2016 Ford Focus Sport: Less Bits and Bobs, Same Smooth Ride

2016 Ford Focus Sport: Less Bits and Bobs, Same Smooth Ride

Ford Focus Trend 1

A few weeks back, we had the privilege of taking two variants of Ford’s All-New Focus around the Metro. You’ve read the review for the 1.5L Sport+, so now let’s take a look at its other variant: The All-New Ford Focus 1.5L Sport.

Ford Focus Trend 2

Design: The Same Aggresive Exterior

There really isn’t much of a difference from the Sport+ variant, aside from a few bits and bobs; no LED daytime running lights here and you’ve got slightly smaller 17″ alloys instead of the 18’s. You often see car reviews mention that “the car has an aggresive design” or something very similar, with the Focus it seems to take that phrase quite literally. A friend had mentioned that the front end kind of resembled an angry smiley face and Ford’s front grill design plus the shape of its tapered headlights does make it seems that way — We seriously can’t unsee it anymore. We’re guessing that its mean looks had to hold its own, because after all the Focus has roots in the Rally Car game. On the streets on Manila, the vehicle is a bit of head turner and attracted the attention of some bystanders as we passed by; especially in the Candy Red paint job that it came in.

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The Interior: Lush and Comfortable as Ever

Ford lent us two Ford Focus variants to take around and aside form the very noticable additions on the Sport+ that had to make room for the features not equipped on this variant, it wasn’t all that different. The dash and doors had a good mix of leather and plastic that blended so well that you actually don’t know where they start and end unless you actually get a feel of the material. The seats were clad in a comfortable leather that had our passengers passed out beside us in 0 seconds flat. The dials on the steering wheel were nicely within our thumb’s reach to be able to control the radio and our phone that was paired to the head unit. The cupholders on the Focus get a special mention for being adjustable to the size cup or, in our case, canteen you decide to bring around to keep you hydrated.

Configured to our driving position, most of us at Unbox are at least 5’11”, we could fit into the back row — wishing for a couple of more inches of leg room, but comfortable enough if there was no other option.

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The trunk had ample space. We managed to fit a cooler, a large suit case, carry on luggage, plus the hard case for our camera with a little room to spare. If you need a bit more space and only have one passenger, you can fold down the back seats for a bit more room, but sadly they do not fold down flat.

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The Smoothest Drive We’ve Had in a Long Time

Driving the New Focus Sport around town was one of the smoothest rides we’ve had in a long time. Handling was an absolute breeze. It was light enough with just the right amount of resistance to make you feel the road. We mainly took the car around the city and while stuck in traffic on main roads, like Ayala Avenue or the parking lot that is EDSA, there was a bit of vibration coming from under the hood that you could feel all the way in the cabin. It felt as if its 1.5L EcoBoost GTDi engine was also grumbling about getting stuck on our clogged streets. True enough, when we were able to take it out on the open road or when the South Luzon Express Way wasn’t too crowded, the engine calmed down and ran quietly as if an animal had been released from its cage and allowed to frolic in open spaces. It got up to 80 to 100 with ease; so easy that more often than not, you’d have to remind yourself to keep within the speed limit. We don’t exactly have the best road conditions in Metro Manila either, but the Focus seems to make you feel like we do; of course, there are extreme situations that even its suspension can’t handle smoothly.

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The Fuel Efficiency

This is where the Focus had us completely surprised. In the city, we got an average of 7KM to a Liter, we were expecting to at least get an extra kilometer or two; though to be completely fair, our traffic situtaion is the pits and it really does a number on our fuel consumption. On the highway though, the on-board display said that we would get an average of 17km per liter while maintaining a speed of 80km/h. After four full days of having the car with us, with modest trips from Taguig to Makati or around BGC, plus a quick Saturday afternoon trip to Ayala Alabang from Taguig — The fuel gauge showed that we had a little less than half left in the tank.

Ford Focus Trend 3

The All-New Ford Focus Sport comes in at Php 1.088,000, which is more or less in-line with most of its competitors in the market. It has less tech embedded in it that the Sport+, but just as we mentioned above it has been one of the smoothest rides we’ve had in awhile and it was a pleasure to take it around Metro Manila; even with the hellish the traffic.

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