The Mk1 Ford Focus Revolutionised the Family Car Market
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- Опубліковано 12 бер 2022
- The original Ford Focus, launched in 1998, has a good claim to the title of the most important car ever launched by the European arm of the Ford Motor Company, and as it nears its 25th anniversary, let's study how and why this car became so successful and so influential.
This car is currently for sale at Stockley Classics, so if you'd like a bit of retro blue oval hot hatch action in your life, then please do check out the listing:
www.stockleyclassics.com/
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Man it makes me feel old to see a car I grew up with analyzed as a classic 😂 great video!
Ikr…..I remember wanting one of these so much as a freshman in high school
I was fortunate to get one when I was 22… 52 plate st170 …. Was a I.T contractor making really good money … super car but chopped it in for the mk2 orange 2.5 st…. Both top cars, but the mk2 was phenomenal had alot of fun in it … these days got a 2017 fiesta stage 2 tuned …another amazing machine, won’t part with my fiesta, it’s a keeper for the a long time
Try being someone who purchased it as their first car lol
A great video Ed. The best Focus ever, it's been downhill in the design stakes ever since.
Sadly true
I always thought the current and last gen were amazing looking. I would love to buy one but Ford left NA cars and well... reliability.
Mk2 was good but I think mk3 onwards they became a bit meh
I had a Mk2 which was good. I believe changes from Mk1 were mainly cosmetic.
@@Dick-Dastardly they were mainly cosmetic, but the mk1 drove much better. The mk2 just seems really heavy with stiff suspension. And doesn't handle as predictable. I have a mk2 I don't like it that much.
Control blade was developed in Australia for the Ford Falcon, & Ford Territory, It's more like a space optimised semi-trailing arm than it is like most other multi-links that lean more toward wishbone type geometry.
... fitted with magnets and driven through Halfords! Brilliant and spot on!
It’s a testament to the design that it still looks new today.
You talk about the dimensions; the high door height, the high seat position, the layout of the cabin, size of the boot, etc. This is because it was designed for old people.
The designers were made to wear a suit and gloves with restrictive elastic, made the simulate what it's like being an old person, getting in and out of a car, using the controls and so on.
Focus Mk 1 stood out from everything in it's family car segment when launched in 1998 so popular for many years to come the Mk 1 great review Ed 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I lusted after one of these when they were launched. Just a great looking version of the Focus
My wife had the *2.0 litre Focus* , and it was a joy to drive, so I can assume the ST must have been simply perfect.
I owned the ST170 from new for 9 years and loved it.
You can adjust the height on the seating position althought judging by the gap between the seat it's already at its lowest setting. owned 3 and driven almost 20 and can say they're one of my favourite cars to drive. Shame we're at a stage now where they're starting to die off quite rapidly 😕
I have run out of superlatives, so you will have to do with simple 'absolutely brilliant all round!' Thank you!
Design aged well on these and they drive flawlessly
I had ET53SPX, same colour, loved it!
Great video. Had mine for 9 years and just finished an external restoration on it. Love it to bits.
Thanx, this was fun.
I left comments on your FB page as well ( I only had my phone when I was watching earlier).
I had the US spec Focus SVT which was the ST170 with big bumpers. Loved the drivetrain and even took it for track days.
Great value for the money.
They really get you across country when you feel like it and hold their momentum well. Great cars!
Ed, you have to be the most honest, straight-forward and well informed used car sales man ever, and I mean that in a very good way. A while back a friend had a Ford Focus ST, not sure of the year-2014?, that enjoyed eating head gaskets and a clutch hear and there, but was it fun up in the hills.
A fantastic informative and entertaining review Ed. Not often you can actually pin point when the future started but you can with the Focus.
Thanks ED. Excellent review I remember when the Focus first came out I was totally blown away with it.
