Ford Focus facelifted for 2014 | Geneva - Car News Feb 2014

GENEVA
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13:05 Thursday 27 Feb 2014

This is the new 2014 Ford Focus, a facelift of Britain's second-best-selling car, which has been updated with a range of styling tweaks, cabin upgrades and new engines.

The new Focus will go on show at the Geneva Motor Show next week before going on sale in the UK in June.

At the front, the new Focus gets Ford's new corporate grille, with a slimmer grille and a more sculpted bonnet. Like the facelifted Fiesta, the Focus features narrower headlamps and the fog lamps have also been elongated to create a bolder front end. At the back, the taillights have been narrowed and there's a new bumper and tailgate.

Inside, the Focus gets a new four-spoke steering wheel which replaces the old three-spoke wheel, along with an improved centre console, chrome inserts and satin-black highlights, all of which should give a greater feeling of quality than before.

The big changes, however, are under the bonnet. The Focus becomes the first Ford to be sold in Europe to get the company's new 1.5-litre EcoBoost petrol engine instead of the old naturally-aspirated 1.6. Power outputs of 148bhp and 178bhp will be available. In addition to this, a new 1.5-litre diesel will be available with power outputs of 94bhp and 118bhp.

 

Ford Focus facelift

 

Entry-level models will continue to receive Ford's 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine wither either 99bhp or 123bhp. The lesser-powered of these two models also receives some efficiency tweaks, becoming the first non-hybrid petrol car of its size to offer sub-100g/km CO2 emissions.

The new Focus also gets a raft of chassis changes aimed at restoring the Focus' title as the best handling car in its class -- a plaudit it lost, arguably, when the current generation Golf was launched. The chassis is stiffer and both the suspension and steering have been upgraded to provide more driver feedback.

Thicker carpets and side window glass, along with improved sound deadening in the engine bay, have been added to improve refinement.

 

Ford Focus facelift

 

Ford's new SYNC 2 will also be on offer, making the new Focus the first car in Europe to feature the technology. The system features a hi-res 8-inch touchscreen which controls the sat-nav, climate control and compatible mobile phones.

A nifty feature of the system is also the advanced voice control which allows the driver to control the system by pushing the voice control button and issuing a command. Saying "I'm hungry," for example, brings up a list of local restaurants.

The last Focus featured Ford's impressive parallel parking technology; however, the new model takes the technology a step further with a new perpendicular parking function, which helps drivers to reverse park in bays between other cars.

Prices have yet to be announced but are expected to remain similar to the current car.

 


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