intriguing quality that a quick driver can enjoy it, while a less adventurous one, even if not getting close to the limit, can feel that he/she is pressing on pretty smartly. It's one of those cars which respond well to a light touch on the controls, and is so effortless to drive that you can reach the end of a journey feeling more relaxed than you did at the start. Ross Finlay. Engine 1596cc, 4cylinders Power 100bhp @6000rpm Torque 107ib/ft @4000rpm Transmission 5 speed manual Fuel/CO2 40.9mpg / 165g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 10.9sec Top speed 115mph Price From £12363.00 approx Release date 04/10/2001
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