Building on a reputation of quality and outstanding driving dynamics established by its predecessor, Ford Australia President Tom Gorman said the new model promises to deliver even more.

"The all-new Ford Focus offers a sensational package of outstanding driving dynamics, improved power, increased fuel economy and higher levels of refinement."

"The new Focus builds on the foundations laid by a vehicle already recognised as a true driver's car, while providing significant improvements in power, economy, quality, craftsmanship, packaging and refinement."

"Crucially, we've included a host of new customer benefits and still managed to reduce the price of every vehicle in the Focus range," Mr Gorman said.

From launch, the Focus family will consist of the popular sedan and hatch variants with four models available in the line-up – the entry level CL, the feature-packed LX, the sporty Zetec and the luxurious Ghia.

Fresh, modern, mature

Focus features a distinctive silhouette emphasised by the angle of the windscreen, and by the fast, sporty rear-end design.

An increase in structural stiffness combines with a wider track and a longer wheelbase to ensure that this car stays true to the Ford Focus DNA, with predictable and rewarding levels of driving dynamics.

Ford Australia General Manager Marketing, Graeme Woodlands, described the shape of Focus as “new, but very clearly a Ford Focus with its trademark high rear lamps and distinctive side window graphic”.

At the rear, the aggressively sloping roofline is a signature of the Focus hatch body style. The new models are uncompromising in both rear headroom and luggage space. High, slim tail lamps help create a wide tailgate opening, giving Focus customers a highly usable load space without wheel arch intrusion.

New driving environment

The solid and reassuring nature of its driving environment clearly signals the driving quality of the vehicle.

“Focus invites drivers to make themselves at home, from the high quality instrument panel to the centre console, which is very much the hub of the interior design,” said Woodlands.

“The interior creates a ‘cockpit feel’, ensuring all controls are logically positioned and within easy reach of the driver."

“The philosophy that sculpted the original Focus interior has matured, while still maintaining its youthful vibrancy."

“A new interior look and feel, combined with a significant improvement in vehicle refinement, all play their part in delivering the new range’s interior refinements,” Woodlands said.

Poised for performance

"Driving quality has been a Focus trademark from the beginning and the new model extends that strength to encompass the entire driving experience with improvements in comfort and refinement," said Mr Gorman.

A longer wheelbase (by 25mm) and wider track (by 40mm) give the all-new Focus a sure-footed stance and an improved interior package.

Enhancements under the skin build on seven years’ experience with the Control Blade Independent Rear Suspension, and a new, stiffer front subframe provides the foundation for chassis elements that have undergone extensive tuning.

"Drivers will appreciate enhancements in comfort that have been achieved in Focus without sacrificing its signature agility, stability and precise reaction to steering inputs," Mr Gorman said.

The new chassis has been engineered to provide high levels of vibration isolation and stable, confidence-enhancing body control, making it reassuringly comfortable even on coarse Australian roads.

The Focus body structure also plays a major role in the car’s driving quality, engineered with an eight per cent increase in torsional stiffness over its class-leading predecessor.

Electro-hydraulic power-assisted steering makes low speed manoeuvres easier while preserving precision on the open road. Larger diameter brakes also provide more ‘feel’, enhanced emergency stopping power and longer brake pad life.

The power to move

Focus will launch in Australia with a powerful new 2.0-litre Duratec 16-valve four-cylinder engine employing the latest combustion and catalytic converter technology to deliver high levels of quality, performance and fuel economy.

Designed and engineered to meet the stringent Euro III emission levels that come into force in 2006, the engine delivers 107 kW of power at 6000 rpm and peak torque of 185 Newton-metres at 4500 rpm.

The new engine also delivers impressive fuel economy figures over its predecessor.

Fuel economy for the 2.0-litre Duratec 16-valve four-cylinder engine is 7.1 litres/100 km for the manual, down from 8.7 l/100 km on the old 2.0-litre engine.

