We recently tested the third generation Ford Focus which is now available in Irish showrooms, and given that the Focus is the top selling small family car in Ireland every year since 2007 it has big boots to fill. For those of you who have owned a Focus since it was launched in 1998 you will find the current car unrecognisable.
From the outside the car looks totally cool, with beautiful sloping lines from front to back. Gone is the drab, boxy look of the previous model. Inside the changes are just as startling, with the dashboard area unrecognisable from the old car, with a funky new design with improved quality soft touch plastics. There is lots of room for buggies, toys and shopping in the boot which offers 360 litres of bootspace which is bigger than the VW Golf. This model is longer too, which means more room across the back. This will be especially useful if you have a baby seat in the back, which can often leave others in the back seat cramped.
This Focus scores well on safety, gaining a full five stars in the "Euro NCAP" safety test, and also features ISOFIX child seat mounts as standard. Front and rear side airbags along with stability control (which helps prevent a car go out of control) are reassuring additions to the Focus for families we think. For those that are not keen on the switch to diesel the Focus now comes with a 1.0 litre petrol "Ecoboost" engine (a petrol engine with a turbo like most diesel cars have) which we drove and think is fantastic! It has bags of power, is in band A for road tax and does 59 miles per gallon. This model costs €21,485 new. The Focus now has a three year warranty, three year breakdown cover and three years free servicing and the cheapest model sneaks under the €20k mark, costing €19,685.
The Focus is our top pick for those buying a small family car because it is fantastic value, has an excellent safety rating, has enough space for a growing family and still manages to look quite cool.
Check out our shortlist of our top picks for small family cars here.
