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By
EWAN KENNEDY
14 April 2008
Ford's new Focus CC (Coupe Cabriolet) is well-priced and
well-equipped. But most important of all in this
highly-competitive market segment, it’s a great looking car.
Styling the rear end of a CC so that it doesn’t look too bulky
isn’t an easy task, but the guys and gals at Ford Europe have
done an excellent job.
Which should come as no surprise when you learn that there was
plenty of input from Italian carrozzeria, Pininfarina, a longtime
expert at making cars look just right. Interestingly, Pininfarina
not only makes the folding roof mechanism, but also builds the
Focus CC in its manufacturing facilities near Turin.
A difficult engineering feat in any CC is keeping the roof area
small enough to fold into the back of the car. Ford hasn’t done
too badly, but has been forced to make the windscreen come a fair
way back so that its trailing edges is almost above the front
seats. Meaning the car loses too much of its open-air feel. On a
positive side, that windscreen arrangement helps cut aerodynamic
rush so it’s possible to talk without having to raise your
voices to an unpleasant extent. And smoothing out the airflow over
the windscreen reduces the damage to your hairstyle.
Despite its great looks, this open-top Ford is no sports
machine. The 2.0-litre Duratec engine is shared with the regular
Focus hatch and sedan models, but the extra weight that’s
necessary to build strength into a car without a fixed roof tells
against it. Focus CC is no neck-snapper in acceleration, our test
car for the past week had a four-speed automatic transmission and
we felt it had barely enough performance. There is a tiptronic-type
pseudo-manual function on the automatic transmission to give the
driver the opportunity to get the best from the willing engine.
The manual would obviously be a better buy from the point of
view of performance, but try one for yourself by way of a decent
test drive if you like to push a car anything more than moderately
hard.
Ford Australia is proud of the fact that the Focus CC has
class-leading fuel economy when measured to official standards.
However, consumption is likely to be higher than the official
figures (7.5 litres per 100 kilometres for the manual and 8.3
L/100km auto) if you drive to get some of the lost performance
back. Typically we were using seven to eight litres per hundred
kilometres on motorways and level country roads, but this rose to
10 to 12 litres per hundred in the suburbs and/or when the terrain
turned hilly.
Having put it down on the performance front, we have to say
that Ford's Focus is beautifully quiet and smooth and makes an
excellent machine for cruising the cafes and beaches. Drop that
top, put on your most stylish gear and get out there and enjoy
life to the max.
Front seat room is pretty good, though rear seat room is
negligible unless those in the front are willing to give up quite
a bit of space. This is a reasonable compromise given that not
many are likely to be carrying rear seat passengers, and those who
do sit in the back are often the junior members of our community.
Focus CC has a huge boot for a coupe-convertible and even with
the top folded down there's still space for a couple of reasonably
sized suitcases.
This gorgeous Ford convertible comes loaded with standard
equipment, which includes heated leather seats; a quality Sony
audio system; ABS brakes with brake assistance, and a clever
rollover protection system called RPD to look after the top of
your head should things go horribly wrong.
Handling is safe and predictable with a neutral feel under
normal driving conditions, then safe understeer if you want to
push harder than average. Given the cruising nature of this
machine most owners will be delighted with the feel and dynamics
of the car.
Being backed by the might of the Ford network is proving a real
bonus for the Focus range and in its few months on the market the
new Focus CC has already attracted a lot of buyer interest. Given
the looks and value this open-top machine offers we see no reason
why this interest shouldn’t continue for years to come.
AT A GLANCE
MODEL RANGE
Focus CC 2.0-litre two-door coupe-convertible - $45,490
FEATURES
ABS Brakes: Standard
Air Conditioning: Standard
Automatic Transmission: $2000 option
CD Player: Standard
Central Locking: Standard
Cruise Control: Standard
Dual Front Airbags: Standard
Front Side Airbags: Standard
Stability Control: Standard
Traction Control: Standard
SPECIFICATIONS (Ford Focus CC 2.0-litre two-door
coupe-convertible)
ENGINE:
Capacity: 1.999 litres
Configuration: Transverse, four cylinders in line
Head Design: DOHC, four valves per cylinder
Compression Ratio: 10.8:1
Bore/Stroke: 87.5 x 83.1 mm
Maximum Power: 107 kW @ 6000 rpm
Maximum Torque: 185 Nm @ 4500 rpm
DRIVELINE:
Driven Wheels: Front
Manual Transmission: Five-speed
Automatic Transmission: Four-speed
Final Drive Ratio: 4.067:1
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 4509 mm
Wheelbase: 2640 mm
Width: 1834 mm
Height: 1456 mm
Turning Circle: 10.4 metres
Kerb Mass: 1454 kg
Fuel Tank Capacity: 53 litres
Towing Ability: 680kg (1000kg with braked trailer)
SUSPENSION AND BRAKES:
Front Suspension: Independent, MacPherson struts, coil springs,
anti-roll bar
Rear Suspension: Independent, control blade multi-link, anti-roll
bar
Front Brakes: Ventilated Disc
Rear Brakes: Disc
PERFORMANCE:
0-100 km/h Acceleration: 11.9 secs
Standing 400 Metres: 18.6 secs
FUEL CONSUMPTION/EMISSION RATINGS:
Fuel Type: Petrol 91RON
Fuel Consumption - Combined Cycle (ADR 81/01): 7.5 L/100km
GREEN VEHICLE GUIDE RATINGS:
Greenhouse Rating: 7/10
Air Pollution Rating: 6.5/10
STANDARD WARRANTY:
Three years/100,000 km
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Marque Publishing Company
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