Great video and great history..spot on 😀👍🏽 I only ever owned 1 Ford car..a 1987 Ford Orion 1.6 GL...it rusted to bits and literally fell apart 😢 It was sold for scrap in 1994 having not even achieved 100,000 miles 🤔 Ever since for the last 27 years I have always driven VW 😎👍🏽
I had a three door 2.0 zetec esp, 1.8td LX estate and a 5 door 1.6 zetec. Great cars but rust killed the estate and the 5 door. It's a shame about the rust issues as the rest of the car lasts really well. So much fun to drive even by today's standards.
I’ve owned my MK1 for 17 years, it’s been a great car, thanks!
The mk1 was genius a perfect family motor but set up very well that you could chuck it about on the way back from the school run. Alot of companies still arent using independent rear suspension. I had that mk4 fiesta in that same colour 5 door for my first carv£250 the ac even worked. Nice car in 2010 when i passed. My mum had a st170 and once u really got on the revs it cracked on pretty well shame it was so rotten.
The mk1 Focus was a superb car. I’ve driven loads of them - sadly not the ST or RS models, but the cooking petrol and diesel models, in Zetec trims, which were excellent cars to drive. I nearly bought one, but ended up with an Alfa 145 instead. I still think though, that as a bangernomics car, the mk1 Focus is, even now, hard to beat.
Hi Ed, couple of points… those are the standard seats, height adjustment was an option, my ST170 had it as I ordered it. The engine needs revs as the top three gears are high geared, I would often drop from 6th to 4th for overtaking. An easy mod I did was to disable the variable intake flaps, I left them permanently open, made a huge difference to the pickup. Wish I still had as it was fully specified with climate, Xenon, etc
Great video. Love that mk1 ST, awesome colour. At the time of its debut I seem to recall that Jezza Clarkson was gobsmacked by the design when he saw it at a motor show. I always wanted a mk1 but alas could never afford one .
Well I do remember the hype this car created in Russia being the first one assembled localy. Such a shame they changed generations too fast and couldn't keep the price low.
My zx3 5speed manual with the 2.3L was my favorite car ever. Not really all that fast but it felt like it and I drove it accordingly. Probably would still have it but had an engine light that nobody could fix so I couldn't pass emissions. Brought home a new 50" TV in it(in the box) with the hatch completely closed and latched. True story.
Great video - always like the styling of the MK1 Focus
William woolard eat your heart out!! Wonderfully presented and highly entertaining on this fantastic car. 👏
Thanks for the vid Edd, well researched and well presented as usual.
The Focus is an undeniably great car, in hatch, estate or saloon/sedan form, good to drive, practical and reliable, you don’t see that many ST170’s about or for sale these days, probably a lot have either been thrashed, crashed or rusted away!
I had a Focus 1.8 Zetec mk1 & Dad had 2 Focus 1.6 LX& Focus Zetec mk2. I also had CMax 1.8TDCI Titanium 2010&CMax 2.0TDCI Titanium. I preferred my 2 CMax.
Really great piece Edward! Well presented, factually accurate and in depth. (The drivers seat is electrically height adjustable btw 😉) RPJ really was a genius
Hello Ed ! Fine video again.
Although Ford in Germany isn' t as popular as the Blue Oval is in the UK, still a lot Focus Mk1 can been seen on our roads.
A good Mk1 is a fine and still cheap Daily.
That moment when the Focus is now classed as retro, good lord I feel old.
I bought a 3 door ST170 in 2010 I still have it. The only car I ever had that I liked more was a B reg. 2.8i Capri.
Great review Ed, loved the Focus Mk1. Had a 2.0i Ghia for a few years, it’s handling was really far superior to everything else in its class! Escort mk3 & 4 had an independent rear suspension but the arrangement gave a choppy ride, later had a fixed beam cost cutting version. The twin cam zeta or zetech family of engines helped the Escort particularly the 1.8i 16v. Had one of the early one on a K reg did 342k miles it got regular cam belts and oil changes, and a water pump. Back to the game changing Focus - on ST170 got sport seats as standard. The recaro seats where part of a custom pack - ST170 came in 3 body styles 3 & 5 dr hatch and 5 dr estate which was a rare model indeed. Around 150 estates where built, options list on ST170 -
Custom Pack - Driver/Passenger Heated Recaro Midnight Black Lauren Embossed Leather Seats, 9006 radio with 6 x CD Audiophile Sound System with luggage compartment sub-woofer and Metallic Paint
Comfort Pack - Electronic Automatic Air Conditioning, Quickclear Windscreen and Xenon Headlamps.
