The main selling point of the Focus; The steering is lighter than a Fiesta’s, it’s responsive and still has enough weighting for you to know where the front is headed.

Handling was impressive for a standard setup; there is a bit of body roll but it’s well contained, the wider footprint means there’s plenty of grip and it avoids being thrown off course by mid corner bumps/potholes. 
As with most automatics the throttle response is a bit spongey, the manual over-ride on the gearbox responds 90% of the time (unless it thinks you’re in too high a gear), and the brakes are progressive even if they lack the initial bite as expected from the manual versions.

There’s a bit of road noise from our larger tyres but nothing major, with wind noise well suppressed. The engine is quiet enough to sound distant under normal use, but there is a bass-heavy drone under acceleration though. The car doesn’t vibrate at idle/starting badly for a diesel either.

Spec: Titanium 2007MY
Engine: 1.6 TDCI, 109bhp, 177lb ft
Transmission: 7 Speed Automatic (Automated Manual)
Mpg: Official: 50mpg Achieved: 45mpg
Performance: 0-62mph: 11.3 Secs, 113mph
Colour: Ocean Blue
Running Period: Autumn - Winter 2006, 9000 Miles
Options: 17” 5 Spoke Alloy Wheels, Full Leather seats, Privacy Glass, Rear Parking Sensors.

*Pictures captioned above - Sourced for reference only from AutoTrader*