Ford Focus Coupé-Cabriolet 2007 Review

What we liked
>> Comfortable ride
>> Solid and stiff chassis
>> Comfortable and supportive seats

Not so much
>> Underpowered engine
>> Fiddly stereo
>> Road noise

Overall rating: 3.0/5.0
Engine/Drivetrain/Chassis: 2.5/5.0
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 3.5/5.0
Safety: 4.0/5.0
Behind the wheel: 3.0/5.0
X-factor: 3.5/5.0

OVERVIEW
Convertible cars were once very much a fashion purchase, for along with the ability to drop the top on a sunny day came compromises in terms of safety, security and, in some instances, weatherproofing -- courtesy of the soft folding canvas roof. You had to be very serious about your fashion to put up with the potential pitfalls.

But then along came the folding hardtop. First in the modern era was Mercedes-Benz with the SLK while Peugeot popularised it shortly afterwards with the more affordable 206 CC (Peugeot was the first to use such a concept back in 1939). Now every maker of small cars has jumped on the bandwagon and this year alone in Australia we have seen new small folding hardtops from: Volkswagen - Eos; Holden - Astra Twin-Top; and now Ford with the new Focus Coupé-Cabriolet.

These together with other CC cars from BMW, Lexus, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Renault and Volvo, have all helped drive the Australian convertible market to new heights with sales up 20 per cent over the past five years.

For Ford, the Focus was first seen as the Vignale concept back in 2004 at the Paris motor show. Yet the Blue Oval is among the last to market with its production car. The two-door, four-seater car was designed, and is built by, Pininfarina in Italy.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT
With a price of $45,490 for the manual and $47,490 for the auto, you don't have to wonder what car Ford sees as its most direct rival: the Holden Astra Twin-Top hits the showrooms with identical stickers.

Like the Holden, the Focus is a one engine, one trim, two transmission affair so the only choices are manual or auto, and colour.  As the top of the range Focus model, it is well-specced single with exterior equipment including 17-inch alloys (18s are optional), automatic headlights and windscreen wipers, and an alarm system.

Inside, the sports seats are heated and trimmed in leather. Although the driver gets an electric height adjustment, all other movements are manually operated. Also included are power windows and mirrors, dual zone climate control, cruise control with steering wheel mounted controls and remote locking.

The CC's six-stack in-dash CD audio system is a good sounding, quality Sony unit with an MP3 input jack in the glovebox. We noted the controls were a bit fiddly to use and the glossy display is highly reflective making it difficult to read in full sun.

The instrument panel too has a particularly shiny cover that under certain circumstances meant we had better view of the reflection of the back of the steering wheel than it did of the speedo and tacho.

The fully automatic electro-hydraulic folding hardtop is a simple one-button operation. Press and hold and 29 seconds later, the roof is neatly folded into the top half of the boot.

MECHANICAL
Under the bonnet of the Coupé-Cabriolet is the same 2.0-litre petrol DOHC four-cylinder engine that is offered across the rest of the Focus range and generates peak power and torque outputs of 107kW and 185Nm respectively.

Ford claims best-in-class fuel consumption figures of 7.5lt/100km for the five-speed manual and 8.3lt/100km for the four-speed automatic transmission. The best the Carsales Network could achieve on the media launch drive south of Adelaide in South Australia with the auto was 9.8lt/100km.

Although the automatic transmission doesn't offer any 'sports' mode it does allow for sequential manual shifting via the gearshift lever.

Being a drop top, the body has been substantially stiffened with extra crossmembers and reinforcements while a number of the suspension components have been borrowed from the Focus XR5 Turbo hot hatch and both front and rear dampers are 30 percent stiffer than the Focus sedan.

The front suspension retains the same MacPherson strut arrangement as the rest of the range while the rear control blade has been adopted from the XR5 although it has been tuned with a greater comfort bias.

PACKAGING
Ford claims it wanted the Focus Coupé-Cabriolet to be a "true four-seater" and while there are indeed four seatbelts, if you want a couple of adults in the rear, you will have to compromise space for the driver and front passenger. We would suggest that the rear sculpted bench is more suitable for children and even then, legroom behind this tester is limited.

If you are traveling two-up however, there is plenty of space up front to get comfortable and the leather-trimmed sports seats are superbly supportive and comfy. They have been lowered by 20mm to ensure good headroom with the roof closed and so that you are not in danger of hitting the header rail with the top down.

The steering column adjusts for both rake and reach and it is easy to get a good driving position although room in the footwell in the manual is a bit tight with not a lot of space to rest your left foot.

The boot capacity, at 534 litres top up and 248 litres roof down, is the biggest in the class says Ford. While it is wide and deep, it remains relatively shallow with a space saver spare sitting under the floor.

Fit and finish of the car is up to a high standard and although the dash and the layout of the interior are fairly orthodox, it is attractive and user friendly (apart from the aforementioned audio system), making the cabin a pretty pleasant space in which to spend time.

SAFETY
Safety of convertibles of old was never a high priority. Fast forward and in the current climate it is not something you can ignore, thus Ford has gone all out to ensure the Focus CC has all the latest tech available.

