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Ford Focus ECOnetic 1.6 TDCi diesel road test report

ECOnetic 1.6 TDCi diesel

This has got to be one of the most eagerly awaited green cars of all time for both the business and the private sector – it’s the £16,050 Ford Focus ECOnetic. With fuel at an all time high and road tax based on CO2 emissions green cars have never been in such high demand. So we got to work and put one of the most important cars of the year to the test.

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Performance

The ECOnetic is powered by a 1.6 TDCi diesel available in 89bhp and 108bhp outputs. We had the 108bhp version on test and the power plant is absolutely brilliant. The diesel unit pulls strongly from low revs and there’s plenty of torque to make sure overtaking slower traffic is done with ease. We were also impressed with the comfortable cruising ability on long motorway journeys. The five speed gearbox is well honed – shifts are smooth and the ratios are well spaced. On the road the ECOnetic is much the same as the standard car – the green variant will get from 0-62mph time of 10.9 seconds – the same as the regular 1.6TDCi.

Ride & Handling

Ford has the best handling car in this sector of the market in the Focus and the ECOnetic variant is hardly any different. The Ford boffins have worked on the aerodynamics on the car to reduce drag and therefore save you fuel and it has worked. Modifications have been made to the front bumper and lower grille, new side skirts have been added as has a rear spoiler. Flush-fitting wheeltrims have also been added to remove drag from the wheels – if you watch F1 racing you can see that the teams there use roughly the same design of wheeltrims. The other change is the skinny tyres on the car – the ECOnetic is fitted with Michelin Energy as these are low rolling resistance and longer wearing. The downside is that the tyres detract slightly from the handling but the Focus still remains at the top of the class in this respect.

Build Quality & Reliability

The Ford Focus ECOnetic has sophisticated-feeling cabin, as the maker has not changed the cockpit, which is a good thing. The quality of the materials, are high and the switches are within easy reach of the driver. The interior is plush and there are no panel gaps and all the shut lines are well finished. The Flush-fitting wheeltrims look a bit cheap but these are important in reducing the drag and making your fuel last longer – remember looks aren’t everything.

Safety & Security

The Ford Focus is a very safe car as it has a five star Euro NCAP rating for adult occupant protection. The Focus has reinforced its excellent safety credentials. It also has an IPS system fitted, which will activate the appropriate safety systems in a millisecond, such as all-round airbags if you are involved in an accident. To help you get stopped quicker and in a controlled fashion Ford has included Electronic Stability Programme (ESP), Emergency Brake Assist (EBA), anti-lock braking system (ABS) and electronic brake-force distribution (EBD) as standard. The Focus also comes with ISOFIX fittings to fit an ISOFIX child seat and it has remote central double locking on the security front.

Space & Practicality

This is one of the best driving positions around and the ECOnetic is especially easy to live with. Passenger space is pretty good; however practicality lets the car down. The rear seat system lacks the flexibility of some rivals – as the back simply flips down don’t get us wrong it is very easy to do but storage space is lacking. The ECOnetic has a good range of creature comforts, as it’s equipped with air-con, a great sounding CD stereo and electric windows.

Ownership & Value

In real life testing we averaged 58.8mpg on the combined cycle with a high at one point of 60.1mpg – now that is a brilliant performance from a car that is claimed to return 65.6mpg. Yes this Focus ECOnetic costs £250 more than an identically powered Style version but with our test we’d go for the green version any day. The all-important CO2 emissions come out at 115g/km. That means the Focus ECOnetic costs £35 annually in vehicle excise duty and falls into the 13 per cent company car tax band. Just like other Focus models, the ECOnetic is great fun and makes good economic sense.

Submitted: 30/05/2008 08:58:17

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