Other Factory Optional Extras:
Rear Spoiler
Electrically Operated Sunroof
Rear parking sensors
ESP Braking System
Blaupunkt Travel Pilot SatNav System
Great video!
I loved my Focus, despite having the far-less attractive sedan. The handling was amazing, although the 1.8 was a but gutless.
It is funny to hear it called a 'family car' as here in Australia it was very definitely considered a small car and not for families.😊
I've got a mk1 face-lift. 52 plate 1.6 petrol Zetec. Lovely car to drive
Great review, Ed. Somehow, Ford got to relieve the stranglehold of the beancounters, and got engineers involved in the finance end as well ( easier to train an engineer about money than train an accountant about engineering !)
Thanks mate 🙂
The accountants have a lot to answer for, both good and bad, in the automotive world!
It amazes me just how rapidly Ford altered its outlook on the market through the ‘90s, especially the shift from caring too much about fleets to balancing it with the attractiveness a private buyer demands.
@@TwinCam Yep, maybe it's Balance generally, that's important ! 👍🏻👍🏻
Ed... That's an interesting point. I was living in the UK around this time. I'd had a series of company cars but changing tax rules saw companies offering mileage allowances etc as staff found it advantageous to purchase their own cars.
Under these (then recent) tax rules you had to show that the car really was being used for work purposes and you had to be logging some pretty serious annual mileage to make a company provided car worthwhile.
In light of this, I'm guessing that Ford and other manufacturers saw this shift and moved to appeal to the individual buyer rather than the fleet manager.
The ST badge was 1st used on the Mondeo ST24. The focus owes everything to the Mondeo. That was Fords truly 1st 'world car' and was jointly developed by Ford Europe and US. The same applied to the Focus where every aspect of its design was signed off by Ford US. Both cars were revolutionary. The Mondeo was only let down by some very bland styling, but Ford decided to be much braver with the Focus and it paid off...
Excellent review from a design perspective
Nice video enjoyed it.
Escort for 1981 turned it into a global vehicle to introduced to the US market. In the 1990's continued with a all-new Escort and Mercury Tracer for the US, hence what you considered bland styling in the UK 🇬🇧 still sold well in the US market.
Focus for 2000 really showed that Ford was still having a global vision for its vehicles while focusing on the important US market. And it did very well! Especially the station wagon (Estate) as GM and Chrysler stopped manufacturing those models, Focus took that share and ran with it BECAUSE people still wanted a small station wagon, unlike today where EVERYONE had a small wannabe SUV TRUCK they use as a station wagon without the carrying capacity the Focus offered at the time. And, of course, Ford discontinued the station wagon to focus on sedan, hatchback models. And when the Focus was totally redesigned brought back the Fiesta to the US market, to which THAT sold well.
Of course, Ford, pushing profits over models people need, like CARS, discontinued their ENTIRE car range with the EXCEPTION of the Mustang, a HUGE mistake as Toyota, Kia, Hyundai, Honda, still building cars. And people still WANT cars, especially those who cannot afford a $35,000 CRV AWD that I am NOT impressed with at all. And now that fuel prices globally have skyrocketed, a fuel efficient CAR is more important than ever! Occasionally you will see a first gen Focus on the road, but it shows that Ford got it right when it introduced the Focus to the global market. Even Prince William passed his driving test in a Ford Focus!
Excellent review Ed!
