I thought I should give a reason for my thumbs down and this is only my opinion. As a driving instructor I spend 8-10 hours a day in my car , so my car is my office . I need a place that is spacious, comfortable and feels good quality. On the lead up to choosing my next car recently I decided to trial a VW golf , Seat Ibiza, Vauxhall Astra and the new Ford Focus . I have to say after spending a few days in each the Ford Focus for the first time ticked all the boxes , build quality on par with the Golf , the Drive is very direct and responsive with plenty of feed back , it’s quiet and yet has a lovely tone when you accelerate harder , technology packed and yet presented with simplicity, great visibility all round , economical and last but not least very stylish with plenty of room . So I ordered the Ford Focus Titanium and couldn’t be happier . Please remember this is only my opinion, there all great cars 🚗

Right to the point Bob as always. Excellent short review....

Not everyone is gonna like it are they....but I do. Pick mine up tomorrow!

Ordered The 1.5 ST line X Ecoboost Petrol 180 bhp...with all the bells and whistles on ,that he is complaining about on the one he's testing + the optional Pano glass roof, in that Desert island blue that Ford seems to be promoting on the demonstrators... ...how much ?........ Just over £21K .Got it on Autoebid...So yes, well happy with that.Sort of negates some of the review comments on the one he's driving.

Good honest review as always.

I am a follower but haven't bothered watching your reviews recently...I have enjoyed this one, it is clear and concise if a little short by that I mean we get a final verdict/opinion but I wish you would have expandede more when it comes to comfort/practicality/economy etc...Keep up the good work though!!

Have the Focus Ecoboost ST Line a month now and I really like it . I was concerned that the gear shift was loose like in the car you drove Bob but it does not have the same loose movement , it is precise so I don’t know maybe the test car was an issue , time will tell .

I watched a lot of reviews before buying my focus October 2019. I’ve not driven a 1L or a manual mk4 focus. But I totally appreciate the honesty in this one. Not sucking up to the dealership who leant you the car for an hour or a lot of reviews now basically sales pitches rather than an honest review. Best reviews for me are owners forums , 1st hand opinions. Anyway thanks for being brutally honest Bob! Btw have you driven an automatic 1.5l ? I really like mine (st line X 182) I’d be interested to see your opinion...

I totally agree. The new Focus is waaay to expensive and a lot of standard equipment is extra. The car drives really good, but you then want the ST-Line version, with parking sensors and maybe in black. By the time you are finished, the price has raised a lot, and just by picking some basic stuff that other cars come with as standard. We ended up going for the new Honda Civic sedan instead, which is bigger, more equipment and with a bigger engine too.

I'm glad I saw this because I was going for a test drive with one tomorrow. I have cancelled it because of this review. Your comments are almost totally opposite of what everyone else says about this car,,but I prefer an honest opinion. I'll just save my money I think and get something different in September

hi bob I sat in one yesterday while my car was getting serviced and I noticed the gearbox seemed a bit further forward than the old one, ford cost cutting again!

Bob if I was to go for the st line focus would you recommend 1.0 ecoboost or 1.5 tdci? They both basically push the same after a remap and I know the ecoboost can be trouble, or would you recommend a new Leon fr instead?

My friend drove a new ceed and said it drives like his '14 Golf. That is some serious stuff if true.

What about how it dives Bob? This is the first negative review I have come across...and all you talk about is the kit you get cmpared to...say the new Kia Ceed? Thats nothing new is it.... Poor review.

Greatly appreciate your honest review. The anonymous styling seems to have taken a step backwards for me and your comments about the steering push this towards the bottom of the list. You're right - there's just too many great cars in this segment for Ford to produce mediocrity.

does the st line trim has power folding mirrors and adaptive rear view mirror?