A similar reduction has been gained in the automatic version, dropping from 9.5 l/100 km on the old engine to 8.0 l/100 km in the all-new Ford Focus.

Extremely durable, this lightweight engine was designed to be very efficient, require low levels of maintenance and provide customers with extremely long service life as a key commitment to Focus’ lifetime dependability.

Other upgrades to the engine include high-lift camshafts and pistons with indented pockets to allow for sufficient valve clearance. Engine knock sensors, revised intake ports and a new equal track length intake manifold add efficiency and reliability and have been tuned to optimise sound quality.

Focus on safety

The new model continues the Focus commitment to safety by offering a comprehensive passive safety system within the strength of a robust, protective body structure.

The structure of Focus provides one of the most advanced passenger safety systems in its class, putting its rigidity to work with carefully constructed crush zones to assist in routing energy away from the occupants in the event of a crash and help protect them from objects intruding the survival area.

Focus is constructed from variable-gauge laser-welded panels of high strength steel. Both the occupant cell and surrounding envelope of energy absorbing crush zones have been rigorously tested in virtual and physical form, verified by the most powerful computers in the industry and tested in the state-of-the-art Volvo Safety Centre in Sweden.

The vehicle also offers front seat-mounted side airbags (optional on the CL), seatbelt pretensioners with load-limiting retractors and child seat fittings. Optimised single-stage driver and front passenger airbags are standard equipment for the Focus passive safety system.

“Focus has always been recognised as a vehicle offering superb build quality and class leading driving dynamics,” said Mr Gorman.

“The new model will build on those inherent strengths with a truly exciting vehicle range designed to ensure customer satisfaction with a quality product that is fun to drive, incredibly comfortable, impeccably safe and unstintingly reliable.

“I'm confident every one who takes the all-new Ford Focus for a test drive is sure to find all those features – and more – there in spades.”

EXTERIOR DESIGN

The exterior styling of the all-new Ford Focus reflects the maturity of the car that first debuted worldwide in 1998.

“The profile features two distinctive lines,” said Ford Asia Pacific Design Manager Paul Gibson, one of the key architects behind the new vehicle's design.

“First is the crease that comes very tightly around the front wheel arch and actually runs the full length of the vehicle, which I believe expresses a ‘milled from solid metal’ look.

“Second is the line from the centre of the nose back over the whole length of the vehicle that highlights the fast lines of the A-pillar and the C-pillar.”

Gibson said moving the front pillar forward 100mm in a steeper angle has generated space and had a positive impact on crash protection (so to speak), while from an external sculpting point of view it allowed the designers to give the car a dramatic and unique silhouette in its class.

“Visually, the most dramatic and obvious difference between Focus and its competitors comes at the rear."

“Through ingenious packaging of the components beneath, we have created a very fast profile at the rear.”

Gibson said Focus gained its personality from the sporting lines of the front and rear pillars.

“It's every bit as dynamic as its predecessor but in a more refined and integrated manner.”

From within those lines the cockpit feel of the driving environment is nurtured, while still increasing the real world space available to driver and passengers.

From an exterior standpoint it gives Focus the kind of bold styling statement that the brand has come to embody.

“It is an entirely new way of looking at Focus but it remains clearly a Focus nonetheless, balancing that sportiness with functionality and practical daily living."

“To have simply repeated what was fresh and dramatic in 1998 would be a disservice to the car and its customers.”

Gibson said during the design of the new car, the primary goal was to ensure the new vehicle could instantly be recognised as a member of the Ford family.

In order to attain this goal, a new surface language was employed; giving the vehicle more mass, more curves and a smoother shoulder making the vehicle look more robust than its predecessor.

“With its slightly larger dimensions, the Focus has a more muscular stance – highlighted by flared wheel arches that are more prominent yet still integrated into the overall design.”

He said the bold lines of Ford’s trapezoidal grille, headlamps and air dam give the vehicle a purposeful look.