I owned a facelift Mk1 1.6 petrol Focus for a few years and it was an absolutely excellent car. I’d been toying with getting a Mk6 Fiesta but several mechanics advised me to get a Focus instead because they were cheaper second hand than Fiestas and so much better to drive. It drove extremely well and was great on corners. My only areas of criticism were the sharp corners on the tailgate hatch, which were at head height when opened, and the tendency for things underneath to rust. I’ve got a Mk2 now, which is also good, but quite a bit heavier than the Mk1 and less nimble.
Excellent video Excellent!
Oh also don't forget the lines on the bonnet, there not just there for looks they show the driver right where the end of their car is making it much easier to park
I am a big fan of the Mk1 Focus, I consider it kicking of my driving career as I learned to drive in one. I am on my third one now and I keep coming back to them despite owning more powerful, expensive and prestige cars. Today, I drive a low mileage 1.6 Edge 3dr and what an absolute delight it is like my previous ones were. The handling is brilliant, with low running costs and I think it looks great today 20 years on. This example of an ST170 looks lovely. The MK1 Focus was voted the peoples favourite car of the last 25 years, beating the McLaren F1 and Bugatti veyron, that says it all.
I was working at Avis car rental when the original Focus came out it was like a revolution although we only had the 1.6!
From memory the R8 Rovers were also much better than the Escorts of the time. I think the mk1 Focus is the best looking one by some distance. The current crop are bland as the late Escorts became..
I was quite fond of my Escort mark 5b saloon naturally aspirated diesel in the short time I had it.
Solid video of the focus st170. Next video should try to get approved to drive it to explain the experience of driving it. I see a young Richard Hammond in this video
Brilliant video. I was hoping to see a pic of a mk6 escort in your line up. Would like to see a early Mondeo st next please.
I think they're the standard seats, you had to pay extra for Recaro.
It's hard to imagine now just how radical the Mk1 Focus was when it came out
True. I still think the 306 looks classy and flows well. Then this came was looked so great but I can't recall that feeling, to me just looks boring
2017 I was in a position to lease my first new car. I made a list of features I wanted. Basically, I'd described a mk1 focus modernised and with Android auto, so fiesta mk8 (exactly the same dimensions) it is.
And they are brilliant.
I was in college and just about to start learning to drive when the Focus was released. It looked pretty radical at the time and the idea of a space age futuristic looking Ford that cost as much as a Golf seed unthinkable initially.
We soon came to realise that Ford had moved the game on a lot in the segment with a superior driving experience and the one motoring journalist.atvthevtime closed that the 1.6 zetec unit felt as punchy as a 2.0 in other cars.
It's a Shane that ford were more conservative with styling the MK2 Focus, MK2 Mondeo and Fiesta in the early 2000's.
I've driven a MK1 focus and owned a MK1 Ka, both were a lot of fun to drive. I've not driven the Puma but I gather this was the holy trinity when it comes to working class, affordable yet fun motoring.
At the moment they are soo underated, ive had two st170s now and i have not yet drove a better hatchback it even blows new ones out of the water feeling wise
I have a st 170 and I love it
Never had a Focus, been thinking of getting one but, the models I like are already gaining in price.
Love a retro ish Ford! Have a mk2 focus as a daily driver it’s a fantastic car, my uncle had a MK1 1.8 Zetec and absolutely loved it! But I also own a MK5 Fiesta Zetec S which is an absolute cracker, despite being a bit slow.
The mk1 focus was a game changer, and a car too this day I regularly looks gor when I need a cheap runaround. Everything was so well thought through on them and they were certainly best in class, personally prefer the estate version. I have to disagree on the face lift though, although your correct in saying it cleaned up the front I dont see them as an improvement as I think the indicators are as easy to see when headlights are on, unfortunately this seems to have been one of the cars to start the trend of moving indicators to the headlight cluster and making them harder to see.
