New Ford Focus Ultimate Test Drive: Finalists

Ford’s general manager of marketing, David Katic, wanted diversity in the New Ford Focus Ultimate Test Drive finalists and he’s got it. In spades!  

“It’s important,” says Katic, “because this diversity reflects the market itself, and who is buying small cars.  

“It also means that there'll be lots of variety in the content they produce, to keep voters interested and engaged.”

Time to meet our daring dozen then

From Victoria...
Ladies and gentlemen, meet Andrew Leech, James Cook, Guy Dolev and Carla Ziino.

Andrew is a resident doctor in his second year out of medical school. Described by his friends as workaholic, he’s an accomplished multitasker, which should prove useful in handling the multiple challenges facing man and machine. Dancing to the beat of his own iPod, Andrew pumps up the volume on the Ministry of Sound to get going in the morning. We await a healthy dose of upbeat creativity in his Ultimate Test Drive video blogs.

For sheer energy, James might be a hard man to keep up with. By day, he’s an international flight attendant. By night, you’ll find him on the DJ decks at nightclubs. Yet, against all this high-powered, jet-setting backdrop, he finds chill-out time at the wheel, describing himself as ‘a safe and efficient driver’.  Expect an easy-going style with the odd injection of a little humour in James’s Ultimate Test Drive videos.

Sports fanatic Guy loves an adventure, but being a family man these days he also knows his limits and likes to stay within them. That’s reflected in an unblemished record after 22 years of driving. Guy hopes those exceptional driving abilities coupled with his out-there imagination and creative video skills will help take voters to the edge with blockbuster quality clips.

Carla already stands out as Victoria’s sole female contestant, and she assures us she won’t be holding back in her bid to stand out enough to win. Known far and wide for singing too loudly at traffic lights, she has an impulsiveness and acute sense of fun we reckon will help her shine.

From Queensland...
There’s a distinct feminine skew to the Sunshine State crew – like, 100 per cent. Leanne Chalkley, Bianca Sparreboom and Janet E Leach, come on down.

Leanne’s day job as a family mediator requires she show people how to keep the peace. It’s an attitude she extends on to the road through her self-confessed ‘grandma’ driving style, staying a steady 10km/h under the speed limit at all times. Laying claim to the title of world’s safest driver, Leanne’s confident her zen approach will echo through her videos and resonate with voters.

Bianca is a stay-at-home mum whose world revolves around her children -- enough to spend hours every week chauffeuring them around. Not that she sees any of this as a chore – a bunch of party tunes on the radio is all it takes to get her bopping and singing from A to B. Bianca’s goal: to drive the new Focus in Las Vegas. Watch how she injects glitz, glamour and high-roller hijinks into her short Focus videos.

Glamour girl Janet, meanwhile, plans to bring the world of high fashion to our contest with all the flair and brilliance of a Christian Dior runway show. Described by friends as having the energy of an effervescent young man trapped inside the body of an amazingly gorgeous, talented and intelligent woman, Janet’s confidence will shine through as she plans to develop uplifting and engaging videos to enthral viewers. Totally haute.

From New South Wales...
Let’s hear it for Benjamin Douglas, Warren Mendes, Penny Welsh, Blake James and David Tunnicliffe.

At 20, Arts student Ben is the youngest of our finalists. But we’re not talking about misspent youth here – our young man sees the Ultimate Test Drive as a chance not only to win Australia’s most exciting new compact car but also to show his mettle in his chosen career as a motoring journalist. He got off to a great start with his video review of his ageing Commodore. Now he’s looking to go to the next level using a panoply of creative skills at his fingertips. Expect anything, because he’s drawing from the full multimedia skill suite – his writing, drawing and musicianship – in his quest to drive away in his all-new Focus.

Warren’s in it for the car, having sold his Audi A3 and relegated himself to the bus to help save for an apartment. A management consultant by day and, well, mostly asleep by night, he’s already begun formulating plans for a series of ‘Oscar winning quality’ video reviews reflecting in equal measure his serious interest in things automotive and his joie de vivre. A man not used to losing, Warren is convinced he’ll walk away with the car.

Penny brings a unique perspective our contest: that of a former paramedic who’s seen more than her fair share of road carnage. It’s why (like Leanne) she describes herself as a ‘nanna’ at the wheel. Well that’s part of the reason, anyway. There’s also the issue of no power steering on her elderly Japanese littlie, which she dubs ‘Dino the Dinosaur’. Under Dino’s regime, driving hurts and she wants it to stop. Penny’s was one of the few winning entries that wasn’t on video. By her own admission, it was an eleventh-hour affair. So it was raw talent that got her over the line. Expect spontaneity.

Television producer David brings the advantage of plenty of experience in his chosen medium of video. Being British, he’ll be bringing plenty of stiff upper lip to the Ultimate Test Drive, along with a terrific singing voice and – the subject of the entry that got him here – a collection of footwear to which Imelda Marcos would have proudly laid claim.

Finally, Blake’s a bloke who knows – and loves – his cars. And he already deems the new Focus a fine specimen indeed. Fine enough that he’d one day love to put it through its paces down Norway’s Atlantic Road, a winding ribbon of tar he reckons is unparalleled for the challenges it puts to even the finest of sporting roadware. But for now, he’s happy to restrict himself to the potholes and corrugations and speed-bumps marking roads closer to home. One of his challenges is to document the all-new Focus’s ‘addictive driving experience’. The premier state has the roads to prove it on.

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