“Sitting lower in the design than on any other Ford vehicle, the nose is steeply raked with the key lines of the body structures sweeping up towards the rear, helping create an athletic profile."

“In profile, the vehicle exhibits very smooth lines – a look achieved by elongating the shape of the original. This also assisted in expanding the interior package space and creating a greater luggage area.”

Gibson described the overall effect as a sporty and slim car which still applies some of the New Edge principles that were such a hit when the original Focus was launched, but has softened the lines to create more robust sections.

“The hatch is almost coupe-like in silhouette, providing a sporty, yet functional look that retains strong links to the original Focus."

“The sedan represents a more significant styling change, resulting in more sedan style proportions with a well-integrated boot design."

“The sedan has great presence and elegance, while still offering great interior space and a significantly superior luggage volume.”

He said a new feature incorporated in the exterior design was the creation of the front-mounted Grille Opening Reinforcement (GOR).

It serves as a mounting point for a variety of other components including headlamps, bonnet, fenders and grille and eliminates the potential for variation in lines or gaps, as each of the components mounted on it clip to mounting points integrated into the GOR design.

Manufactured using high-strength steel, the GOR also contributes to occupant safety in high speed crashes and aids the overall structural rigidity. Extending from fender to fender, it also hosts numerous interior components including hoses and electrical wiring.

Bumpers on Focus are made of high-strength reinforced polypropylene and have been designed to reduce damage caused by low-speed impacts.

The radiator grille is mounted to the front bumper for increased rigidity. It employs the same signature security bonnet release system as its predecessor, with the famous Blue Oval badge swivelling on a hinge to allow key access, unclipping the bonnet release.

Focus is fitted with semi-hidden front wipers for improved aerodynamics and less wind noise. Fitted with aero blades, which have no metal parts, they cause minimal disruption to air flow as they move.

“Customers will also appreciate the new ergonomically friendly door handles, that offer a solid, quality feel,” said Gibson.

The tailgate handle has been equipped with a micro switch for ease of opening.

New headlamps are an integral part of the vehicle’s look, with the turn indicator mounted on the outboard side of the unit in the shape of a narrow vertical bar.

Gibson said the rear lamps on Focus followed the latest Ford design trends.

“The vertical design of the clusters ensures excellent visibility. They retain the original New Edge design cues, but the reverse lamps are surrounded by circular rear lamps.

“Reflectors have been moved out of the light units and are now mounted in the rear bumper, with a high-mounted third brake light housed in the spoiler.”

Focus will be available in a range of nine body colours.

They include three solid colours – Satin White, Colorado Red and Blue Print. Customers will also be able to select from six metallic colours – Dawn Blue, Jeans Blue, Black Sapphire, Pure Silver, Titanium Grey and Ruby Red.

2005 Ford Focus Ghia

INTERIOR DESIGN

Inside, the all-new Ford Focus was developed to create a ‘cockpit feel’ – with the car seeming to wrap around its occupants, with all controls in logical, easy to reach locations.

The result is an environment that suits and fits to them. This, plus sights, sounds and textures all play a part in delivering the new range’s interior harmony.

Ford of Europe Focus Chief Programme Engineer Adrian Whittle said his team placed a great deal of importance on delivering a premium quality driving environment.

“From the cockpit driving position, the flow-through instrument panel to the console design and selective use of high quality materials, the goal was consistent. We strived to give the customer an environment that communicated the essence of the Focus DNA – a real driver’s car.

“Focus customers will immediately appreciate the plush, luxurious feel of the new car,” said Whittle.

“In the past, premium quality finish has gone hand in hand with exclusive cost, but with Focus we have provided that same quality at an affordable price.

“Small details make all the difference in the quality of interior design, which is why we devoted so much time and attention to the feel of the interior, both in the look and feel of the materials we used.”

Padding in the seats has been increased to provide a very soft, comfortable seat designed to suit the long hours Australian customers can spend in their car.

