CDAA Review- New Focus Zetec

[WASP]

That’s right folks, I finally managed to obtain a 2 hour drive of a brand new silver Focus Zetec, fully equipped with bull dust and mud from it’s last caining on a dirt road my the media. I gather they were seeing if it still had its rally heritage of the past model…lol

I was apparently the first customer in SA to drive one of these things which in one way was nice, but in another made me feel that I was part of some experimental process that would hopefully go well. Hopefully.

First impressions
When I arrived to the dealership fresh out of my beautiful RZTT, their was a new red LX Focus sedan parked there which I thought was mine for the test drive. As you can imagine I was little disappointed with it not being a Zetec and not being a hatch. I was actually imagining my partner giving me heaps about it and asking why I bothered at all.

The LX model at first sight looked a little nose heavy and stunted at the front. The 16” wheels appeared too small for the car which actually has quite a bit of body mass to it. Fortunately for me the LX was not mine and a Zetec was on it’s way. Frank, my dealer had gone to great lengths to secure this car but was quite embarrassed when he saw how dirty it was. A quick run through the car wash and she was looking as good as new.

What a different the Zetec enhancements make for starters. Bigger 17” alloys, deeper body kit and those big headlights with black bezel in them rather than silver really transformed the car. It almost looked muscular and made me wonder how good it would look with some bigger 18” wheels and being lowered (yes, I’m a hoon)!

The body styling is very modern and smart, quite contemporary. Whether this will prolong the cars time as being fashionable or shorten it, I’m not too sure as although quite contemporary in design, theirs nothing over the top about it.

Interior
So much space for starters. The interior however was most likely to be the blandest area of the Zetec. Everything was nicely presented with the exception of two things, the steering wheel stereo controls which go up and down on the indicator stalk rather than being neatly presented as part of the steering wheel. The other item is the blank buttons underneath the central control centre. There are 4 buttons in total but only one is used for something (window demister). Having blank buttons just looks like a ‘I couldn’t afford this feature’ type of thing. You get the same thing in the Ghia so I gather this is an oversea model provision. These things are both only little gripes however.

As a sports model I was expecting a little bit more than the LX had to offer on the inside, but struggled to see anything of real value if you don’t count the cheap looking carbon fiber print around the stereo. In direct contrast, the classy satin steel door handles look and feel the business.

Seat material was quite pleasant and non offensive, but didn’t exactly get the heart pumping if you know what I mean. Support was good in general but it would have been nice to have some back lumber control which wasn’t available.

The boot is huge on the hatchback, a feature which appeared to delight both my partner and our dog. We were initially concerned that the rear seat would not fit three bums comfortably. We have 2 girls ( 5 &7) and plan another in a few years, so the old booster seat test was implemented and passed well (or reasonably so). Another plus was the air-conditioning vents available in the back seat which were not apparent on the Mazda 6 we drove. Kids are much happier when their comfortable!

The drive
***Now before you read on, you need to take into account that I’ve just hoped out my RZ Twin turbo 6 speed, 260kw+ Sports car and into the Zetec.***

May as well been a Falcon from a driver point of view. It was not until we started moving and changing gears that it became obvious that you were in a small ‘Laser’ like car. First thing I notice was how quite this baby was. The engine just purred like a kitten, only quieter and the gear box was quite notchy. The clutch was so light that I almost found it hard to use. The Supra clutch is quite heavy so jumping from one car to another was always going to be challenging. The Zetecs gear stick was much further back than I’m used to, but the gear throws were reasonably short for this type of vehicle.

Acceleration was a little disappointing at first. Around town or in the lower rev range she was a little lifeless and needed a few revs to really benefit from the new engines power. Up higher in the rev range the performance was much better and very deceptive. The car literally rides so well for a small hatch that you don’t feel or notice the speed until it’s too late. Brakes were absolutely superb and both my partner and I felt very confident with them. A 60km/h hard brake test ‘seemed’ like it pulled us up without a shudder or waver within 20 meters or less. Bloody impressive!

Handling and ride
Who ever selected the tyres for this car should be shot. Despite the cars refined attributes, mechanical quietness and padding, the road noise from the tyres is very noticeable, particularly on many Adelaide roads which are average at best. On top of this initially the steering felt deadened somewhat so you never felt totally convinced that they (the tyres) were connected well to the road. However after driving for a while I think this is something that owners will need to get used to. The more we drove it, the more confident we felt with its handling capabilities. After 2 hours of driving it I was wondering to myself what all the initial fuss was about. “She steers great” I said to my partner while I charged down the Adelaide hills at a great, but legal rate or knots! ….I do have a sore left ear lobe now but..;):

Summary
Ok, well over the 2 hrs I had the Zetec, I had my lows and my highs with this car. For me it was not the type of vehicle that I could instantly love and get emotional about, but in the end I was not buying it for me anyway. My partner sure became to like it much quicker than I did, but in the end we both agreed it was an excellent car for the money. For those that are considering one, option up the sports gear knob and the door scuff plates. They simply look superb on this car!

Colville