Active safety is served by a good solid chassis and body, while electronic assistance includes ABS brakes and DSC stability and traction control.

On the passive safety front, there are four airbags -- two front and front side thorax -- and rollover protection bars (RPD) that pop up about 20cm from behind the rear seat head restraints if the car's sensors detect an imminent rollover.

The Ford Focus Coupé Cabriolet is also fitted with two top tether child restraint points in the rear and due to the design restrictions because of the rollover bars, Ford also supplies a free convertible child seat that specifically fits the car.

COMPETITORS
The CC market has exploded over the past few years and it is in the Focus' $40,000 to $50,000 range where most of the action has been taking place.

As mentioned, Holden's Astra Twin-Top is Ford's direct target (see below) and it is currently the biggest seller in the segment. Coming a close second however, is the Volkswagen Eos which caries higher price tags -- $47,990 to $52,290 -- but also much more torquey and powerful 2.0-litre engines in a choice of turbodiesel and turbo petrol. Transmissions for the VW's are also both six-speed -- manual and auto.

Also in the mix is the Peugeot 307 CC that ranges in price from $47,990 for the manual 103kW/190Nm 2.0-litre to $54,990 for the 130kW/202Nm 2.0-litre petrol manual.

The cheapest folding hardtop in the small car class is the Renault Megane CC that is priced from $44,990 as a six-speed manual and $47,490 for the four-speed auto and uses a 99kW/191Nm 2.0-litre petrol four for motivation.

ON THE ROAD
It doesn't take very long behind the wheel of the Focus Coupé-Cabriolet to realise its one substantial downfall -- the engine. Or to be more specific, it is not so much the engine, it is the combination of the average 107kW and 185Nm 2.0-litre powerplant and the extra 150kg or so that the CC variant has gained over its sedan counterpart.

While the engine is more than adequate (hardly rocket-like but up to the task nevertheless) in the hatch, in the Coupé-Cabriolet it simply feels sluggish. Around town at suburban speeds, it is not so noticeable but head out into the country and any overtaking manoeuvres require a great deal of careful consideration. Likewise, long hills often require a downshift simply to maintain speed.

And it is not just that it requires hard revving, either -- for what you get low down in the rev-band is what you get as you approach the 6000rpm redline. It's a smooth and reasonably refined delivery of power and torque, it's just that for the weight of the car (it tips the scales at 1454kg as a manual with the auto adding another 11kg) there is simply not enough of it.

No amount of rowing the slick five-speed manual gearbox is going to change that. And with only four-speeds to play with in the auto, the engine's lacklustre nature is even more obvious.

Which is a great pity, as there is plenty to like about the rest of the car.  Roof up or down, the body feels very solid and stable -- with no evidence of any scuttle shake - and the CC delivers superb ride comfort courtesy of a well-damped suspension and great seats.

The steering is well weighted and direct with a decent amount of feel. Pushing moderately through corners there is a slight lean, but the body feels well controlled and secure.

Ford offers no option windstopper (to seal over the rear seats as per Astra and other models) but with the roof down and the windows up, it was fairly calm in the cabin with only the road noise on coarse surfaces becoming noticeable.

Pop the roof up and the road noise is still there although muted. While the cabin is reasonably quiet, one car we drove on the media launch developed a bit of wind noise around the top of windows as though the roof wasn't sealing properly. Another car also developed a bit of what sounded like suspension clunk and thump, but these were isolated incidents and probably not indicative of the entire fleet.

Although Carsales network didn't drive the Ford Focus Coupé-Cabriolet and Holden Astra Twin Top back to back on the same route, we did happen to have an Astra on test the same week as the Focus was launched so we thought it worthwhile to compare the two.

With identical prices, similar packaging and both having stylish good looks, at the end of the day the decision largely comes down to the drive experience.

And here the two cars are very different beasts. With its larger 110kW/215Nm 2.2-litre engine, the Astra offers slightly more power but a fairly substantial 30Nm more torque which is obvious in the drive experience.

With the auto transmission in normal mode, the Astra is a strong cruiser with good off-the-line and in-gear acceleration, but switch it into the sports mode, and the car definitely gains a sportier edge. Response to the right foot is quicker, the car revs out to the redline and there is a discernible strength to push on a bit in the top half of the rev band.

The Focus, however, simply doesn't have the extra urge of the Astra and even when you switch the auto into manual mode and shift ratios yourself, the midrange doesn't feel anywhere near as strong as the Astra.

While both cars feature suspensions that are on the firm side, the Astra does tend to get a little unsettled by harsher bumps and ruts. These can also be felt through the less shapely seats. Meantime the ride quality in the Focus remains one its better traits, being comfortable and supple over all surfaces.

Both cars offer direct well weighted steering with the Astra feeling just that little bit sharper on turn-in and the handling is comparable with both feeling stiff, solid and secure.

So if it's a comfy boulevard cruiser you are after, the Focus might suit. But if it's a bit more of a sporty drive that appeals, then the Astra is the pick of the two.