The Ford Focus is leaving us this year. While that might not mean a huge deal to the US, for Europe, it’s a bit of a kick in the teeth. The reason is simple: It was a brilliant car on pretty much every level.
Until very recently, Ford in Europe was all about small, affordable, volume sellers that got you around in comfort for not much money. That’s been steadily changing as the company makes the move to BEVs, and with it, a bunch of cars that were background artists in various people’s personal movies have ebbed away. Soon, the Focus will join them.
Launched in 1998, the Focus was a replacement for the Escort, itself a car drenched in memories (mostly good, too). Despite being a 1990s car, the Focus didn’t look blobby as was the style, but instead mixed sharp lines with long curves—it looked modern thanks to its ‘New Edge’ design language. As such, it stood out wherever it went, making the Astras and A3s of the time look decidedly old school.
It was also helped by the fact that it was brilliant to drive. Lauded by press and customers alike, the Focus was a modern Ford for a modern audience.
The adage goes that everyone has had an experience with a Ford, and before the Focus, there were plenty of Fords to choose from. Parents owed Escorts, they were driven to school in Cortinas, moments were stolen in Capris, Transits delivered all sorts of things to all sorts of people on a daily basis (and let’s be honest: they still do). That kinda thing. By the time the Focus was upon us, the Cortina was a fond memory for many, and the Escort was well past its heyday.
The Focus became the Ford for a new generation. It came as a hatch, sedan, or an estate, which made it perfect for families of all shapes and sizes, while its engine lineup saw it as the sort of thing you could pass over to a learner driver to take on the world in (in one case, a chum spent a month touring the Alps in his Focus wagon, even sleeping in the back on more than one occasion—almost miraculously, he didn’t die).
Its handling was down to the legendary Richard Parry-Jones and his team of engineering wizards. Much went on under the skin, but its rear suspension is where at least some of its magic lay. It came with ‘Control Blade’ suspension, a trick multi-link design that made for less noise, better handling, and lower cost than the competition’s less-advanced efforts.
The Focus became the Ford for a new generation.
The results were pretty astounding—the little Focus could out-handle cars many times its price. It was the sort of thinking that made it stand out, put Ford on top of the pile, and made competitors buck up their ideas.
Of course, no Ford lineup would be complete without a fast one, and the Focus didn’t disappoint. First came the subtle, but still stellar ST170. The 2.0-liter hot hatch was quite the thing—revvy, exciting, and… a statement of intent. It’s the sort of car that, unless you know what it is, might go unknown, but it built a solid fanbase.
The RS that followed, though, was a stonker. The heavily modified turbocharged 2.0-liter four-banger belted out 212 horsepower, 229 pound-feet of torque, and raced to 62 miles per hour in six-ish seconds. Its top speed was on the fun side of 140 mph.
The RS was quite the thing for the early aughts. A little fighty, parpy, and front-wheel drive, it was a senior hot hatch for the committed. It was a treat to see one in period, and even more so to spot one now. They were quite mad in the most wonderful way and introduced the concept of an RS Ford to a new generation.
As sure as day turns to night, eventually, the Focus had to evolve. The second gen was just… okay. The problem with being the difficult second album after a blinding start is that you’re rarely going to top the thing that made people fall in love off the bat. It kept the bits that made the first car good—the handling, mostly—but it added both size and weight. The result wasn’t quite as sharp as the ground breaker that came before, and it was accused of being a touch unexciting to look at by some at the time.
(The US got an entirely different second-generation Focus. The less said about it, the better.)
That said, the second-gen Focus seems to have aged well. It was a Ford for a more sophisticated era—it came with more toys and a less in-your-face image. It was something that you could slip next to an Audi and (hopefully) not get any shade. As before, you could have plenty of sensible bodystyles, as well as a very of-its-era folding hard top. You didn’t see many of those about. You still don’t.
While the base car wasn’t the most thrilling, the ST very much was. It came in a delightfully bright orange, which made it loud. The turbocharged 2.5-liter five-cylinder under the hood made it fast (fun fact: You could have the same engine in the platform-shared Volvo C30 for Swedish cool at pace).
Still front-wheel drive, it was naffing quick, and with some gentle tweaks would be awfully burbully. It was the loud, brash, orange opposite of the Golf GTI your dad lusted after. Ford’s performance arm didn’t shy away from that, far from it. Especially when it came to the RS.
Front-wheel drive, 301 hp, 325 lb-ft, and top speed the fun side of 160 mph, the Mk II Focus RS was batshit, and wonderfully so. With that much power going through the front wheels, and despite a trick Revoknuckle front suspension setup, it was still a touch torque steery.
Where the normal Focus could look dainty in places, with its wing, massive wheels, and a Kermit-green paint job, this version looked awesome. Many were bought, and many (almost certainly) were doing just fine until their driver uttered the immortal words, ‘watch this.’
[The second-gen Focus] was something that you could slip next to an Audi and (hopefully) not get any shade.
When the third-generation car arrived in 2010, we knew the drill. Though its initial look was a touch out-there for some commentators (I vaguely remember one claiming it looked too much like a Korean car, which at the time was laced with shade, but today it’d be a compliment of the highest order), it was a solid, predictable, fun car to drive.
The Mk III was also a global car—you could, in theory, pick up a Focus in Paris, drive it to LA, and get it serviced in every country along the way without trouble. The Focus hadn’t necessarily “grown up” in the traditional sense, but it was a strong leap forward.
A makeover depolarized the looks, and the ST was fantastic, but the RS was where it was at. All-wheel drive with various tricks up its sleeve to keep you moving as quickly as possible, a 345-hp, 347-lb-ft 2.3-liter Ecoboost motor, oh, and a drift mode so exploitable that even your mum could get the arse out (I even managed to get my mum to do it).
As far as fast Fords go, it’ll probably go down as one of the greats. Engaging, fun, and… you get the idea. One of the all-time great hyperhatches was born. The third-generation Focus was the sort of car that just worked. After a slight dip, the Focus was back in the groove.
The final iteration appeared in 2018. It was a more premium affair, loaded with tech, geared to be a distilled version of the car that turned so many heads all those years ago. The thing is, audiences had changed.
The Focus was born into a world where everyone and everything came with a sheen of luxury and elegance; the word “premium” was becoming almost as overused as “sport.” It was a car made to suit a different time. In the same breath, though, it was made to do all the things the original did so well. It was spacious, fun to drive, efficient, and, well, just a bit brilliant.
There was to be no RS this time, but the ST came with 276 hp (with a 2.3-liter turbo gas motor fitted; a less powerful, but very torquey diesel was also available) and a limited-slip diff to keep the front wheels from getting too scrabbly. It wasn’t the best ST the firm’s produced, but it was a good time when the roads got twisty.
Around this time, the European market was growing upward, and the world was changing. The trend towards small SUVs was in full swing, and various governments made it clear that EV is the way to go. First Ford let the Fiesta go, and then the axe fell on the Focus.
The Focus was (and is, for the moment at least) a practical, fun, affordable, malleable family car. Countless memories have been made in them, millions of miles fallen under the front wheels. First cars, first kisses, first crashes, first... everythings. The Focus was a moment for Ford, and that moment has come to an end. That’s the bad bit.
The good bit is that Ford made so many of the things that the Focus isn’t going to be raptured away and vanish overnight. And you can bet your ass that an unmolested Mk III RS will be worth a ton one day.
