Ford focus on the future

THE NEXT generation of Ford Focus has made its public debut at the Detroit Motor Show. The upcoming Focus will be available in mini-Mondeo guise, as a four-door saloon, or as a five-door hatchback when it reaches UK showrooms early next year and introduces

The first of these will be the new Ford C-MAX and Ford Grand C-MAX which will be launched in Europe in the second half of 2010.

Ford expect to build around two million Focus derivatives every year once production is underway.

A sleeker profile and rising shoulderline align the new Focus more closely with its little brother, the Fiesta, and attempt to communicate what Ford claim are sharper driving dynamics.

A "cockpit-style" interior sets the driver at the centre of the action but appears almost Vauxhall-like in its adoption of vertical lines, elongated vents and self contained centre console.