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Outside

The new Focus was introduced at the Detroit Auto Show in January of this year to decidedly mixed reviews. Criticism was so harsh that Ford actually went back to the drawing board, restyling the nose slightly and also changing some of the interior trim. The changes are subtle though, and the overall design hasn’t changed much from that Detroit prototype.

The wagon and hatchback versions are gone, with only the sedan and a new coupe in the lineup. The best angle on the redesigned Focus is probably the profile, which retains the wedgy shape of the original car. The newly scalloped sides are a nice touch, although the chrome faux fender vents behind the front wheels look like a heavy handed afterthought. From pretty much any other angle, however, the Focus is peculiar. The headlights are slits, styled to echo the two-bar chrome grille, but instead look more like those louvered sunglasses that were briefly popular in the 80s. The front bumper protrudes oddly, and the sculpting on the hood is not particularly flattering. The rear isn’t any better. The taillights are too small compared to the rest of the trunk lid, and the rear bumper sports the same odd protruding angle. The “FOCUS” spelled out in oversized lettering in the middle of the trunk lid looks out of place. The 2008 Ford Focus is certainly distinctive, but probably not in the way Ford hoped.

Inside

If you can get past the exterior and sit inside the Focus, you’ll find a neatly styled interior. The new dash uses a minimum of panels for a clean look that’s mostly devoid of cut lines. Large silver-painted panels make up the center of the dash face and much of the center stack in SES models, but it all works well and isn’t as garish as it sounds. A set of control knobs unique to the Focus pokes out from the center stack; they look a little lost in the vast expanse of silver-toned plastic, but it’s a logical layout that works very well. The seats are available in leather in SES models, and feature contrast stitching, a nice touch. The downside is in materials selection. Compared even with the much older Toyota Corolla, the Focus’s plastics feel cheap thanks to their shiny finish and peculiar grain. The cheap headliner and sun visors also reek of cost cutting.

Under the Hood

The only powertrain available in the Focus is a mostly carryover 2.0-liter four-cylinder. The 140 horsepower engine makes three more horsepower thanks to better intake and exhaust tuning, and in California, New York, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine and New Jersey, the Focus is certified as a Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (PZEV), albeit with an eight horsepower penalty. The engine can be mated to a four-speed automatic or five-speed manual transmission. More power wasn’t as important to Ford’s engineers as were sound deadening and fuel economy, and on those fronts the Focus does well. We found the engine to be quiet (for this class at least) during acceleration, getting rough and intrusive only near redline. Fuel economy was also good, with the Focus averaging around 27.4 mpg during our test drive, a slight improvement over the previous generation’s EPA combined and adjusted-for-2008 average of 26 mpg.