Ford decides to update the Focus Coupe even though it has been out less than a year.
Destined not to be an automotive icon
It’s no secret that many of us at LotPro.com were not big fans of the Focus re-design for 2008. I personally owned a 2001 Focus ZX3, and the purchase was based as much on its design as the promised European performance. The first generation model was a Car and Driver 10 Best winner and Automobile Magazine thought so highly of the new Ford that they bestowed their “Car of the Year” award on it.
In Europe, the Focus received an entirely new platform in 2005. In the U.S., we got new headlights and new taillights. Big whup. For 2008, the U.S. Focus received a complete redesign that was, to say the least, disappointing. Despite all this, Ford’s smallest car is enjoying a renaissance, due, in no small measure, to the spiraling cost of gas and an onboard software system developed by Microsoft called Sync.
Second generation Focus part deux
For 2009, Ford has attempted to clean up some of the major transgressions of the 2008 model. Gone are the silly metal side vents. Ditto the fugly front and rear bumpers. The trunk-mounted rear spoiler is yanked and it finds a new home above the rear window. The front bumper, in a nod to its European counterparts, receives a Fiesta-esque lower opening, while the rear bumper receives more aggressive styling and a black lower panel similar to the Mazda3.
Other changes include new wheels on the SES model and a modest increase in horsepower on the 5-speed manual models. Automatic versions will enjoy better acceleration, thanks to a new final-drive ratio, without any impact on MPG figures. For both versions, a new exhaust system will give the Focus a “throatier sound”, according to Ford’s press release.
The Bottom Line
A partial re-design after only one year - especially with an 88% increase in April sales, year over year - speaks volumes about the feedback Ford must have received from the blue oval faithful. And while the Focus doesn’t come close to being the steaming turd the Pontiac Aztec represented, it was hardly an improvement over the first generation. And if the freshening only begins to address the current version’s styling issues, at least it’s a start.
