When Ford launched the Focus range a couple of years ago there was a universal swooning among the British motoring press, which threw as much praise and as many Car of the Year awards at it as possible. What a fabulous machine, everyone said. How could the same company responsible for the must-try-harder-next-time Escort suddenly produce something as magnificent as this?I suspect that comparison with the Escort clouded people's judgement slightly. The Focus was certainly a huge leap forward, but it has never been my number one favourite car in the medium-sized hatchback sector.Still, in all the forms in which it was available originally, the Focus was quite an appealing device. Practical, lots of space, reasonably nippy, and far nicer to drive than any Escort for years and years.The 2.0 Zetec version is clearly an attempt to attract buyers of a more sporty nature, as the multi-spoke alloys show. Well, I've got no objection whatever to sporty cars, but a week in this one has made me feel that Ford has lost the plot to some extent with this car.Stiffer suspension settings have damaged the ride significantly. On the average UK road surface - namely anything of less than glass-like smoothness - it's quite uncomfortable, jiggling over small bumps as if someone had left a pneumatic drill running in the luggage compartment.That would be understandable if the handling had improved, but for most purposes it hasn't. While the 2.0 Zetec will undoubtedly corner harder than lesser models, there are very few occasions when you can usefully take advantage of this, and even when you can there are many other cars in which you would enjoy the process far more.Something of the steering sharpness that was one of the original car's most impressive features has been lost with this one. You know the front end is digging in nicely as you turn into a corner, but only because you are going quickly and the tyres are clearly not losing grip. You feel very little of this through the steering wheel, and you begin to suspect that a plateful of cold porridge has been engineered into the system for some reason known only to the chassis team.Does this matter? I think it does, because the effect is the same at slower speeds. When you have a sporty car it's nice to feel the potential for sportiness even when you are pulling out of a side street or entering a roundabout at 15mph. Not so with the Zetec, which feels dull and lifeless.To enhance the general effect, Ford has fitted what appear at first glance to be more supportive seats. Not for the first time, though, these provide support in some places but not others - and, most significantly, not in the small of the back. Drivers of different stature may not agree with this, but for the six foot threes among you I can confirm that lower back pains are an inevitable consequence of journeys lasting more than half an hour or so.It's a shame, because the Focus is generally a fine car. I wouldn't complain much if I had to live with one every day, though I might sigh wistfully every time I saw a Volkswagen Golf go past. But it would have to be one of the smaller-engined, lower-spec models. If I had to share my life with a 2.0 Zetec I would always be wondering why so many of the qualities which make the other cars so attractive had been left out of this one.Second opinion: Well, the electronic stability programme fitted to this Focus, as well as the fatter tyres and so on, does seem to have taken away some of the chuckability and pin-sharp response of the smaller-engined types. But I had quite a long drive in it, in heavy rain, and it certainly felt sure-footed. Still an intriguing interior, good luggage space for the class, decent power and strong brakes, and I realised from taking a good long look at the test car that a black three-door is the best looking Focus of them all. Ross Finlay.
Our Rating
