Individuality is Over-rated – Buy a Used Ford Focus by Pete Ridgard
At any one time, in any city of the United Kingdom you care to choose, at least one hundred thousand drivers will be slightly irritated by the intermittent beep of the Ford Focus’ ‘the door is open’ / ’you haven’t done up your seat belt’ / ‘it’s a bit cold outside’ tone. They may also be bored to tears with the plain interior, the uninspiring plastics and the general feeling of ennui that envelops any Focus owner. So why on Earth do people keep buying them?
Ford’s tradition for outselling the competition has slipped slightly on a historical scale. The Ford dynasty now sits 4th in the table of highest selling car manufacturers behind Toyota, General Motors and Volkswagen despite holding second place for something close to a million years. This has most probably got a lot to do with globalisation, out-sourcing and recession and other terms from the economists lexicon as opposed to Ford making a colossal engineering boob. Nevertheless, it’s an interesting statistic considering that the Ford Focus is absolutely everywhere!
When walking through town, variations of a Focus theme will be seen anything up to one hundred times a minute. I use the term ‘variation on the Focus theme’ as Ford have pulled the oldest car engineering trick out of the bag; by adding a couple of letters to the Focus badge, you can release a new edition and extend the car’s lifespan limitlessly. Does anybody know what Zetec, ST or C-MAX actually mean? probably not…but the public continue to buy the Focus. Their only concern is the £12 Smoker's Pack.
The reason why Used Ford Focus’ outnumbers people by at least nine to one in this country is a relatively simple twofold paradigm; the Focus provides quality and value for money. In many ways it is the automotive equivalent of a plague; popping up in a stealthy manner, hoping no one will notice that it is slowly taking over the world.
In these economically dire times, the public are demanding the best possible vehicle for the lowest possible price. The days of affluence, reckless spending and an insistence on remaining de rigeur at all times are long gone. Here to stay are the days of huddling round a solitary burning coal for warmth, eating cold beans to save on energy bills and wearing your grandmother’s hand-me-downs because you can no longer afford a decent pair of jeans.
So while we’re irretrievably sinking beneath the gloomy waters of a global recession, why not drive a car that is great quality for money, cheap to maintain and the best performer for its class? It may not be exciting…or fashionable, but it’s the Focus and it might just be the best you can afford. The 1.8 Petrol & 2.0 Diesel also better 50 mpg so it’s an ecologically sound vehicle as well.
For me, the Focus really shines when you put it to the test. I was happy to frighten my family during a road trip around the leafier parts of cheshire in a Focus.6 Zetec (a relatively standard model). I was extremely surprised by how the Focus smoothed out the bumps and bends as my mother screamed for her life. I laughed as the engine roared from 0-60 in less than ten seconds, whilst my father put his hand over his eyes and wept. I exhaled in wonder as the Focus slalomed round the wooded scenery whilst my dog howled in terror. The point is; as the driver I never once felt like I was not completely in control. My family were in fear of their lives, but I was as calm as if sitting on a sun lounger, sipping a cocktail.
For less than £10,000 you will easily be able to find a used Focus, with great spec and much better performance than its closest competitors (Citroen C4, Vauxhall Astra and the Volkswagen Golf). Ford have manufactured a car that won’t ever be considered ‘cool’, ‘hip’ or any other trendy adjective you choose to bandy about, but what they have done is create a practical and enjoyable car for the public. The Ford Focus is a resounding success.
