Few leaked photos made Ford officially unveil today the 2014 Focus Facelift. Created under Ford Europe design director Steffan Lamm, the new Focus Facelift comes with a new trapezoidal front grille which is now positioned higher up on the nose, redesigned headlpamps that will also become a feature on all new Ford models, a new bonnet that features a centre power dome leading down the grille, redesigned front bumper and new front wings.
At the rear we find redesigned taillights that are now wider and a new rear bumper. The 2014 Ford Focus Facelift will be the first vehicle in Europe to feature the new fuel-efficient 1.5-liter EcoBoost petrol engine delivering 150 hp or 180 hp.
Moreover, the car will also be available with the new 1.5-liter TDCi diesel engine that generates 95 hp and 120 hp. Still, Ford Focus Facelift will continue to offer the 1.0-liter EcoBoost petrol engine that develops 100 hp or 120 hp. Ford promises a new version of the 1.0-liter EcoBoost that will offer sub-100 g/km CO2 emissions.
In 2015, Ford Focus will get the 1.5-liter diesel engine mated to the PowerShift automatic transmission and according to the carmaker, this new transmission will offer a fuel economy of 19 percent compared with the equivalent-powered current Focus.
Same new automatic transmission will be found on the 1.0-liter EcoBoost next year and Ford says that the engine will offer a 17 percent improvement in fuel-efficiency. A 150 PS 2.0-litre TDCi diesel model will show a 14 per cent improvement when specified with a manual gearbox (13 per cent with an automatic transmission).
The 2014 Focus Facelift also comes with a cleaner-looking dashboard but according to the press release, the new Focus will be the first vehicle in Europe to offer SYNC 2, company’s advanced in-car connectivity system that features a high-resolution, 8-inch colour touch screen and advanced voice control. Furthermore, new Focis offers new Electronic Stability Programme , Electric Power Assist Steering, Active Park Assistant and Cross Traffic Alert.
The Focus has long been known to have DNA that is fun-to-drive. This latest version takes it up to a new level by improving both the steering and handling. The objective was to have a model that would be able to offer a more connected-to-the-road feel as well as having better response and being more solid. In order to meet this goal, the engineers at Ford implemented a number of changes.
These include increasing the structural stiffness on the front section. The engineers increased as well the lateral stiffness of what is known as the “steering-relevant” suspension bushes. In addition, the shock absorbers have been retuned with a new Electronic Stability Programme incorporated. Retuned as well is the Electric Power Assist Steering, resulting in the driver having a more connected to the road feel.
Ford revealed that the current version of the Focus included Active Park Assist, a great help especially when it comes to parallel parking. By pressing a button, ultrasonic sensors are activated to discover available parking spaces. The system then steers the vehicle and all the driver has to do is control the accelerator as well as the brake. For the new Focus, two new sensors have been placed on the rear section.
As a result, it allows perpendicular parking in pretty much the same way. Indeed, the new Focus will be the first model from Ford to offer this technology. The Perpendicular Parking system helps the drivers reverse into the space beside other cars. Further, the extra sensors also mean that for the first time the brand will be able offer Europe technologies that will allow drivers to get out of parking spaces.
Another system is the Cross Traffic Alert which is able to notify the driver that is trying to reverse out of a parking space if there are other vehicles crossing behind them. It has radar that operates on a range going as far as 131 feet (40 meters).
If the system determines that a vehicle is approaching, three unique warning signals are then released. As already mentioned, the new Focus has the Park-Out Assist which aids the drivers to go out of a parallel parking space. What the driver needs to do initially is decide whether the system will operate the left hand side steering or the right hand side. After that all the driver needs to do is manage to accelerator and the vehicle’s brake.