Ford Focus 2011

I almost forgot to mention that my Focus Mk II has been replaced by the new Focus Mk III 2011 as of June 2011. I wasn't really looking for another car, but since I'm doing less km a year (around 18K-20K), my Focus II with a 2.0 L TDCi dieselengine was, due to the tax systems in The Netherlands, becoming too expensive to hold on. And after all, I'm a 'petrolhead'.....
The Mk III was presented on the Detroit Motor Show way back in January 2010. At that time I wasn't very impressed and even disappointed. Knowing that the car was not too photo-genius, I waited to see the car in real. In April of this year the car arrived in the Netherlands and in real life the car has much more looks than on pics.
After a testrun with a friend and collegue of mine, I was convinced. The car has inherited the short and extreme cornering technique's of Mk I and the long interchange cornerings (especially cloverleafs) of the Mk II. A perfect combination with a lot of comfort and silence aboard.
In the US consumers are very happy with the global project of the Focus, especially to replace the previous NA model which is in fact the first European Focus (1998-2004). Since the higher driving standards of European cars, it's no suprise that the design and development has taken place in Germany.
In Europe we are very fortunate to get the car with the Ecoboost engines. This means a 1.6 Litre 4-Cylinder direct injected inline engine with a midrange turbocharger added. The performances are fair enough. Max output will be around 150 hp (there is another type 1.6 with 182 hp) and a torque of 240 Nm and an additional 30 Nm to 270 Nm in overboost modus. Powertrain is combined with a 6-speed manual gearbox. The Ecoboosts are standard fitted with city start/stop system.
The US customers unfortunately will have to do it with an very ancient 2.0 Litre 4-cylinder natural aspired engine wich gives 160 hp and a torque of 198 Nm, all combined with an also ancient 5-speed gearbox. The fuel consumption performances will be less good than it's European Ecoboost counterpart.
The car comes with a good equipment like half-leather interior; heated seats; heated windshield; dual zone climate control; LED rear lighting; Interior ambi-lighting; Hill start assist; tyre-pressure control and ESP.
The car features new (green) technologies like: active grill shutters, parkist assist, lane departure warning & correcting system, active city stop, traffic signs recognition, light control, Blind Spot recognition and for exceptional cornering performances: Torque Vectoring Control.

My car is personalized with metallic paint: Midnight Sky, Large rearspoiler, 18 inch alloy wheels official Ford-design (225/40/R18). The car is wearing Michelin Pilot Sport 3 shoes.
For the winterseasons I'll use Vredestein Sportrac 2 (205/55/R16).

Here after some more pics. Hope you like it.

Active grill shutter & en profil








Ambi lighting & Ecoboost engine








Original Spoiler & Large Spoiler







My previous cars: Focus Mk I - 2001 (& Alfa Romeo 146) & Focus Mk II - 2006









Ford Focus Mk III - 2011