The Focus range provides harmonised interior illumination throughout the cabin.

Whittle and his team worked hard to ensure a consistent feel to all the switches located inside Focus.

“It all contributes to helping drivers feel comfortable and confident at the wheel.”

The steering column is fully adjustable for reach and rake, and the centre console has been completely redesigned to offer controllable air conditioning to the rear passenger area.

Soft lining is used in the ceiling and full carpeting, in a variety of colours, is standard throughout the Focus range.

Focus is equipped with a courtesy lighting system complete with an auto-dimming feature. The courtesy light feature operates when:

• Any of the vehicle doors are open (not including tailgate/luggage compartment);
• The ignition is in the off position and any unlock is activated; or
• The ignition is turned from run, start or accessory to off.

Occupants will also notice the soft touch moulding used in the construction of the instrument panel.

The cluster includes basic instrumentation with speedometer, tachometer, fuel gauge, temperature gauge and warning lights. A trip computer is standard across the range, indicating average fuel use, distance to empty, average speed and external air temperature via a dot matrix display in the instrument panel.

Package

The bigger dimensions of the new vehicle ensure a superb package for all occupants.

The all-new interior is 140 mm wider than the outgoing model, providing more space between driver and passenger, and is 25 mm longer, providing increased legroom for rear seat passengers.

The generous 998 mm headroom of the original vehicle is retained in Focus, while an increase of the cargo load length from 812 mm to 923 mm has increased luggage space of the hatch from 350 litres to 385, and in sedan from 490 litres to 510.

Standard features

Focus customers will appreciate the high levels of standard equipment across the range.

The entry level CL sedan and hatch comes complete with air-conditioning, CD player, driver and front passenger airbags, and front power windows.

In addition to the optional four-speed automatic transmission with Sequential Sports Shift, Ford Australia will also offer two option packs for CL buyers.

The Smooth Pack combines stylish alloy wheels, body-coloured power mirrors and cruise control with leather-wrapped steering wheel.

The Safety Pack comes complete with front seat-mounted side airbags and ABS brakes with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD).

The LX sedan and hatch add front seat-mounted side airbags, power mirrors, 16-inch alloy wheels, cruise control with a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and ABS brakes with EBD. Both models come standard with a five-speed manual transmission with the option of a four-speed tiptronic-style automatic transmission with Sequential Sports Shift.

The sporty Zetec hatch builds on that impressive list of features by adding stylish 17-inch alloy wheels, front fog lamps, a unique sports suspension and a stylish body kit. The Zetec comes standard with a five-speed manual transmission and is also available with the optional four-speed automatic with Sequential Sports Shift.

The range-topping Ghia sedan comes complete with four-speed automatic transmission with Sequential Sports Shift, six-disc in-dash CD player, six-way power adjustable driver's seat, dual zone climate control air-conditioning and unique 16-inch alloy wheels.

POWERTRAIN

Every model in the all-new Ford Focus range will be powered by the latest version of Ford’s 2.0-litre Duratec 16-valve four-cylinder engine, featuring the latest advances in powertrain engineering.

The Duratec engine replaces the Zetec range of four-cylinder engines with a modern alloy block DOHC design, that offers a wide spread of mid-range torque with smooth power delivery and low fuel consumption.

“The engine incorporates several weight-saving designs including the use of an aluminium alloy cylinder block, front cover and water pump housing and a composite intake manifold and cam cover,” said Ford of Europe Focus Powertrain Manager Ulrich Kosters.

“These efficiency improvements have resulted in a specific output per litre increase of 11 per cent.”

The engine in Focus produces 107 kW at 6000 rpm (up from 96 kW) and 185 Newton-metres of torque at 4500 rpm (up from 178 Nm).

The cylinder block for the new Duratec engine is a precision gravity sand casting in aluminium alloy with a deep skirt that extends well below the crankshaft centreline to improve bending stiffness.

