Ford has updated the Focus with a bolder, more sophisticated look, and advanced technology to give you a driving experience the likes of which you haven’t had before. Last November 3, Ford took members of the press on a day with the updated Focus. The entire experience, set up at the Megatent at Libis, had everyone get to take the sprightly vehicle, both in the hatch and sedan configurations, in varying levels of trim.
The face of the new Focus has been updated to reflect a more sophisticated, dynamic look. It stands moth lower and wider, with a hood that sweeps elegantly to Ford’s signature trapezoidal grille, giving the car a stronger, aggressive presence on the road. The slim headlamps bring together the bold front end, with the clean, flowing lines of the sides, all the way up to the rear window. Thinner tail lights, a new tailgate arrangement, and a sculpted rear spoiler all come together to form a car that’s still distinctly a Focus, but visually very new.
The interior of the new Focus has been redesigned, taking heed of the demands of consumers over the previous iteration. Inside, it’s simpler, more intuitive, and modern, with fewer controls and switches to manipulate. The general reorganization of the instrument panel and car controls allow the driver to better keep their attention on driving, rather than have to worry about accessing the vehicle’s other features. It’s also exceedingly quiet. sound-insulating windshield glass, thicker side-window glass, carpets, and door trim insulation all mean that the vehicle is perfectly isolated from outside noise, for greater rider comfort.
Making the driving experience even more pleasant are cutting-edge technologies that allow the Focus do help the driver do more, with much less difficulty. The new Focus comes with Enhanced Active Park Assist, which adds Perpendicular Park Assist to the previously available Parallel Park Assist. These features helps the driver by scanning for a suitable parking slot, and parking the vehicle, eliminating the guesswork often necessary for the perfect parking job. Al the driver has to do is control the shifting, braking, and acceleration. The system works through two sensors on the car, which also come into play when the driver activated Park-out assist, allowing the driver to get out of even the tightest parking spots.
The Active City Stop system helps mitigate low-speed collisions through the use of a windshield-mounted sensor that detects possible collisions, pre-loading the brakes should an obstacle appear, or the car ahead slow down abruptly. Active up to 50km/h, the system kicks in, decreasing engine torque, and applying the brakes, to prevent a collision. The new Focus also comes the Ford My Key that can be programmed to limit the car’s maximum speed, give an earlier “low fuel” warning, lowering the volume of the in-car entertainment system, or disable the the car completely, should the seatbelt come unfastened.
The heart of the new Focus is a 1.5-liter, four-cyliner EcoBoost engine, which gives 180PS of power, and 240Nm of torque–more powerful than a 2.0-liter, naturally-aspirated engine. This engine uses the EcoBoost core technologies of high-pressure, direct fuel injection, turbocharging, and Twin-Independent Variable Cam Timing to deliver optimum performance. This revolutionary engine is mated to a new, modern, lightweight six-speed automatic transmission, all of which deliver a sporty drive, that’s both fun, and fuel-efficient.
The new Focus is available for delivery in November, in four variants, at the following price points:
1.5L Focus GTDI EcoBoost Sport+ AT – PHP 1,278,000
1.5L Focus GTDI EcoBoost Titanium+ AT – PHP 1,278,000
1.5L Focus GTDI EcoBoost Sport AT – PHP 1,088,000
1.5L Focus GTDI EcoBoost Titanium AT – PHP 1,088,00