Test drive Ford Focus sedan since 2010 sedan

Focus technique

It seemed that it was impossible to invent a bicycle in design. But Ford, like a rabbit from the cylinder, pulled out and showed the Ford Focus public.
The admiration was so great that the new model is rapidly, with a solid margin from competitors, won the prestigious European title of 1999. Ford Focus scored 444 points, bypassing the closest competitor of Opel Astra as much as 172 points. You can not talk about separation from the rest of the applicants Peugeot 206, Audi TT and Volvo S80.
Ford perfectly owns the technique of focus. But, as one of the characters of the novel Master and Margarita said, all the salt of focus in exposure. And since we are all as one for both technology and its exposure, the autopilot explores the reason for the success of Ford Focus.
Magic crystal. Focus is the next car of the company, built in accordance with the concept of New Edge. The first -born in our market was Ford KA. In the American and European markets, his followers became the Puma and Cougar coupe. For Russia, Ford Focus will be the next facet of the new concept
The photo is two -dimensional and therefore cannot completely convey the essence of the new design concept of New Edge. The fact is that in the Ford Focus car you will not find a single straight line. Ford designers applied the way to decompose straight and planes to numerous faces of this, many standard body parts look somewhat unexpected, but very stylish. And if direct sunlight enters the car, then it really plays in the sun like a real diamond.
On the one hand, Ford designers made a real breakthrough in automobile design. Preserving the rounded features of the car, which significantly reduces the coefficient of the frontal resistance, they escaped the washing of washing. On the other hand, the presence of numerous ribs and faces will make it difficult to repair individual parts with minor body damage.
And one more small, but notable detail. The hood on Focus opens exclusively by the ignition key. The emblem on the radiator shifts up, and under it there is a keyhole. The key must be turned twice and the hood will open. I wonder how this detail will behave in the conditions of Russian winter?
In the lineup, Focus will replace the popular Escort model. It will also be produced in four bodies: three- and five-door hatchback, sedan and station wagon. According to the autopilot, the most beautiful model among all the hatchback. Especially five -door.
Secret behind a closed door. The internal space of Focus is also a continuous New Edge. You will not find the finished straight lines there. At first, it annoys a little, but the process of getting used to very little time. Basically, due to the fact that the driver's place is organized extremely functionally and convenient. For the location of the vital controls of the car, the concept of New Edge does not spread everything in the usual places except ashtray. The entire block of the smoker (ashtray and cigarette lighter) moved to the upper left corner of the central console. Just under the right hand of the driver. It is very convenient for him, the passenger is completely uncomfortable.
In the style of the new line, round, running on top of each other, the scales of the speedometer and tachometer, surrounded by a scattering of small circles of control lamps are also decorated. On a semicircular and convex beard, a proprietary radio and the heater control knobs are located. There was no air conditioner in our car, but this does not mean that it is fundamentally not put on cars intended for our market. These are just the costs of a variety of configuration, taking into account the thickness of any wallet.
The interior decoration is made entirely of the same plastic, but Ford experts played with the coloring and texture of the material, and the insides Focus began to play with different faces. In the middle, under the radio, the panel is painted for metal, the side racks are decorated under the velor, and the remaining elements of the upholstery create the illusion of what are made, at least, from expensive leather -lubricant with a filler.
In the end, we note that the Focus salon is much more spacious than it might seem at first glance.
DOUBLE BOTTOM. Looking ahead, let's say that Focus is excellent stability in corners. To understand what is the secret, you will have to look under the bottom in the rear suspension area. Ford Escort used a classic N-shaped rear suspension. In a steep turn, the loaded rear wheel usually seeks to deviate in the direction opposite to the turn. Accordingly, there is a danger of car introduction. By the way, in the same way the rear suspension behaves with a sharp passage of uneven surfaces: tram tracks, uneven asphalt, etc.
In Ford Focus, engineers were a little modest with the methods of attaching levers, their number and achieved directly opposite results. In short, the rear suspension practically steers the front wheels. The loaded wheel is just a little, a few millimeters, but turns towards the turn. Ford experts also increased the free stroke of the suspension in the horizontal direction (when the wheels entered the obstacle, they go back) and slightly reduced the suspension vertical. As a result, sharp shocks for the body are much less transmitted, which significantly increases active safety during aggressive driving.
A trick without deception. Moving around the city on Ford Focus is surprisingly pleasant. We can’t say anything about the rural roads in the village, and the car did not have, not just that class. But the most important Focus focus is that nothing shakes in it. Lower your hand in any other car to the gearbox lever, and you will feel the pulse of the engine, pendants and so on. But not in Ford Focus. Firstly, the irregularities of the road do not interfere with you thanks to a new suspension. Secondly, there is no strict connection of the gearbox lever with the box itself, it is implemented through the system of cables that extinguish vibrations.
But this is so, a trifle, but nice. You will get real pleasure only after you stuck the first program and press the gas pedal. Focus accelerates evenly, but powerful. The programs are long enough not to twitch once again in the city stream, but requiring competent switching in the second or more mode. And if you have been driving for not the first year, and you can listen to the sound of the engine, and correlate the engine speed with the speed of your car, then Focus can deliver maximum pleasure from driving. And this is with a 1.6 -volume engine! Imagine what a 1.8-liter engine is capable of.
At first glance, it may seem that the diameter of the turn is large for the city car. But this is only at first glance, for those who have not yet sat at the wheel of Focus. Poking the hood line in combination with slightly raised faces of wings helps to catch dimensions even to the most inexperienced driver.
Magic system. As an additional option, Ford Focus offers the Traction Control system (a system for forced engine traction limit in case of a danger of drift). In principle, Focus is one of the few middle -class models with the front -wheel drive on which this system is provided. This additional function is quite expensive, but its presence will not interfere with inexperienced drivers. And more advanced pilots can turn it off with a button located in the handbrake area. Moreover, in the conditions of urban driving, a Focus is more likely a city machine than the sports Traction Control is practically not interfering with the car control process.
But on the highway, for example, wet after rain, its presence is quite noticeable. If you sharply press the gas pedal in the bend and provoke the car to the skid, then the TC automatically chopped off the engine speed, as if besieging the too impatient driver.
In short, the trick was a success. The consumer received a fairly cheap middle -class car, which was not an example of his competitors.
 
Text Nikolay Kachurin, photo Alexey Ilyin
 

Source: "Autopilot"