“The engine features dry cast iron cylinder bore liners with tightly controlled geometry that are cast into the aluminium block and then machined. It also features a ribbed aluminium structural oil pan and cast alloy front cover, which are bolted on to further strengthen the engine block and reduce mechanical noise,” Kosters said.

The cylinder head is a low-pressure, semi-permanent mould casting in aluminium alloy with sintered valve guides and seats. Two inlet valves per cylinder are arranged at 19 degrees to vertical, with two exhaust valves per cylinder seat at 10 degrees.

Kosters said this asymmetrical arrangement allowed the larger inlet valves to be packed more efficiently than in a symmetrical layout.

Double overhead camshafts act directly on the valve stems via selectively graded mechanical bucket tappets without the use of shims.

“The camshafts are driven off the crankshaft nose by a silent chain drive with a fixed guide on the slack side, for valve timing accuracy and reduced operating noise.

“A second chain with a spring-loaded tensioner drives the oil pump, which is mounted inside the oil pan.”

Kosters said the system provided customer benefits as it required no maintenance throughout the engine’s service life, while both the chain guide and tensioner featured plastic inserts to provide near silent running.

“The engine features lightweight alloy pistons, fitted with two low friction compression rings and a three-part oil control ring to operate with minimal pre-loads.

“The pistons and skirts are cutaway each side and graphite coated to reduce bore friction, allowing for a close fit between the piston and the cylinder liner.”

Kosters explained the piston pins were shrunk to fit in the con-rod’s smaller end, reducing land height above the top ring to just 4.5mm.

“This resulted in a reduction of crevice volumes that trap stagnant gasses in the combustion chamber, decreasing exhaust emissions.

“In addition, tightly controlled bore geometry maintains negligible oil consumption levels and low blow-by hydrocarbon emissions throughout the life of the engine.”

Focus features a high quality, shell moulded iron casting crankshaft with four counterweights running in five main bearings.

“Air is supplied via a composite plastic intake manifold with four primary branches, with each runner designed to be equal length from the throttle body to the intake valve, to give optimum intake sound quality and performance.

“The runners are also fitted with butterfly valves operated by a vacuum motor. At light loads (high vacuum) the valves partially close to accelerate the velocity of air intake, improving atomisation of the fuel and increasing the swirl effect in the combustion chamber.

“At higher loads, the butterfly valves are held open by the vacuum motor, allowing higher charge volumes and converting the dynamic pattern of gasses from a swirl to a tumble.”

Kosters explained this provided more efficient operating characteristics while having a beneficial effect on exhaust gas emissions.

The engine also employs a Variable Intake System (VIS) to improve engine torque characteristics, utilising the gas dynamic effects in the intake system to ‘tune’ the performance.

“At the end of the induction process, the closing intake valves generate a return pressure wave, which propagates backwards against the direction of the incoming air. This wave is then reflected back again from around the beginning of the induction system and travels forwards again to the combustion chamber.”

Kosters said the goal was to combine the pressure wave in the direction of the combustion chamber with the induction of the air generated by the piston.

“It all results in a higher air mass in the cylinder, which increases the torque of the engine.”

He explained that with increasing engine speeds, the time interval of the air induction decreased, while the propagation time of the pressure wave remained.

“To generate this boost effect at different engine speeds, it was necessary to have different runner lengths. This aligns the propagation time of the pressure wave to the time interval of the induction process.”

The VIS intake manifold comprises butterfly valves in the runners of the intake manifold, additional to the swirl control valve induction system. These valves are operated by a vacuum motor and split the runners into a longer part and a shorter part.

They are closed at low engine speeds to give a long runner length and opened as engine speed increases to join all the runners to a common air chamber. The switching point from longer to shorter runners is 4500 rpm.

Transmissions

Two transmissions will be offered with the all-new Ford Focus – a five-speed manual and four-speed automatic with Sequential Sports Shift.

