Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Titanium CAR review

A facelifted Ford Focus diesel? Is it still fun?

In a word, yes. Britain’s bestseller has been under Martin Smith’s scalpel to bring it in line with his ‘kinetic design’. Gone is the slightly mundane look of the current car to be replaced by rakish headlights, little and large opposing trapezoid intakes, and botox-injected sides. This is where the money has been spent.

Dynamically it’s untouched, but it's interior has been given a visual polish, and particular attention has been paid to boosting refinement levels and reducing noise levels.

All Focuses now get ESP, and we tested the (pricey) £18,345 Titanium spec model. Your money's better spent on the Zetec trim - you’ll save around £800, end up with all the kit you need, and be spared the privacy glass that made the rear of our car quite depressing.

So is it even better to drive than before?

Yes and no. Yes, because the Focus can now gobble miles with even more ease, and no because we’re still reminiscing about the wonderful steering on the Mk1 Focus. The current car lacks the wonderful tactility of that car, or of the current Mondeo. Relatively speaking though, it’s still very good - it's light when manoeuvring around town and there's no slack when you hustle it along. By comparison, the Golf is overly light and the Megane plain stodgy.

And not only is the steering better than any other car in its class, but the Focus still out handles its rivals, too. It has typical Ford damping: firm, but not overly stiff and definitely expensive. Even on our test car’s 17-inch wheels the ride never fidgeted. Few cars below £18k are as dynamically competent as the Focus - impressive for a range that actually starts from £11,695.