Car Reviews

Styling and Design:

Pininfarina, the famous Italian design house were drafted in for the styling of the Focus Coupé Cabriolet and they haven’t done a bad job, but as with so many of these Coupé Cabriolets there is a rather large ‘behind’ on this car, necessary it seems to stow the boot. So how come Mazda avoided this with the MX-5?
6/10
Pro: Focus elegance
Con: Large rump

Engine Specification:

There were three engines chosen for the Focus Coupé Cabriolet initially. The first is the 2.0-litre TDCi diesel engine with 136bhp and 320Nm of torque. This is quiet and refined. Next up is the 2.0-litre 145bhp petrol engine with 185Nm of torque. Last up and likely to be the most popular in Ireland is the 100bhp 1.6-litre petrol engine.
7/10
Pro: Smashing diesel
Con: Weak 1.6 in heavy car

Performance:

The diesel engine offers the best all-round performance, with 0-100km/h reached in an impressive 10.3 seconds and on to a top speed of 205km/h. This is pretty much on par with the 2.0-litre petrol engine which is a fraction faster at 208km/h and will get to 100km/h in the same time of 10.3 seconds. The 100bhp 1.6-litre engine does not seem so sparkling, returning 182km/h and getting to 100km/h in 13.6 seconds.
7/10
Pro: Smashing diesel
Con: 1.6 is not so urgent

Ride & handling:

This is easily the best of these coupé cabriolet cars to drive and it is not hard to see why since the basis for the car is the excellent Ford Focus. Ford engineers used the same MacPherson strut suspension, Ford’s control blade independent rear suspension, and a low friction steering system. For additional stiffness, this car gets an extra cross member across the bulkhead between the struts and bushings taken from the ST rack. The rear suspension was also derived from the Focus ST design, but is tuned towards a more comfortable setting. Front and rear dampers have been stiffened by 8 percent at the front and 33 per cent at the rear. The result is that roof down or up this car is as agile and good to drive as you would expect any Focus to be. It is a cracker.
9/10
Pro: Handling
Con:Scuttle shake on poor surfaces

Interior & ergonomics:

There is a typical Ford Focus layout albeit a little bit more upmarket. The dash is well laid-out and there are controls behind the steering wheel for audio and our test car features voice commands too. The seats for the front two are very comfortable.
7/10
Pro: Good layout
Con:Rear

Space & Practicality:

It seems that there is the usual story as regards these four-seater coupé cabriolet cars with the Focus - there is plenty of space up front and a vast boot - with 534-litres with the roof up and 248-litres with the roof down, but the rear space is still pretty restricted. They are fine for kids and shorter adults and the shoulder room is not bad but the legroom is pretty restricted.
6/10
Pro: Good up front
Con: But not so clever at the rear

Safety:

ABS brakes with ESP and EBA come as standard and there is also an ultra stiff body shell and a rigid passenger safety cell. In addition to the standard front and side airbags there is a Rollover Protection Device (RPD) that is designed to help passengers in the event of a rollover. Two ultra strong rollover bars fire into position in this instance.
9/10
Pro: Solid car
Con: ESP optional on 1.6

Value & Running costs:

This really is the one to buy because it is the best to drive, offers pretty decent value compared to rivals and if you can stretch to the diesel you will also get a car that won’t cost you much to run either. The diesel returns 5.9 l/100km/h and this is really good and Ford’s resale values are rock solid in Ireland.
8/10
Pro: Good value
Con: Astra is cheaper

Quality and Refinement:

The overall feel and build is first class in this car and the roof mechanism, so important in a car like this works in 29 seconds and very silently.
8/10
Pro: Quality
Con: Ride on poor surfaces

Equipment & Specification:

We are still awaiting final spec at time of print, but expect air con and alloys in Zetec model and more toys in Titanium.
7/10
Pro: Nicely kitted out
Con: Avoid base model

Paddy Comyn
Added 26 September 2006