Great review.. love your attention to detail

I bought nearly 4 weeks ago to replace my 12 year old Focus, a 2015 Focus Titanium. I saw it online with low mileage from a local dealer at a good price and went and looked it the next morning before work and then for a test drive on the way home and bought it. I loved the colour and spec, waited 18 years to get a sun roof again, I know its sad but I used to have a Mk3 facelift Escort sport in my 20's and I loved it. I have to have an automatic because my wife only drives auto's and I wouldn't touch a 1.0 so this is the 1.5 L turbo charged ecoboost. Well I absolutely love it. I love the look with the Chrome grill and at 150 BHP it doesn't have shift. Certainly a difference over my old car at 100 BHP. I have heard that Ford went for a more minimalist design on the inside. Not sure I like that and the pop up touch screen display. I think I prefer mine which is built into the dash. I do like the look of the new Focus with the flatter back which puts me in mind of the BMW 1 series. Anyway I am loving my 3 year old Focus Titanium.

This car is so good that Ford USA won't be selling it. Ford USA are brilliant. Trucks for every man! It's not like the price of fuel fluctuates.

Thanks for highlighting the gearbox issue Bob. Does the car make up for this, in its handling and refinement?

Fair points raised 😕 I guess it boils down To choice and a Little Stigma , Ford or Kia . But we need to think about other things that make the Ford expensive too, May be it has better suspension indecent springs rather than the torsion Beam ,.the Focus does drive well always had done , how does the Kia Drive ?

Been waiting on your review Bob. Been reading all the Irish and UK reviews to date and not one person mentioned the different gearbox (which is stark); thankfully I'd be opting for the diesel stline (when it drops in price). Strange thing is that the outgoing focus st line is still very fresh looking. One thing that bugs me with the new and run out sync infotainment is the touchscreen. The knob to the right which says tuning will not let you scroll down the touchscreen, its a dormant knob for tuning the radio. Scrolling on the touchscreen with your finger while moving actually puts me off the car. Is the car on this video not the stline? I thought the seats would be more supportive. On another note, I went into a dealer in Cork a few weeks ago to get prices (the car had arrived to the showroom before ford put up the prices). God such a lethargic salesperson, when I asked how much the new focus was, his answer was "there is only a €500 reg bonus". I repeated my question asking "how much exactly is the car or have you a pricelist". He then continued to say that oh wait until January as there will probably be €3000 bonus off the car. If Ford are trying to wash out the old model, this sales man didn't even suggest me buying an old model, nor did he invite me to sit into the car. I had to ask him to open it and he sluggishly did making me sit in the passenger seat. Test drive.......meh by this stage I really wasn't bothered even asking. I think I will wait a year and just go to the UK and get a nice 1 year old st line for about 7 to 8k less (assuming Brexit is favourable)

In my opinion, the biggest problem with this car is the price. It’s just to expensive for what it offers, i mean, in france, where i live, the st-line top of the range looks very poorly equipped for the price. Every single desirable equipment is an option, and an expensive option : LED headlights: 950 euro, reversing camera:250, heated seats : 450, even the 8 inch screen is an option. Sorry ford but by the time you specced the car up it’s bordering on 29000 and dealers aren’t as willing to slash thousands of the price as they used to, it just seems excessively expensive to me. For that money i could have a ceed with leather seats that are heated and ventilated and electric with memory function, self parking, a jbl sound system, led lights and a lot of other stuff besides, not to mention that stuff like a reversing camera is standard on the ceed. I’m gonna drive them both but honestly, the ford would have to drive excessively well and the dealer would have to make an exceptional offer to consider buying this over the ceed

Nice to see some negative stuff about the Focus for a change. I do like the exterior style when you see it in the skin :o)

I just bought Focus 2019 1,0. My previous was 2017 Ceed with 1,0 engine. The difference is insane, even though I always liked Ceed. Never had Ford before and never even considered to be honest, but holy crap I'm in love with this one. The engine is more quiet, more economic and more powerful. Driving on bendy roads is super fun, seats are comfy but they also support the right places. Over night I became a Ford Fanboy.

I noticed too that the gearbox was not precise at all. Maybe Ford uses the same gearboxes as the French do...weird that they use different (and better) boxes on other variations of the same car...

I was so glad when this Focus came out. A modern looking (they finally ditched that hideous dash), well appointed car, Hurray!! Then I configured one with the stuff I want and it came over 30k€ ... WTF, Ford??