I do remember when the Focus was released and it very quickly gained a reputation for being a very good car, however I moved to Asia shortly after that and in Asia fords are basically badged Mazdas with better equipment and nicer interiors. I never really paid any attention to Ford again until I moved from Asia to Ireland 5 years ago, but despite looking closely at some Fords like the Cougar and Focus Convertible CC I still have not bought any.. great video, I’m also interested in the Ford engines that were developed by Yamaha, as this was unknown to me until recently, though I’ve been familiar with the Yamaha developed Toyota engines like the 4AGE. Great video, thank you. Ford made great colour choices with the ST cars also.
I had the 3door 2.0 Zetec, fast car.
The mk1 was never bettered by subsequent Foci. I used to have an estate Zetec. I regret selling it. Something lke this is tempting me now.
This takes me back Ed. I had a 2.0 MK1 Ghia. I remember taking my Fiesta to the dealer for a service and was leant a 1.6 LX as a courtesy car and was completely blown away by the way it drove. Within a month I had my 2.0 Ghia. I remember the doors closed with a decent clunk compared to the last generation Escort that sounded very cheap in comparison. These cars became very popular very quickly and I remember there were 4 in my street less than 50 M apart in a matter of months. Unfortunately over the years the Focus lost it's err.. focus. The looks became softer, arguably more ugly and externally it lost its identity. I can't comment on how later models drove as I've not driven them.
I had the exactly the same car for 4 years loved it wish I'd never sold it 🤔 not as fast as the Honda type R but way more comfortable... And I loved the green glowing dashboard 😎 well cool for its time
I vividly remember the firat time I saw a Focus in the metal. Flippin' Nora! It was stunning. Even though I'd seen plenty of pics, on the road it looekd as if it had been beamed down from the star ship Enterprise. The three door was particularly pretty. I agree with you about the dash, it doesn't work for me. Too many parts, the radio, the centre vents, clock, and various switches look too mach of an afterthought. Still, after the appalling Escort, it was something from another world. Good one Ed.
Well done Ed…..
Ford certainly got it right first time with the first generation of Focus.
Mike
Great vid mate.. I always liked the MK1 . Never had on though.. but I always thought the doors should be longer on the 3 door( the marina coupe was the same) but I suppose it was easier to make the parts the same for all models and £££££ saving too
The 3 door doors are longer than the 5 door front doors..
I'm on my 2nd Focus and think they are great. My first was a Mk2 1.8tdci and now I have a Mk3.5 1.5tdci. I think it was only the Focus up ti the Mk3 and the Mk3 Mondeo that had the bonnet lock behind the grille, the Mk6 and Mk6.5 Fiesta didn't.
Had the focus shapes upto 2012 still got the mk2.5 outside on 145thou, reliable safe cars coming from a escort and a metro like yourself the car was night and day better in nearly all aspects.
I think I bought a Mk6 escort or was it a Mk5 There were so many different variations of bodywork and engine Ford were sinking along with the my purchase Great video of a revolutionary style of car 👍👍👍
Had four, 1.6 , 1.8, ST170 and RS. Loved them. ST170 was ironically the one with more bad issues than all of the others combined.
If the check engine light isn’t on, it’s not a real ST170 ;)
Great review Ed, here is mine :) Focus LX 5 door...had one from new, bought on price...never ran properly...never completely broke down...ECU problems forever...engine mounts needed replacing twice in seven years...alternator was crap...swapped out for a Toyota one after 40,000kms...shocks, springs and struts dead after 100,000kms...auto gearbox was horrific, slippage problems from new...changed brake pads and rotors for Toyota items after 20,000kms...and so noisy on the road...It was a great day when I sent it to the wrecker...Every time I see one I cringe...
I want one so bad! Sadly here spare parts for "focuses" are expensive and not available easily
Great video Ed, I had a 2001 1600 Zetec many years ago and I am afraid it met the old modification malark, can testify it's a great handling car, think the 1.6 engine is more enjoyable than the 1.4 and 1.8, zeta engines had to renamed to Zetec after Lancia complained. Sigma engines I beleive were known as Zetec S and was developed with Yamaha. Would I have a mark 1 Focus again? Yes I would but it would be totally standard.
