Ford Focus Active 2020 Long-Term Test #2

The Ford Focus Active for 2020 packs a fair amount of kit into a small car package, particularly given the money asked – just above $30,000.

Standard features include: 17-inch alloy wheels, LED active cornering fog lights, LED headlights/daytime running lights, auto high-beam, keyless entry/start, SYNC3 infotainment system, wireless smartphone charging, 8.0-inch touch screen, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto smartphone integration and dual-zone climate control.

Ford also offers the Focus Active with a number of options and extra cost packs. Our test vehicle came equipped with the Design pack, which costs $1800 and includes 18-inch alloy wheels, adaptive headlights and privacy glass.

In addition, the car was optioned up with Metropolis White paint ($650) and the Driver Assistance Pack ($1250). This last item, the Driver Assistance Pack, features Blind Spot Information System; Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Active Braking; Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop & Go and Lane Centring.

The Ford Focus Active is covered by a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty. Service intervals crop up every 15,000km or 12 months, whichever comes first, and the first service falls due at 3000km.

After years of the industry’s focus on secondary safety – crumple zones, airbags, pyrotechnic seatbelt pretensioners and all that other stuff to protect you during a crash – this series of Ford Focus has taken a large step forward in the area of active safety (also known as primary safety, the car’s innate ability to avoid a crash).

Autonomous emergency braking is standard, and features pedestrian and cyclist detection. Naturally, that means there’s forward collision warning as well. Lane keeping assist and lane departure warning are also standard; so too is emergency brake light warning.

As already noted, the Ford Focus Active on test was fitted with the optional Driver Assistance Pack, which adds to the car’s active safety complement.

And if, despite all that driver-assist technology, you still crash, the on-board SYNC3 infotainment/telematics system will automatically dial the emergency services for you.

While no one would ever describe the power delivery and straight-line acceleration of the Ford Focus Active as ‘effortless’, nor is it dreadfully slow. It will keep up with traffic on a light throttle and also go respectably hard as the situation demands.

The engine produces useful torque at quite low speeds. There’s no huge slam in the back from launch, but the powerplant is responsive and the transmission will hold high gears down to ridiculously low engine speeds – on hills with the cruise control set too.

As a matter of fact, that is actually a shortcoming in practice. Short of an almighty kick in the guts, the transmission won’t shift back all that readily in Normal mode, forcing the engine to run down to 1400rpm.

At that point, and even at 1600rpm cruising at open-road speed, the engine labours. And due to its three-pot configuration, the labouring is a little unpleasant. It’s much like the flapping wings of a giant moth that’s too close for comfort.

Otherwise though, the engine is fun and refined. Let it rev a bit and it sounds like it’s got the goods. At speeds of 4000rpm and up, with the throttle wide open the tiny turbo terror produces brisk performance and sounds a little exciting.

Some may find the rotary dial for the transmission selector slightly confronting, but it’s really easy to use, and twiddling the dial without looking down quickly becomes second nature.

The Ford Focus Active features shift paddles, which are within close reach and are simple enough to use, but they take their time giving you the gear you want if you’re shifting down when the engine is still in the mid range (revs around 4000rpm).

Over a 70km test loop the Focus posted a respectable fuel consumption figure of 7.8L/100km.

Compromised ride comfort?

Rather than the standard 17-inch alloys usually fitted to the Ford Focus Active, our test vehicle was fitted with optional 18-inch wheels shod with Continental 215/50 R18 tyres.

Although the ride was acceptable for the most part – and particularly given the tidy handling of the Focus – it was somewhat jiggly at lower speeds and over smaller bumps.

On the plus side the ride quality of the Focus did smooth out quite a lot at higher speeds. Some shoppers may prefer an SUV that rides a little softer, but if you want a bit more ‘sport’ in your SUV the Focus Active remains quite a fun package.

The Ford will hold a neat line with the power applied and tuck back in as soon as you lift off the accelerator, but it doesn’t overstep the mark. As a bonus, the Focus also provides feedback that’s communicative in the case of both the steering and brakes.

The traction on dry bitumen is encouraging too, but I wouldn’t be taking the Focus Active on anything much gnarlier than a gravel track that’s flat and level.

Obviously, from that, I only tested three of the five drive modes: Normal, Sport and Economy. The other two modes are for ‘Slippery’ and ‘Trail’ conditions.

The optional adaptive headlights feature an auto high-beam facility, which was a little slow to dip the headlights at times, prompting a couple of drivers in oncoming cars to flash their own lights back.

For owners who rarely leave the suburbs it would be entirely safe to leave the auto high-beam disabled, since the headlights of the Focus are pretty effective even on low beam. They shine a long way ahead, with an evenly-spread beam to pick out any potential hazards by the side of the road, plus they follow the road around with the option.

The seats in the Focus are very comfortable and snug. There’s manual lumbar adjustment courtesy of a wheel on the side of the seat base. At its most extreme support, the lumbar adjustment would even subdue the Incredible Hulk’s anger management issues.

The Focus controls and instruments deserve the seal of approval for being ergonomically right. There’s an indicator stalk on the right of the steering column, a starter button more or less in plain sight adjacent the instrument binnacle, and major controls (including the trip computer in between) plus lesser instruments – engine temp and fuel gauge – that are really easy to read at a glance.

Ford packs traffic sign recognition into the Focus Active. Unfortunately, this system suffers from the same difficulty that similar systems from other brands do – it will default to 40km/h for school zones, even at night.

But the car’s SYNC3 system compensates, with a sophisticated voice recognition facility that can quickly set a destination in the satellite navigation without all the usual mucking around with single-point controllers and/or buttons to punch. The mapping data is accurate too, and the system recalculates the route rapidly if you happen to take a different turn.

It took a little while to work out how to skip through music tracks from the steering wheel. The buttons for volume control are on the left spoke and the track buttons are on the right, but do double duty for phone connection and disconnection.

There’s generous legroom in the rear, and headroom is suitable for adults up to about 180cm tall. However, there are no adjustable rear vents, which is something of an oversight in a car at this price – particularly as tested with the extra options taking the price above $34,000.

On the credit side of the ledger, the practical boot will accommodate a week’s worth of groceries for a family of four. It’s not huge, but at 341 litres it’s certainly an improvement on the luggage capacity of the Mazda3 and Toyota Corolla. That capacity is enhanced by the standard space-saver spare wheel, which occupies less room under the floor.

From December of this year, the Ford Focus Active will be upgraded, along with other models in the range. FordPass Connect, an ‘embedded’ modem will be standard, as will front parking sensors.

The car will feature redesigned headlights and a different exterior colour palette. What that means for prospective Focus buyers is some discounted pricing for the current car in run-out. Then again, leave it too late to buy and you may miss out on the specific colour and specification you want.

As for the broader question, whether the Focus Active represents good value and whether it’s a car to recommend, that’s somewhat easier to answer.

While the Focus Active doesn’t exactly meet with our definition of an SUV, it does pack a lot of kit for the price. Some of that is pretty advanced too, for this price bracket.

The Ford Focus Active is thus an appealing small car, well specified, comfortable and charming. It’s a car that will sell itself during a test drive.

How much does the 2020 Ford Focus Active cost?
Price: $30,490 (plus on-road costs), $34,190 (as tested, plus on-road costs)
Available: Now, and in updated form later this year
Engine: 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 134kW/240Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 6.4L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 148g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2019)