Ford Focus Estate Pre Model Edge 1.6 105ps 5dr Car Review - March 2012

The Focus Estate Edge's 1.6-litre petrol engine develops 104bhp and propels the car from 0-62mph in 12.5 seconds and on to a top speed of 116 mph. Although hardly earth-shattering, this is a decent level of performance for a family car and it has to be remembered that this is the baby of the range.

The refinement is superb and the Focus Estate's ride is very comfortable indeed, ironing out imperfections on the road surface with ease. The Estate, like all Focuses, handles better than it has any right to thanks to a good chassis. In terms of handling and ride comfort, the Focus is still head and shoulders above its rivals.

Electric front windows and electric door mirrors come as standard, as do air conditioning, electric door mirrors, CD Player, MP3 connectivity and Bluetooth.

Satellite navigation is not an option and, despite the good range of basics, the car is relatively basic in terms of appearance and style. Of course this can be enhanced through chargeable extras such as alloy wheels and a metallic paint which cost £525 each. Electric rear windows will cost you £250 and rear parking sensors will set you back a further £225.

The Focus isn't a bad looking car but it's such a common sight on British roads that it's hard to form an opinion on its looks.

The car is spacious providing storage space for belongings. When the seats are folded there is 1,502 litres of space on offer with a decent 476 litre capacity still offered when the seats are all in place.

The Focus should prove to be a very safe car thanks to numerous safety features and driver, passenger and front side airbags. The Focus achieved the full five stars in the Euro NCAP safety tests. An alarm is also fitted to keep the car secure when you're not in it.

The Focus has proven to be a very reliable car and the Ford Focus Estate Edge 1.6 105ps 5dr is covered under warranty for three years, or up to 60,000 miles.

This is the cheapest Focus Estate in the range at £17,095. The range of standard kit is a bit basic but the Focus is still good value for money when compared to its rivals.

Running costs are fairly average with fuel consumption of 47.1 mpg and CO2 emissions of 139 g/km. This puts the car under road rax band E whilst insurance premiums fall under a fairly low price band: 11. Those after low running costs are well advised to consider the diesels in the range - the base 1.6 TDCi will return 67.1mpg and only costs £1100 more than this model, making it a more sensible bet.