Great video. One thing I've always wondered on these videos, how come you never do a road test/drive in them?
It's because Ed is still a young man so the insurance is too expensive for him to be able to drive multiple cars
@@plym1969 yeah I did think that, however I've seen other young UA-cam doing it
I have one but it the 1.8 TDCI ghia face lift
The car that saved Ford. It is a shame Ford hasn't been so bold with the later marks of Focus, but I do think the Fiesta has carried forward a lot of the design ethos, even more so than on the Focus itself. The Mondeo Mk1 had the ST24, which came out in 1994.
My wife’s 2003 1.6 ebony is still going strong it has only 65.000 miles from new behind my car is the workhorse being a diesel her car has lots of extras being a specially Addition on the latest focus unless you have the bigger horse powered engine you don’t get the control blade rear Suspension
Great video, Ed. We got various versions of the Mark I for a long time. They were near cars to drive. Unfortunately they are very scarce now. Rust had a bad habit of destroying them. A friend had the Estate version. For a few weeks the car was on the shop every couple of days because it felt like the back end was not quite attached to the body. About 3 weeks later, pulling away from a stop light, we found the issue. The left front wheel came adrift from the car. No, the wheel did not fall off because of loose lug nuts. That would have been good. No, the wheel came off with the steering knuckle and control arm attached, and with a piece of the front subframe attached to that. Turns out there is a pocket on the top of the subframe that collects salt and water. It cannot be seen either the drivetrain installed, but it is obvious when it snaps!
Great videos
there is a ford that is very over look you have not dun that ford have still never got better
The KA/ sportKA / and the fun and amazing looking street ka
I had one, it was a 1.6LX.
Park a Mk1 Focus next to a mk4 Golf, or Astra, and you can see what a big step forward.
In fact, VW went back to the drawing board to make the mk5 Golf that much better.
My toy is the Fiesta ST .. My opinion of it is it act's like a proper sports car with a back seat... Being a North American car it's a 4 door Fiesta ST..
Fun fact: the oil pressure and temperature gauges are "fake". The oil pressure sensor is only used to light up fhe oil pressure warning lamp on the dash in case of a catastrophycally low oil pressure. It can't measure the oil pressure when the engine is operating normally. Also there is no oil temp sensor, only the cooling temperature is measured.
The values to which the needles in those gauges are pointing are simply calculated by the ecu... This is the only "shame" in this car which otherwise is a real gem. I really don't get it why they cheaped out on some additional sensors and wiring and imo leving this space empty or displaying outside temp, mpg's or similair (like in a lot of standard mk1 facelift models) would have been better than gauges showing fake values...
The Ford Focus was a big hit in the US as well. Just like you, we thought the last gen Escort was a turd in the eye-pleasing department. In press releases, Ford was eager to note that the Focus was from Ford Europe....because American made compact cars were not revered the way that foreign compacts were, at least here anyway.
When you compare this car to today's current offerings then Alec Issigonis had a point...
Had one of these. It died in an accident sadly. I wish I'd got the motor out for my Escort.
Loved my 1999 2.0 Ghia 5 door. The best Ford in my lifetime and probably the best handling FWD hatch ever to make volume production. No love for the current Focus. Modern competitors seem so half hearted.
Why is the imrc on top of the strut?????
I've got a a mk1 rs focus fancy doing a video on it
Foci... Sounds good to me.
(After all, it is the proper plural of 'focus', as you will already know.)
wow
I didn’t like New Edge design myself as styling goes….but at least the cars were getting better and better
Another great video, as always from you. I have always been a Focus fan. Considering getting one as a daily driver. I'm really not keen on using my 30 year old Micra every day. Probably kill the old girl.
Great review. Absolutely the best Focus was the first one. However, just to pick up on your comment about the ST models, I'm certain the Mondeo ST24 was the first ST. I owned a T reg in silver. A 1999 model. Please correct me if I'm wrong?