The MTX75 manual transmission is the same used in the new Mondeo and Jaguar X-Type.

“The transmission is a transaxle design in two-and-a-half shaft architecture, with all gears synchronised,” explained Kosters.

“The unit consists of a two-piece housing (clutch housing and transmission case) with the cable shift system mounted on top. It is manufactured using die cast aluminium and the structure was optimised using computer aided design.”

Kosters said the gears were helical cut, with 1st, 2nd and 5th hard finished, ensuring durability.

“The input and output shafts are supported by tapered roller bearings and the differential rests on two tapered roller bearings.”

The automatic transmission is a Ford FN unit, manufactured at Ford’s Van Dyke plant in North America, and driven by a separate electronic Transmission Control Unit (TCU) that provides control for all electrical and hydraulic functions.

“The FN transmission is equipped with a tiptronic-style Sequential Sports Shift, which helps to achieve consistently smooth shift characteristics.

“In addition to the traditional P, R, N and D level positions, the transmission can be slotted into a ‘manual’ position, where the driver can select a gear simply by pushing the lever forward and back.”

Kosters said the transmission was equipped with a limp home mode, if any of its major sensors failed.

“The driver will notice a warning light in the cluster and be restricted to third and reverse gears only, which will allow them to reach their nearest Ford dealership.”

The transmission also features a ‘fast-off’ mode, which inhibits tip-out upshifts immediately after releasing the throttle. This provides increased engine braking by maintaining the selected gear during rapid tip-out.

Kosters explained downhill grade logic is also included in the transmission, giving the driver enhanced engine braking driving downhill, by downshifting a gear when the brakes were applied.

“It all adds to the refinement levels of Focus and enhance the fun-to-drive aspect of a real driver's car,” Kosters said.

Dynamics

It didn’t take dynamics engineers very long to find a benchmark vehicle for the all-new Ford Focus.

“We drove a number of new and existing competitor vehicles and quickly realised the outgoing model was still the leader,” an optimistic Ford Australia Vehicle Dynamics Manager Stephan Presser said.

“The challenge was to build on the outstanding levels set by the outgoing model.”

Presser said the Focus built on the outstanding dynamics of its predecessor while adding customer benefits including improvements in ride comfort, noise levels and steering.

“We stayed true to the four cornerstones of Ford Vehicle Dynamics – stability, agility, precision and comfort.

“The end result is a vehicle offering exceptional stability, in tandem with agile and precise steering and higher levels of vibration and noise reduction.”

Presser said this was achieved through careful attention to body structure, fine tuning of the shock absorbers and a revision of suspension bushes and steering system boost curves.

“The larger dimensions of Focus give the vehicle a bigger ‘footprint’, which results in enhanced stability and greater ride comfort.”

Front and rear track widths have been increased 40 mm over the original vehicle, while the wheelbase is 25 mm longer.

Front suspension

The new front subframe is mounted to the body with bushes to enhance the flexibility and tuning potential and allow for better ride comfort and noise levels.

“Employing larger front dampers allowed us to engineer a better compromise between ride comfort and handling stability, while adding to the reduction in noise levels.

“NVH absorption and body movement control have also been increased through the use of split rate top mounts which separate spring loads from damper loads.

“Focus has exceptional torsional rigidity – up eight per cent over its class-leading predecessor – which gave the dynamics team an excellent base to work from.

“The front lower control arms are mounted to the subframe by two horizontal bushes, and are carefully tuned to provide increased vehicle stability under braking, high levels of steering precision and excellent impact absorption.

“We replaced the rear rubber bush with a hydro bush, which features a hydraulic oil reservoir to provide a carefully tuned damping force.”

Presser explained the team employed larger diameter front springs in an offset design, which avoids any side or bending forces in the shock absorber, eliminating unwanted lateral forces.

“It also reduces friction in the damper system and provides the best basis for calibrating shock absorber valve settings,” he said.