I owned a Ford focus 2012 titanium. It was ok, I had a few problems with it here and there but nothing major. The biggest issue I had with it was only getting around 40mpg. I bought the car under the impression I was going to get something like 55. So I traded it in for a 2013 Hyundai 1.7D i40. I now get around 52 mpg. With almost always four people in the car. Now I can only vouch for a Hyundai i40 as being I great car with absolutely no problems over the last 3 years. This year we decided we needed an estate car. I decided I wanted to go korean again and liked the look of kia ceed 4 tech. However when I went to kia forums, kia do seem to come with a shit load of problems. That's only going by the forums though. For me I can give a big thumbs up on Hyundai if you want to go korean and get the most for your pound. I have had absolutely now trouble from the day I bought it. However Kia (from reading the owners forums) don't seem to be as reliable.

Note to self buy a 1.5 petrol or diesel avoid the 1.0 petrols with the clunky gearbox. In my opinion that's okay because most people buying ford focuses have been accustomed to 1.6 litres so I would hope many would want to buy the 1.5 over the 1.0 litre

Hi all If been looking at the 1.5 focus ... I really don't like this cylinder deactivation thing .. apparently it shuts the fuel off and stops the valves opening ... Sounds crazy ... Piston going up and down thousands of times a minute. With the valves closed.. the stresses on the piston and rings must be tremendous . I seriously can't see the engine lasting long .. question is is it possible to be activated .. I can't find an answer from ford ... Does anyone know??

Ford have priced themselves out of the market- the Edge is insanely priced and this appears to be following this folly.

Seat Leon is a good alternative, a nice looking golf for less money

Has ford fixed the failed engines ??? Very tempted to get the 2019 titanium 1.0 eco engine , but ford are currently fighting a legal battle over the engine ?

I've the same opinion. Looks wise, on the ST Line only, it looks great. That's it though, it ends there. It's like as if Ford listened to fleet buyers when working on this model.

Very nice review. I think this is the first one which actually criticises the new Focus.

Prefer your review of the Giulia Quad, want it badly 🍀

Credit where credits due Bobby boy, you kept the drone remote WELL Camouflaged this time and hidden from view, but being SERIOUS for a change, you say the gearbox was a bit vague on the focus, what was the mileage of that particular car, you know as well as I do, that if it's a sub 1000 mile car, it's going to be a bit notchy and vague, but as the mileage increases, gearboxes "usually improve" with mileage....

Ford Focus has always been a great drive. I think the new Focus, is more BMW 1 series than Ford.

I don't agree with some of the negative points. Driving experience is the best at this price range and even above. Looks are subjective, but the consensus seems great looking outside and OK inside with a good infotainment system. Steering is very precise and responsive, if its too "loose" you can put it on SPORT and it resolves that. Gearbox, the same as this one, is OK, not bad at all. Prices have come down and you can get some great deals. I think Ford almost made a 5 star car here (interior can be improved, and we have to wait and see about the reliability of the ecoboost and ecoblue engines)

Great review, cheers.

The Kia Ceed is NOT as good a drivers car than this.. You can put electronic in a Kia..Ford is still a Better var to own..

MkIII Ford Focus owner here. Now I'm starting to take you serious Bob. I thought exactly the same when I test drove the new Focus. It felt nothing more than a big Fiesta, and not in a good way I'm affraid. The seats are extremely flat, the interior is so uninvolving and uninspiring, the materials look really cheap on the doors... yes the steering is fast and darty, and the car corners exceptionally well, but everything felt vague and unsubstantial. And then again why build a car that corners so tidily just to spoil everything with an unsupportive seat? Just test drive a Mazda 3 for instance and you will be able to pinpoint the differences between the two! And get inside the new Ceed and marvel at the robustely finished interior! And then you start to ask yourself why is the press praising the new Focus so much? Overhyped I'm affraid and not that cheap to buy so... I'll be looking at something else when it comes the time to trade my Focus estate. Subscribed. 😃

I agree with Your points. May I add some more remarks (for LHD-cars?): The pedals are offset from the centre of the seat - LHDs are shifted to the right. Awkward. When aiming through the centre of the steering whell one should see the brake pedal. Here it is the clutch. The B-Pillar continues the shape of the armrest in the doors. Idiotic, because with the seat moved back to accommodate 190 cm, You'll ALWAYS touch it with the elbow. Be it when getting out, be it just sitting there and having the arms rested on Your legs (e.g. waiting in traffic). Unpleasant is the nicest word I find for this construction/design failures.

