New Ford Focus Debuts, But America Will Have to Wait

At long last Ford has officially unveiled the fourth-generation Focus compact car, which can’t arrive too soon to supplant the current, third-generation model. The outgoing car was a segment leader at its debut—it earned Car and Driver 10Best Cars awards in 2012 and 2013—but has faded into the background as new competitors such as the Honda Civic have surged onto the scene.

One caveat about the information contained in this report: Ford has released information only on the “global” Focus. It will indeed eventually come to the United States in late 2019, likely as a 2020 model. But it is as yet unknown whether the U.S. version’s lineup of body styles and trim levels will match the cars pictured and discussed in the initial press materials. That said, most of what’s here should hold true for America’s Focus.

Ford describes the Focus as an all-new car built using “globally common but flexible architectures and modules” that the automaker says will help each region build visually differentiated Focus variants. The plan includes sporty ST-Line, adventurous Active, and luxurious Vignale models, as well as the Titanium. (As with the third-gen car, America is likely to get only the Titanium.) China and Europe will be the first to get the new Focus. The contents of the various models weren’t discussed, but we do know that exterior dimensions haven’t changed significantly. Still, specific measurements must wait until later, as must any details on powertrains.

Various global markets will continue to receive five-door hatchback, four-door sedan, and wagon body styles. The first two were on the U.S. Focus menu last time, but the wagon was not; expect that to be the case again. That’s a shame, because, as before, the wagon in particular is a looker, the longroof style working best with the Focus’s handsome new styling. Each model gets unique interior and exterior styling, and the Active and ST-Line models will have daytime running lamps that resemble Volvo’s Thor’s Hammer light signatures. The Vignale and Titanium models have a more elegant, less aggressive look. Each gets its own insert for the hexagonal grille, while the Active model appears to add a slight suspension lift and some light cladding, the better to square off against the menacing Subaru Crosstrek.

Inside appears clean and uncluttered, and the front compartment is dominated by a tall 8.0-inch touchscreen sprouting up from the center of the dashboard. Ford touts a big reduction in buttons and switches thanks to its new touchscreen interface, and the new Focus has a slimmer center console with padded knee rests. Each of the four trim levels unveiled so far sports a unique seat fabric, with some featuring contrast stitching. Ford claims that the longer wheelbase and redesigned cabin have yielded 2.8 inches more rear-seat legroom and 2.6 inches more rear shoulder room. Meanwhile, wagon models can swallow up to 58 cubic feet of stuff, according to Ford, and now offer a multi-position cargo floor and kick-motion functionality for the available power tailgate. The Focus will also adopt a rotary shifter for automatic-transmission models and new climate controls.

Significantly, the new Focus features all-new chassis and suspension components, and the car is said to offer 20 percent greater torsional stiffness. Three EcoBoost—that’s Ford-speak for turbocharged—gasoline engines between 1.0 and 1.5 liters in size plus one 2.0-liter EcoBlue diesel engine will be offered globally, with North American powertrain choices to be announced later. A new optional eight-speed conventional automatic transmission will be available, but there’s no information on other gearboxes yet. All Focus models will come with Normal, Sport, and Eco drive modes to alter the engine, transmission, and steering calibrations, which also will affect the adaptive cruise control on models equipped with that technology.

Adaptive cruise is among the technologies included in the Ford Co-Pilot360 suite, which also includes lane centering and speed-limit sign recognition, adaptive front lighting with camera-based predictive curve illumination, active parking assist that now includes gear selection for fully automated parking maneuvers, and evasive steering assist. The next-generation Focus will also feature standard FordPass Connect, which can bring Wi-Fi to as many as 10 devices. The FordPass Connect system also features a smartphone app that has a vehicle locator, status, door locking/unlocking, and remote starting. A new wireless charging pad inductively juices up compatible mobile devices.

The new Focus will be built in only two plants—one in Germany and one in China—rather than today’s eight, and the current plan is to source most of the U.S. market’s cars from China. No matter where it’s built, however, the new Focus looks promising inside and out. Now we must wait to hear which of the new technologies, features, and other goodies will actually make their way into our Focus. With America falling out of love with cars seemingly more every day—and SUVs continuing to trend upward—we’re not holding our breath that the U.S. will get everything. But as long as Ford promises we’ll once again get sporty ST and RS variants, we might be willing to cut them some slack on a few omissions.