Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Focus shows why we’re big on estates
WHILE the world, or at least Europe, has fallen in love with the crossover, I remain doggedly loyal to a much more traditional form of family car – the estate.
There’s something very British about it; dogs, picnics in the countryside and seaside holidays.
We used to buy more of them than our continental cousins, and still do.
I’ve owned plenty over the years, from Citroens to Subarus to the iconic and bulletproof Mercedes-benz E-class (the W124 model from the late 80s). So we kick off this road test of the new Ford Focus estate in a positive frame of mind.
One of my first cars was an Escort estate and I went on to have several. Attractive they were, too. As is this one.
We’re testing the St-line version which looks particularly good with its sexily styled alloy wheels, rear spoiler and body kit. It rides 10mm lower than the other estate models which gives it a more purposeful stance.
The car’s vital statistics are an overall length 290mm longer than the five-door hatchback, but with Ford Focus St-line Five-door estate
Price: £26,400
Engine: 1.5-litre three-cylinder, 180bhp 0-62mph: 8.5sec Fuel consumption: 49.6mpg
an identical wheelbase. There’s no extra legroom in the front of the car so you won’t know you’re in the estate version, but rear seat passengers will as there’s a bit more headroom. Of course the whole point in paying your extra £1,080 over the price of the hatchback is to get extra luggage space.
Seats up, the Focus gives you 608 litres – folded, it’s 1,653 litres. That’s more than you’ll get in a It had been all quiet on the ‘Black’ edition front for a while, but now we have a couple of Mazdas that follow the recipe.
First up is the Mazda2 Black+ Edition which is limited to 500 cars and costs £15,795. It’s based on the 90bhp SE-L Nav+ but adds 16in black alloy wheels, privacy glass and a black roof spoiler.
The other special is the CX-3 Sport Black+, again based on SE-L Nav+ trim, and adds 18in alloys, chrome side and bumper trims, a heated steering wheel, reversing camera and a colour heads-up display. Yours for £22,195 with a manual box and £23,195 for the auto. Available to order now.