You are correct, first St was the plain st24 in 1996 which then had an appearance upgrade in 98 to with the rsap pack
Thanks Ian 🙂
Damn. Can’t believe I forgot the Mondeo!
@@liamcscooper yes that's right. That's the model I had with the deeper bumpers and skirts. In moondust silver. Lovely car. Wasn't that quick but it was a nice place to be.
@@TwinCam no worries. Im that old i remember these cars. Fortunately for you, your not!!😁😁
I was -2 when the Focus was launched 🤣
I always enjoy your reviews, Ed and I do agree with you most of the time......but this one has me a little worried. Like, what am I missing?
That Focus - even being a facelifted version of the Mk1 - is more than 20 years old and still looks like a modern car. It's fairly sleek, it has fantastic lines and a wonderful stance. I've watched them evolve over the years and still love the look of them - as I did when they came out.
However, I got to spend some time in a 2002 Focus. I was really looking forward to the experience - the car was 5 years old and had done around 45,000 miles, so the engine was run in, the seats were used past their hardened 'new' state, but everything would be more pleasurable as a result......or so I thought.
It was a 1.8XL liftback with an auto trans in that gorgeous blue of the one you reviewed. Now, I realise a manual would be slightly different in its delivery of driving pleasure, but I didn't have a choice at the time and in any case, there would be a LOT more ground to make up than a simple box change would fix for me, I think.
When looking it over in the carpark outside the office when it was dropped off, I realised the boot would fit several PCs and LCD monitors - and with the seats down, it was quite a capacious tech support vehicle. I reckoned I could easily get a huge server, a couple of 24-port switches, a router and several other key pieces of equipment in it AND still see out of the back window! So, after loading up a couple of PCs and two LCDs, I took off for my first job of the day.
First, the dashboard was hard plastic that creaked in the sun while sitting still and then the car creaked and rattled from many pieces of trim around the inside when moving as well as the dash. All that did though was add a counterpoint to the biblical amount of tyre and road noise that boomed through the car at anything over 20mph. It was like being in a 44-gallon drum that's rolling down a hillside.
The driver's seat was far from comfortable - way too flat, hard and unsculptured, the brake pedal was an inch or two above the top stop for the accelerator, so I had to lift my foot off the floor each time I braked (instead of pivoting it on the heel as usual)...and THAT became very old very fast.. I tried winding the window down to reduce the drumming, but the wind howled in so hard I had to drive with them up.
Worst of all, the 1.8 felt asthmatic as we approached any gradient of note and the box took so long to realise it should change down that by the time it pulled its finger out and did so, it should have gone down two. I solved this by selecting the gears myself and it helped maintain momentum a bit, but the engine would still wheeze like a vehicle that had a 2 in front of its stated milage whenever I asked it to move in a spirited manner. It sat on the road ok and the steering was more positive in feel than a lot of power steering of the period, but I could not bring myself to throw it through a few corners in case it failed to live up to my expectations there too.
I got back to the office a very disappointed man....and happily turned it over to one of the other techs to use while I took out his 2001 Vectra. Now, I had no expectations of the Vectra, so I wasn't disappointed with what I got out of it when driving to my next appointment, but the Focus really knocked the icing off my cake. I wanted to love it, but sadly I could not. I have not even tried successive releases of the vehicle in case they were the same.....
And to those who would mock me about the results of the RS in rallying circles, let me remind you - this was no RS. It wasn't even close. This was a 1.8XL plodder that I would not even let my mother-in-law test drive (because she did like the look of them as well and was considering getting one to replace her Mazda 323, but I disavowed her of that notion very quickly). They may be spritely out on track, but the one I drove was more like walking in drizzle......and I think I would have preferred the drizzle to driving it. Such a let-down.
So, sorry Ed, but I cannot agree with all the good points you raise about the Focus. While being a great looking and practical little car, the quality of the interior, the lacklustre performance of the lesser spec'd vehicles than the ST and the terrible road noise were too much for this petrol head to put aside and drive the wheels off the thing to experience what it might have had to offer... All the best