Ford Vehicle

By Paul Horrell Just as Ford in the U.S. facelifts the Focus , the Euro Focus gets a comprehensive redo, too. But at a time when the U.S. edition is losing the enthusiast models from its lineup, the Euro version is a full platform generation ahead of the U.S. version and packed with juicy tech and real driver appeal. How about a version with Volvo ’s five-cylinder 225-horsepower engine? Or a six-speed double-clutch transmission to rival VW’s DSG system? They get ‘em over there.

A history lesson is in order. The late-1990s Euro-Focus was originally the same as the U.S. edition. But for 2005, it diverged, getting an all-new body and the platform developed for the Mazda3 and Volvo C30 / S40 / V50 . Now it’s just received another comprehensive visual makeover designed to give it a shared identity with the rest of Ford Europe’s big sellers, including the Fusion -size Mondeo. They call the look “Kinetic Design” by the way. And while the U.S.

lineup is trimmed to four-door and two-door only, in Europe there are three-and five-door hatchbacks, a four-door sedan, a wagon, and even a folding-hardtop. Not to mention a closely related five-seat minivan called C-Max. But a wide range isn’t what makes the Euro-Focus special. It’s the superb dynamics. And we mean superb. Engines are well up to standard. Handling makes even more expensive gear like an Audi A3 feel lead-footed.

Europe’s Honda Civic is an altogether sportier proposition than the one sold in the U.S., but the Euro-Focus has that beaten, too. This Focus feels exceptionally well-oiled, a machine that’s been finessed at the design and manufacturing stages. It’s the sort of deep-rooted sense of quality that U.S. products, especially in the compact sector, so sorely lack — like a good German car.