That aside, with the arrival of the Focus, I can't think why anyone would now need to buy a Mondeo.Except for one thing. Unlike Mondeos, which are largely bought as fleet cars, people are more likely to spend their own money on a Focus, which makes depreciation a crucial issue. Sadly, though the Focus beats the leader in its class, the VW Golf, in almost every department - and, at around pounds 13,500, is much cheaper to buy - in the long term it remains to be seen whether it can match the German car's buoyancy in the second-hand marketRoad test If you would like to take part in a test drive, write to The Verdict, The Independent Magazine, One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5DL, giving a contact phone number, your address and details of the type of vehicle, if any, you drive. One of our young testers did complain of travel sickness while sitting in the rear, but I think that had as much to do with the claustrophobic feeling in the back than the soft ride. By the 20-metre mark, I'd discovered that the stereo controls felt equally well oiled and even the indicator stalks were nicely damped. A few miles more tells you that the 1.6 litre engine is no neck snapper but that, again, progress is smooth and silent.
Equipped with independent, multi-link rear suspension, the Focus can cope with pretty much any camber or road surface you throw at it, remaining composed and comfortable throughout. Meanwhile, my feet were telling me that the brake, accelerator and clutch pedals were all operating at the same frictionless pace.Then I pulled away from the kerb and began to notice the cavernous cabin and the modish but ergonomically sound dash. The sensations began with the firm but comfortable seat, worked down my arms to the smooth steering and then on to the tips of my fingers as they negotiated a superbly weighted and fluid gear change. Via inputs from the pedals, steering, seat and my bristling senses, I could tell that the Focus is an exceptional car before I'd reached the end of my street. Ford claims that anyone new to the Focus will realise within 50 metres of driving the car that it is tangibly better than its rivals And they're right.
Second, I had recently driven Ford's new coupe, the Cougar, which shares the Focus's much-trumpeted "New Edge" styling that I'd liked about as much as I like stone-washed denim. But then I experienced the now famous 50-metre epiphany. Though Ford's designers have tried to conceal its gargantuan bulk with a variety of bulges and slashes to the bodywork, the Focus still looks clumsy in a Frankenstein's monster sort of a way The saloon is even more of an aesthetic blunder. Motoring journalists do sometimes get it right. They may have been caught napping with the Mercedes A-Class (not noticing that it fell over when going round corners), they may bleat on about "performance envelopes" and "ride compliance", and they may all wear ill- advised designer sunglasses, but they have at least been unanimously spot- on about the 1999 Car of the Year, the new Ford Focus It is a brilliant motor car. A remarkable feat considering this is Ford's replacement for the titanically crappy Escort.