Rear suspension

Focus uses an optimised version of the award winning Control Blade Independent Rear Suspension that debuted on the original model.

“We developed new larger diameter dampers, including rebound springs, as well as a new topmount design that delivers better road noise performance.

“We also gleaned information from engineers working on the Ford World Rally Championship to design a new link for the rear anti-roll bar, ensuring better control of initial roll movements.

“It features dual ball joints which contribute to the vehicle's ‘planted’ feel on the road by assisting body roll control.”

Presser said spring rates and anti-roll bar rates were carefully tuned to optimise handling and road noise levels.

“There are two levels of suspension tune – one for Focus CL, LX and Ghia – and a second for the sportier Zetec, which sits 10 mm lower and features stiffer springs and dampers.”

Steering

Presser said customers would appreciate the improved feel of the new electro-hydraulic power assisted steering system on Focus.

“The hydraulic system ensures high levels of driving precision and superior feel and feedback from the road, while the power steering allows lower parking efforts and ease of handling in low speed, urban situations.”

The pressure in the system is provided by an electro-motor driven pump that uses vehicle and steering wheel speed inputs to calculate the optimum power adjusted steering support for all conditions.

“Increasingly, manufacturers are replacing straight hydraulic systems – with the benefits of precision and feel that it brings – with straight electric power steering that reduces low-speed efforts.

“Our dynamics team took the more expensive – but ultimately most satisfying – approach of developing a hybrid system that cuts low-speed steering efforts dramatically while still retaining the Focus DNA of agile and precise steering at high speed.”

Presser explained that, unlike traditional hydraulic-only systems, the Focus system was not dependent on engine speed.

“This makes it exceptionally energy efficient with fuel savings of three per cent over traditional hydraulic systems.”

The steering column is adjustable in rake and reach across the range.

Brakes

Focus uses a four-channel ABS system, incorporating Electronic Brakeforce Distribution, which aids driver control and prevents the loss of grip.

The vehicle also benefits from enhanced ABS software logic, adding improved ABS performance under varying road conditions and during cornering.

Brake size has also increased over the outgoing model. Front rotors now measure 278mm x 25mm (260mm x 22mm previously) and rear brakes are now 265mm x 11mm (252 x 10).

ABS, incorporating EBD, is standard fitment on the LX, Zetec and Ghia models and available as part of a Safety Pack option on the CL, which also includes front seat-mounted side airbags.

REFINEMENT

Ford refinement engineers set themselves high targets for the all-new Ford Focus.

“Most people associate vehicle refinement with a quiet car,” said Ford of Europe Focus NVH team leader Klaus Steputsch.

“Obviously that’s an important element of vehicle refinement, and Focus is an exceptionally quiet car, but there are many more elements we had to consider.

“For instance, under acceleration the engine in Focus has been tailored to exhibit what we call PRA.

“That is Purr, a definitive sound that signals the power of the engine at low speeds. The second is Refinement, which ensures the engine sounds modern and well refined at typical operating speeds. And the third is Addiction, which adds an element to the sound from the engine bay at high revs.”

Steputsch and his team aimed to deliver refinement levels of a much larger car, with extensive benchmarking of a wide variety of competitive benchmarks at Ford’s Lommel test track in Belgium.

Detailed investigations and evaluations were undertaken including comprehensive wind tunnel testing, and noise path analysis from sources including engine, intake, exhaust, tyres and various chassis attachment points.

“The starting point for good vehicle refinement is a stiff body structure, and the fact this model has a higher torsional stiffness than its predecessor was an excellent starting point."

“Using detailed CAE analysis resulted in an optimum distribution of panel thicknesses and weld patterns with a minimised weight impact."

“The front end is a complete new development, with further increased stiffness of the engine mounts to help reduce interior noise levels."

“The end result is a body stiffer and quieter than the original Focus, resulting in improved sound quality for the driver and passengers despite the increase in mass.”

Steputsch and his team also worked hard on reducing wind and road noise in Focus.

