Ford Focus 2023 Review

This is the new Ford Focus!

The Focus isn’t as popular as it used to be, having recently dropped out of the top 10 of the most popular cars in the UK. Well, Ford is looking to reverse that trend, and as a result it’s brought in a number of changes to make it more appealing.

The new model is only a facelift rather than an all-new model, but there are still a couple of noticeable changes. Starting at the rear, there’s some new tail lights along with twin exhaust pipes. Around the front, there’s some new LED headlights along with a new grille design. The Ford badge has also been moved from the bonnet down to the grille.

On the inside, the most notable change is the new infotainment screen. It comes equipped with Ford’s all-new infotainment system too, but it’s a bit laggy and not the best to use. There are some new digital dials as well. Elsewhere, the cabin is pretty well made, with a fair bit of storage and nice materials throughout.

As it stands, there are two engine choices available, with the range-topper being a 1-litre turbo petrol that can deliver 155hp. It’s available as either a manual or automatic, and there’s a diesel due out next year which will only be available as an automatic.

The new Focus starts from around £26,000, but should you choose it over competitors such as the Golf? Stick with Mat to see for yourself!

Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:44 Design
02:13 Interior
04:04 Back Seats
05:20 Boot
06:40 5 Annoying Things
08:37 5 Good Things
09:41 Engines
10:21 Town Driving
11:30 Motorway Driving
12:23 Country Road Driving
13:22 0-60mph
13:54 Verdict

[carwow]

Would you choose the Focus over a VW Golf? VOTE below!

[_-Anthony-_]

I wish you guys still did the "you can fit x amount of carry on suitcases" and then show how it fits in the boot. Was always so useful and easy to know the size of the boot that way. Knowing the capacity in plain volume doesn't hit the same

[aguadoia]

Drag races are fun...no point denying it. But this type of videos are the ones that CARWOW and Matt became an integral part of the car industry. LOve to see them. Thanks!!

[davidnewbaum]

I wish there's a sort of regulation regarding AC/ventilation controls, I find it very distracting to use digital controls instead of physical ones as you can feel the knobs without looking away from the road with them.

[mustiosrs]

Have had mine for about half a year now, here's some remarks:

- The "turbo lag zone" is very much a thing. You ditch your momentum for whatever reason and head all the way down to 2nd or 3rd and you can hear the engine having a hard time coming up to speed. I usually just go back to 3rd and slooowly let it rev back up - it's fine once you get used to it but you have to take it into account
- The AC controls being on the screen is dumb. With analog controls you can reliably keep an eye on the road whilst changing it. Having to make a guess of where the control you're looking for is on the screen and then having to fumble with the slider to get the temp juuust right is a major distraction whilst on the road without a copilot.
- The infotainment has a way of acting up. Sometimes it just refuses to connect to my iPhone X. I have an iPhone 11 now and it's been connecting reliably but I've had it ditch the connection once or twice.
- On the topic of phones, the wireless charging bank absolutely fried both my phones to the point of overheating and becoming irresponsive. I use a charging cable and put my phone in the cup holder vertically and using the adjustable thingies to put it in place.
- The collision alerts also have a way of acting up. Once I was at a red light and it went off for no apparent reason. Another time it went off because of leaves flowing in the wind. It's very sporadic, not enough to be problematic but it does catch you offguard everytime it does it.
+ The cargo capacity is amazing.
+ I just came back from a roadtrip through the mountains in Belgium and I now appreciate how well this car handles in curves. I felt so confident in how the car drives I've even let a friend drive it through the mountain roads and she was amazed aswell.
+ General comfort - engine sound is quiet when inside, seats are good, suspension is decent value for what you're paying, enough space everywhere, ...

[jonathantaylor]

Great verdict, Mat - anything that entices people to stop buying resource-wasteful, inefficient SUVs is a good result in my eyes 👍

[boydsterling]

Had a pre-facelift one of these, it was a fabulous car, incredible handling for what it was, very comfortable and well put together

[ZvonX]

Two small corrections Matt :)
1) It has a guide for the rear seatbelts, you can see it at 7:57-8:00 and 8:05-8:07.
2) There is a button for LKA on the stork for the prefacelift model as well.
I know because I am driving it.

[lamarandson]

I really wish they still sold the focus and fiesta in America. The new generations look great.

[tylerhanley]

i have no idea why anyone would pick a ford puma over one of these; this is prettier, more practical, drives better and is cheaper! literally why does anyone buy a puma???

[adamroutley]

Previous version has lane assist on stalk button. Driving mode select by cycling the button. Rear camera does indeed get filthy, it's completely useless in winter. The most annoying issue though, is all the warning prompts you have to clear every single time you start the car. There's currently 7 on mine when I start it each time.

[edipires]

9:09 The lane keeping assist button was always on that stalk, you’ve just missed it on all of your Ford reviews 😂

[snbala]

I still own the very first MK1 Focus, excellent car that is cheap to run and fun to drive. I looked into a MK4 (this generation) and things looked cheap inside and I wasn’t sold on the looks of it. It’s a shame the Focus is going soon but it’s just the market with the horrible SUVs at the moment. The Focus will always be remembered though, especially the first generation.

[jameslentsoane]

I will definitely go ahead and BUY IT!. Great car. It's a shame it is no longer available in South Africa, and so is the young sibling Ford Fiesta.😔😪

[cynvs]

As a Pre-Facelift Focus ST owner, I gotta say I like the new front quite a bit more than the old one. Though while I think the prefacelift mk3 was hideous, with the 4th gen both looks really good in their own way. Also love the new rear lights, I'll be getting those for mine soon.

[deinemutter]

Nice Video. I like the look of the "new" focus. Especially the new backlights. I own a 2016 Focus ST wagon and I'm very happy with it. I drove 60k km in the last 3 years and had not a single issue with it. <3

[mattinsydney]

Love the focus, I’ve owned two. The car doesn’t get as much credibility as is due. When it came out in 1998, it was so far above anything else on the market AND average Brits could afford to put fuel in it!

[Set_The_Controls]

I have the 2020 focus st and absolutely love it. Drives so well

[AlymerKiteboy]

I'm on my fourth Focus, a 2016 SE and would buy another without hesitation. Unfortunately living in Canada that's no longer an option because Ford sadly no longer offers it here. 😔

A couple of things you missed in this review:
You mentioned the rear seatbelt getting caught in the latch when returning the rear seat to its upright position, true, but clearly visible as you are telling us this is the plastic "parking spot" clip for the seatbelt to stop this from happening! 😉

Also you forgot to mention that you can flip the rear seat bottoms forward before lowering the rear seat backs and get a completely flat load floor. I go one step further than this and remove the rear seat bottoms completely, 4 torx bolts, and have a completely flat load floor for sports gear all the time without the inconvenience of the flipped up seat bottoms restricting front seat position and taking up the rear footwell space.

Great review that makes me angry at Ford... I have no interest in any of their current North American offerings. 🙄 Bye bye Ford, hello Kia!

[michelenardo]

I'm from Italy, and I own a MK8 Fiesta MHEV 125hp. It's a smaller car but the car is pretty economical in my view. for a petrol. When I'm in a rush I avarage 19.5 km/l, but once I managed to do 23.3 km/l, while going to the mountains, which is insane.