HomeCar NewsIs the Ford Focus a good option for a family car?

Is the Ford Focus a good option for a family car?

Review: The Ford Focus faces stiff competition from affordable saloons like the Skoda Octavia, and German hatchbacks like the Seat Leon. One thing the Focus has always bettered these cars on is fun and practicality combined… of course, fun comes from the engine, so what’s what?

There are several engines to choose from – the range kicks off with a 1.6 petrol n/a in two outputs, a 1.0T, 1.6 TDCi, 2.0 TDCi and there is even a 2.0T EcoBoost for families who want something a little more potent. That particular Focus, the ST, offers great performance for the money.

The best engine is the 1.0T EcoBoost – this will return an average 60.1 miles per gallon which is fantastic, and the engine is much sweeter and quieter than any of the diesel units. If you want more power, the 125 EcoBoost will serve you even better.

On the move, all Ford Focus are composed, with high levels of refinement. The ride quality on all sizes of alloy wheel is good, and the Focus’s handling capabilities are rather impressive – there’s very little body roll at any speed.

The Focus has a boot capacity of 316-litres, which is very good, and this can be extended to 1,148 litres with the seats down. Up front, the cabin is spacious, and there’s lot of room to get comfortable. The seats are excellent with good side support, and the pedals are perfectly spaced. You get the sense that Ford have thought of everything with the new Focus – I’m still not a fan of the space ship styled dashboard or the steering wheel design, but they are both well made and should last for a very long time.

Glasgow’s Macklin Motors offers the Ford Focus – prices start from £13,995 for the Focus, but the version we recommend is the 1.0T 100 Ecoboost Edge 5dr which has an on the road price of £16,295 – this engine offers the best economy for the performance on offer, and it doesn’t have any DPF filter to get clogged up after multiple school runs. Standard equipment in this model includes air conditioning, electric mirrors, and a CD player. Climate control and cruise control are available on higher specification models.

Overall: The Ford Focus is a fantastic option for a family car. It is reliable, available with a range of economical engines, it is cheap to buy, practical, safe and it looks great. A Volkswagen Golf might offer a higher quality interior and more refinement, but it costs a lot more, and some of the optional extras on the VW should be standard equipment. As such, I deem the Focus to be amongst the best family car for the price asked of it.

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