Ford Focus review (2011-2018) - What Car?

The Ford Focus is consistently one of the most popular cars in the UK in terms of sales, and this trend is not likely to end any time soon. What Car? takes a look at the latest version.

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[simost]

Just sold a 2011 1.6 Ecoboost titanium X. It was showing its age but overall had a good chassis, steering was well weighted and accurate, mid corner damping was well controlled and the rear suspension movement gave you very good feedback as to the balance and throttle adjustment. No surprise you had no issue threading it down twisty roads quite quickly.

Motorway Ride was good and very little cabin noise at speed.

Drive it steadily and could achieve 40mpg easily.

Bad points:
Gearbox could have been a little more crisp.
Seats were ok, plenty of adjustment but base could do with a bit more support when you’re 185cm tall.

The keyless entry was temperamental and it had a habit of occasionally refusing to respond to the remote locking on the key fob.

The engine map/anti stall hung on to Revs between gears which upset how smooth you could make fast up changes on the Manual.

Pedal spacing was ok and good for heel and toe down changes etc but pedal box was a little tight, always found my size 10s caused my heel to baulk on the floor a little when trying to get full clutch travel and wearing any form of wider shoes or trainers was a no go. Also found my toes occasionally were up against the steering column spindle on the footwell with the clutch fully depressed.

[staudtj]

I bought a 2015 Focus Electric about 4 months ago. I'm 60 years old and have to say that this is one of the coolest cars I have ever owned. It drives like an electric Slot Car and is glued to the road! If I need to pass someone, it seems that I only have to think it and I'm 150 ft. in front of that vehicle. Very happy!

[whatcar]

We've just done a *short video review of the facelifted Ford Focus*. It's a mighty impressive car...

[ericgeorge]

I own a 2009 Focus Econetic, which is an EXCELLENT car. I am in the fortunate position though where I can treat myself to a newer one so I am opting for the Titanium Navigator from 2015 with about 9k on the clock. When you consider that they are about 22k new, getting a year old one makes sense as they are an absolute BARGAIN. What a fab review by the way, absolutely great so you just got yourself another subscriber!

[frazerconsidine]

Own a Zetec S 1.5T and so far I can't fault it. Owned a Mk2 Focus ST before this and this new one is a much nicer place to be, comfortable to drive, plenty of grunt and fairly well equipped. Handles like a dream and looks stunning to boot

[condorman-jdxd]

GOt my 2.0 170 Hp powershift, and love it, it makes me smile every time i step on it !!!!

[Dkcode]

The materials in the Focus are fine. Even the so called 'cheap' plastics are better than in any Honda I have owned.

[alrightbob]

"Just a wheel under there..." I would much prefer a wheel than some gunk with a few more litres of boot space. Well done Ford.

[wynos]

That rear seat folding system is the best! It means you have good leg support when you use it as a seat and totally flat floor when they are folded. Many cars have really bad non-folding rear seats that are to low to be comfortable and supportive, and when you fold them the floor is anything but flat.

[chrissing]

Well I listened to the reviews and thought Wow so bought a 2017 plate 1.0L Titanium during the Pandemic. This is what I found.
The car was reasonably priced at £10, 000, 32, 000 miles visiting dealers and doing test drives was difficult, due to the restrictions. I needed a car as my previous MK2 focus had been written off. The test drive was good and the car picked up well, the privacy tinting sounded good as did the tyre pressure monitoring system. in fact all those little gizmos that come with a new car. However it does take time to get to know a car and change from a previous vehicle can be strange.
Considering the Titanium is a higher spec car, mine came without the folding mirrors no Biggy but I would have thought theses would have been standard now. The sensor cluster behind the mirror is quite large and does obscure your vision in my opinion . I've been stopped at traffic lights and not seen them change to green. The tinting is good by day however at night it does limit vision when reversing. It does come with reverse parking sensors so that's good. But I've still managed to reverse into railings because the sensors didn't pick up the obstruction. But ill mark that up to my poor driving.
I've looked at fitting a reversing camera, again difficult as the sync 3 system has to be programmed to accept it and there has to be some changes to the wiring loom. A Ford dealer can fit for you at just over £500, so not that cheap an option unless you want a separate screen. Whilst on the subject of cameras, fitting a dash cam also presents problems, due to the sensor cluster on the windscreen the positioning is more to the left than central.
Other areas that are annoying are the keyless entry, it can't be turned off. The stop / start also cant be just turned off it has to be done every time you get in the car. Just because a car has a feature it doesn't mean you have to use it every time. The 1, 0L engine is economical however it does sound grumpy in the lower gears my previous 1.6 Mk2 sound tinny so again something ti get used to. The Eco boost sounds more like a diesel.
It is a nice car but needs more refinement to add accessories you shouldn't have to be reliant on a main dealer and their marked up prices. It is a nice car and lovey to drive but there are the annoying factors and my main bug bear was no spare wheel, jack or towing eye, which have now been purchased. I've had several Fords and found them reliable and kept them around 10 yrs each and wouldn't have changed my MK2 except for the accident not my fault by the way. Will I keep this car as long as the others probably not .
To be honest if it wasn't for the pandemic and being restricted in movements, unable to do proper test drives and feeling pressured to have a car for work. I would probably taken much more time looking this is however down to me and I can't blame anyone else.
One last note the sync 3 navigation system is slow and could be much better there's no reason Ford cant improve it as it connects to wifi. The voice commands are hit or miss.
All in all its a nice car with impressive features on paper that in reality turn out to be just mediocre average. My advice if you have a Mk 2 look after it 😀👍.

[xev]

this car is manual, and I drove the DCT last month. I would say it is really great, except for one thing: it is jerky.

[owentomos]

I experience a great deal of condensation inside my 2014 focus, especially in the Winter months.

[TheHupe]

Would it make sence to lease it rather than buy it since it loses its value?

[williamhirst]

I like my 3rd gen face-lift focus. Going to make it last.

[Tom-vycb]

I own the Powershift 2015 and I love it! Such a good car for the money

[boaz.bananas]

I understand that the Powershift gearbox is unreliable, is it true and what issues are there?

[Diqq]

Been driving the 1.0 ecooboost 125bhp for 6months, im only getting 25mpg

[CantEtCheese]

What's the obsession with the plastics? How often do you touch the dash? Like never I'm guessing...

[iantownsend]

This model before the face lift wasn't that good, it was ok handling wise but not as good as the other Focus's, but now it's back to a great handling hatch back

[anne-mariecallanan]

The nephew is 19 and he’s getting one of these cars year 2018