Ford Focus nip and tuck for Frankfurt

The chaps over at Auto Express have revealed that the Ford Focus will be going under the knife in time for a Frankfurt Motor Show reveal next month. They have even managed to obtain some snaps of the new look Focus out and about, albeit heavily disguised.

Unfortunately, you can tell little about the front end styling. The Focus prototype pictured appears to be wearing a plastic moulding that covers the front guards and bonnet so the lines we think we can see may just be what Ford want us to think we see…in reality we can’t see much that is real.

We were looking forward to a radical new Focus in 2008 (pictured below) and this is certainly not it. From the A-pillar backwards the facelifted car appears almost unchanged and certainly has none of the aggression seen in the 2008 Focus artists impression. So we are hoping that this Focus nip and tuck is just a refresh and that there is far more in-store when the Focus comes in for it’s next re-do.

One exciting aspect of the refreshed Focus is the introduction of a new ultra-efficient model Ford are calling the ECOnetic. The ECOnetic features a 1.6-litre TDCi diesel engine with the sort of numbers that will keep the most ardent doomsday-prophecy tree-hugger type happy. It chuffs out a tiny 115g/km of CO2 and returns average fuel economy of 70mpg!

About as green as you can currently get the ECOnetic diesel Focus will also turn your Prius driving neighbour green with envy. It will no-doubt cost less, drive better and use less fuel.

Changes to the revised Focus have not just been limited to the sheet-metal with the interior coming in for it’s fair share of upgrading, including a new C-MAX style centre console with upgraded audio system and navigation systems. Aside from these basics the new Focus is little changed from the current model with all current driveline options carrying over.

Steane

[Source: Auto Express]