Absolutely spot on review, Bob, balanced and honest. As you say, Korean cars are cheaper and better specced with a better warranty, something that Ford need to realise and take into account. Nonetheless, Ford are supposed to build "drivers cars", with brilliant steering and gearboxes. The fact that they seem to have fallen short here is disappointing. I am very boring and drive a 1.4 TSI Golf Estate. It's a few years old now and I am tempted to replace it in the near future. Would I replace it for the Focus? Nope, the quality and attention to detail just does not seem to be there. And I am buy no means a VAG fanboy. A few years ago, I owned a 2.0L Mondeo - great steering and gearbox, excellent to drive (although it was a little bit dull and would have benefited from more grunt tbh). Also, although it is hardly ever mentioned in reviews, I really dislike the wires that Ford use in their heated front windscreens and find then distracting. VAG's climate windscreen uses a conductive film and is much better.

I knew Ford had a tie up with Mazda many years ago but to just stick a badge on a previous Mazda 3 is lazy in the extreme....

His points are a non issue if you are sensible and get the 1.5lt version. Who gets a 1litre engine in a car this size anyway? Turbocharged or not.

So the more expensive gearbox is aimed at LHD cars. Is this the ST as shown (which is not a basic version) or the basic version. Who gives you all these auto-safety features included (even BMW sell many of them as options). Is the Golf/Seat not a major competitor and perhaps the Astra. People bought the Focus as it had great road holding not lots of free kit thrown in. Is it still the king of driving (at least the higher end versions but not the RS/ST)

I still prefer the MK1 focus - nicer looking car. No parking sensors? Unbelievable!

There was never a bad focus badge snobs just because it's a ford running it down😡😡😡😡😡

did you get a chance to try the auto yet? also any idea if the 1.5 ecoboost coming to Ireland?

Yes, hv heard this elsewhere - re the gear stick & clutch - a somewhat cheaper piece if kit in the base model. Not a great way to treat yr customers, huh ?! I think all the needed basic should be more or less the same, n then u pay more for options n wants, not for needs..

So a meh gearbox, a too light steering, and also (I think you failed to mention) they dropped the rear multilink suspension in most versions (under 150ps). On the Mk3, it came as standard on ALL versions. Shame, Ford.

It's taken almost five years to get SYNC 3 from the US models - too little, too late. Compare Ford's system to other manufacturers' systems and you realise how basic it still is. As you say, the lack of even basic feature packs on Fords compared to competitors simply isn't good enough. The ST-Line is even the sporty body package, so you'd expect more features. Speaking as a Ford owner, Ford are pricing themselves out of the market and there's now better cars to be had.

Nice review Bob, but have you had the chance of driving a high end one? I'm interested in knowing what you feel about the ST-Line with all the bells and whistles, preferably in the 182HP Ecoboost version. So far almost all reviewers seem to give it a big thumbs up.

It is very true. I have owned a ford for a few years now. I currently own 2017 Ford Focus titanium X. I love it. I bought the car at 6 months old. And payed £13,599 for it. List price for this car, plus the options I have on it, is around the £25,000 mark. Fords image of being the cheap family car of the people is a far cry away with the 2019 model. Seems like they are losing their way with this one. To be honest, the Mondeo, although being a much bigger car, is a better option in this case. And Ford are thinking of discontinuing it!? What are they doing? I’m sorry Ford, as much as I love the new design of the exterior and interior. There are serious flaws in this model. I for one, won’t be buying it.

I bought a 2018 Focus this year due to my old car having a number of potentially expensive issues. I had a very good deal on it and only intending to keep for a short time. However, it has been one of the worst new cars I have ever driven. The electrics are flaky; it’s noisy; the steering is very vague; whole host of stuff. Am trying a 2019 Focus tomorrow with work. Just for interest. My experience with owning this Ford has really put me off buying another one in the future

Took a test drive of this car vary disappointing lack of engine options here in Ireland the kia ceed Gt line would be a way better opinion for same price better stranded kit and interior space is a step up also felt the kia had way better build quality over the ford and depending on trim you have better engine options to choose from But feel the car market here in Ireland at the moment is just piss poor and we are left with the over priced paddy spec as ever

