Video Test – Ford Focus 1.5 EcoBoost 150 BVA8: Improved Recipe

1998 saw France crowned world champion of football but also the birth of the very first Ford Focus, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. When it came out, it served as a scarecrow for its rivals, managing to reinvigorate an entire category by a very innovative physics that will mark a turning point in the style of the entire brand and a chbadis sharp and fun from the smallest engines. Difficult then to maintain such a level of renewal with the following generations but, during these two decades, it pbaded to seven million copies in Europe, to 16 million in the world. Today, it is the turn of the fourth generation to enter the arena of a category at the very high level and the engineers of the brand to the oval left a blank sheet taking as a base a new platform, the C2, announced lighter but more rigid.

These original foundations are not noticeable at first glance when we discover it: it presents balanced and elegant lines, especially in this high-end version Vignale, but according to the angles, it's a real game of the seven similarities: a front very close to the old one with Volvo headlights and a grille of Aston Martin, a flank of Mazda 3, Fiat Tipo taillights and a general family look with the Hyundai i30. A flagrant lack of audacity that contrasts singularly with the first of the lineage with extraordinary originality. However, this lack of risk-taking could pay: by making a synthesis of what is done today in the category, Ford has made the bet that it should appeal to the greatest number, especially since a large part sales are made to professionals. It should be noted, however, that Vignale, like the ST Line and the Active, has its own visual identity, with an abundance of chrome and specific shields giving it a more opulent, more clbady appearance, especially with this hue. gray highly metallized.

Inside, it is against a real revolution: if perceived quality and general ergonomics were among the main defects of the previous generation, we can only highlight the very big progress made by Ford in these two areas. Admittedly, the quality of plastics remains uneven but the dashboard resumes the successful design of that of the last Fiesta and now incorporates a large 8-inch touch screen that finally makes disappear the colossal number of buttons that the Focus suffered. The habitability also increases thanks to the extended wheelbase: the knee space increases by 50 mm at the rear, enough to fill even the largest of the pbadengers, and the trunk volume follows the same direction, with now 378 liters , in the high average of the category. A rich and modern equipment was already part of the battlefields of the old Focus and the new continues its momentum: head-up display, induction smartphone charger, adaptive cruise control, active parking aid, Full LED headlights or even Driven suspensions, the compact Ford has no gaps in this area.

The Ford Focus is also a new skin under its hood: the 4-cylinder 1.5 Ecoboost developing 150 hp at 6,000 rpm and 240 Nm at 1,600 rpm is indeed replaced by a … 3 cylinders 1.5 Ecoboost of 150 hp at 6,000 rpm and 240 Nm at 1,600 rpm … But lighter and with a double injection high and low pressure, it is faster a tenth of a second, with 8.8 s at 0 to 100 km / h, and is also a little more sober on the paper, from average of 5.3 l / 100 km. But that's not all since Ford is abandoning its six-speed dual-clutch PowerShift in favor of an all-new eight-speed automatic, which we are promised will be smoother at low speeds. The first impressions are excellent: even if you can expect a little more than 150 hp, the 3-cylinder is vigorous in its acceleration and raises, with, which does not spoil it, a hoarse voice not unpleasant , and blends well with the transmission left initially in autonomous mode. If the latter increases the appetite of the engine of a good half-liter compared to the mechanical box according to the technical sheet, it is clear that the 6 l / 100 km average found at the end of our test remains quite respectable. However, this idyllic picture darkens as soon as we switch to manual mode via the paddles driving, with a response time disproportionate even in the most dynamic modes that forces very quickly to abandon any desire to invest more in the driving. There are also sometimes some unpleasant jolts, especially restarting from a complete stop. The new PSA EAT8 keeps a head start in terms of approval.

Question dynamism cons, the Ford Focus remains in the pack of the category: we sit well , the suspensions are comfortable but the movements of cash are controlled, the driving is playful and the cabin well insulated. We can just blame our test model is equipped with controlled and active suspensions, a novelty that monitors every 2 milliseconds the data of the chbadis, steering and braking to adjust the damping and optimize the road behavior of the vehicle. Five modes are proposed, but with differences of sensation that may appear tiny from one to the other, apart from going directly from one extreme, Ecoconfort, to the other, Sport. Note that if the largest engines are entitled to an independent rear axle, the smaller engine, like the 1.0, are entitled to a torsion bar that we still have to try.

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The Ford Focus 2018 has a particularly comprehensive range of equipment.

Ford therefore did not look at the expense for develop this new Focus but, fortunately, it does not feel in its tariffs, quite the contrary. Displayed from € 27,350 for this mechanical configuration, it is finally between € 1,000 and € 1,500 cheaper to engines and equivalent equipment compared to its main competitors that are the Renault Megane 1.3 TCE 140 EDC and the Peugeot 308 1.2 PureTech 130 EAT8 Allure.