I love my 18 it looks so much better. They can keep that in Europe , not worried about it

Well I drove the new Ceed and I still dont get why Bob is complaining about the Focus, New Focus sure isnt pin sharp to drive as MK II Focus, but I felt its almost as good as Skoda Octavia to drive which any day drives better than the Ceed. Also the base models were sure bad..but there is always options and Titaniums seemed nice, sure pricey ..but definitely a good competitor to Golf and Octavia and any day far far better than MK III Focus, because it has lot more space inside, ride quality seemed way more comfortable, and the interior felt super intuitive to use. Also engines felt refined and on par with competition, so at least for me, its up there, still not as outright good as Golf, but any day better than Civics, Kias and PSAs, Skodas, and Seats are the biggest fighters for Focus.

I've always enjoyed Bob's reviews, but this one seems highly unbalanced. Almost like it was premeditated to counter the rest of the ones out there

Don't know what type of French cars you drove with a vague shifter but it surely was not a Citroën. At least not a recent Citroën, recent being from the last 15-20 years

25k is not something most families can afford for an everyday family car. No wonder the Koreans are doing so well, I'd much rather get a 1-2 year old Tuscon.

The focus no longer looks like a focus. It looks like an i30.

really poor review. You are reviewing a car and yet you don't talk about how it drives.

Ford's interior guality is appalling would never buy one can't compete with vw or Skoda might go round corners better but that's about it

By the time you have haggled the Ford becomes competitive

V poor review ... a case of out of bed on the wrong side that day, I guess!!

Awful looking. Not on my list

Totally agree bob , a very adverage car for a not so adverage price. A well specced st line is over 30 grand . FOR a 1 litre with 120 bhp. Ha 😂

This is an idiotic test - you are talking about how bad the is equipped, and showing an st line version which is top spec!?! Get your story straight man.

The Focus needs more equipment for the price, but it's still a really good car

Lets just put the Focus to one side as the new Mazda 3 makes this thing look ancient

Red door frame inside showing.....not buying it

Don’t believe Kia’s 7 year warranty bollocks, I know people who have had these cars and have had a nightmare claiming on the warranties. You imagine going back with a 6.5 year old Kia and saying my shock absorbers are knocking, the response will be sorry not covered and there’s the door, close it on the way out.

The new ford focus is disgraceful I think the worst thing is the dial automatic gearbox I don't understand the 3 suspension setups??????????!!!! So irritating thank other Lord for Kia and Hayundi. The current astra is very poorly built I can't take the new focus seriously

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46056279 - another article GCG suing VW (i.e. not Bosch) and hgihlighting the case that we should not forget the irreversable damande VW has done and hence boycott! Hope ur well :) Trust is vital to consumers - A company unworthy of trust is one we shouldnt buy from

Hyundai

Ford is going backwards in my opinion and have been for a while. They'll never be as refined as the Germans, which they really need to be. When you're competing with the Koreans instead of the Germans, you've been relegated to the lower leagues snd it's always difficult to get back up again. Usually when some new cars come out it takes a while for the styling to grow on me but this new Focus is hideous, I wouldnt even put it on my shortlist.. Sorry Ford.

Agreed, it's not good enough

1.0litre petrol,ah will ya stop.There are ride on lawnmowers with bigger engines.Ford RS should have been good but the engine blocks crack.Ford is surely 15years behind other manufacturers. The focus looks like a brick.And as for the Koreans lol I have seen many Hyundai and Kia with faulty LED drls. Hardly reassuring that the rest of the car is well built when they can't even make LED DRLS last more than 3 years or so lol.Cheap cars slapped together with micky mouse tiny engines.All Irish ppl seem to want is the new reg but they seem to forget the cheap piece of dirt they slap it on lol. Ford,Hyuandi,Kia, Toyota, BMW,MERCS, all there churning out are cheap crap for the masses.You can't even buy a decent second hand car without it being a agricultural diesel.Whyyyy oh why ...Why don't the irish buy bigger better cars..They were well able to afford them years ago even before the boom times.That said its nice to see Range Rovers and the odd bigger bmw being bought as they will be nice to own in a few years.

It's so ugly, so Hyundai, so no personality.. etc.