“The front topmount has different stiffness characteristics, allowing a better trade-off between ride, NVH attributes and handling.”

Steputsch said the rear subframe was modified from the original Focus, leading to a significantly stiffer rear subframe that transmits less vibration and road noise.

Wind noise reduction was first tackled by the addition of new double seals for all doors and 20 per cent thicker glass for the front door windows.

“We were presented with a real challenge by the new front door design,” said Steputsch.

“Known as an A-frame door, it's constructed using two sections which meet at the beltline. While it offers cost savings, it also increases the risk of sound leaks.

“Using digital buck technology and CAE, we managed to close the leaks and come up with a much quieter door before the first prototype was even built.”

Steputsch said his team worked closely with powertrain engineers in developing the 2.0-litre Duratec 16-valve engine to produce a powerplant that was not only smooth and responsive, but added to the high refinement levels evident in the rest of the car.

Refinements to the engine are evidenced by:

• Equal length intake manifolds for a smooth, refined interior sound;
• Dual mass flywheels to eliminate low-speed boom and mid-speed rumble; and
• New engine hydromount, which significantly improves high frequency isolation

SAFETY

. Excellent safety levels in the all-new Ford Focus range start with an exceptionally stiff bodyshell.

. Ford engineers managed to build the vehicle so it has an eight per cent higher torsional rigidity than its predecessor, despite the increased dimensions.

. The rigid passenger cell design incorporates a large proportion of high strength steel, which is surrounded by energy absorbing crush zones using laser-welded panels. They are designed to maintain an optimal survival space and absorb impact forces with progressive deformation.

. Crash load paths through the body structure have been optimised for maximum energy absorption, in both full frontal and offset frontal impacts.

. More crush space has been achieved by a controlled detaching of stiff chassis components from the body structure under the floor. This advanced safety system allows the rigid chassis components outside of the passenger cell to move under the floor, reducing the deceleration values for the occupants and avoiding deformation of the under floor structure.

. New structural elements added over and above the systems provided on the original Focus include:

• New compression members inside the door waist to further reinforce the passenger cell in a crash event and to reduce A-pillar deformation.
• A new straight cross-car beam bolted between the A-pillars to help stabilise the body side structure and minimise the intrusion of the steering column and pedals.
• An optimised instrument panel to reduce injuries from knee and head impacts, with the stiff elements required to support components packaged well outside of impact zones.
• Front seat-mounted side airbags which provide an evenly distributed load cushioning in case of side impact (standard on LX, Zetec and Ghia and optional on CL).
• Diagonal side impact protection beams in the door, made of high strength steel, to reduce the likelihood of intrusion from vehicles and foreign objects.
• New pull-out exterior door handles for quicker and easier rescue.

Safety systems

The restraint system in the Focus range features a complete set of state of the art items including:

• Full-size driver and front passenger airbags
• Front seat integrated side thorax airbags with three dimensional bag shape (standard on LX, Zetec and Ghia, optional on CL)
• Pyrotechnic seat belt pretensioners with load limiting retractors for front seat belts
• Brake and clutch pedal intrusion prevention system

The driver and front passenger airbags are designed to provide optimum protection over a wide range of impact conditions.

They feature the latest in single stage airbag inflator technology and comply with all criteria for out of position occupants. This ensures reduced risk for occupants not perfectly seated as they reach for items in the back seat or rummage through the glove compartment.

The front seat-mounted side thorax airbags are high volume bags allowing early and efficient occupant protection during a crash event. They come standard on LX, Zetec and Ghia and are available as part of a Safety Pack option, which also includes ABS brakes, on the entry level CL.

Combined with the crash optimised seat structures, Focus provides an exceptional safety cell for all vehicle occupants.

Seat belts consist of a five-point lap-sash inertia reel belt system. Front upper anchorages can be adjusted for height, as can the head restraints.

The front belts are fitted with high performance pyrotechnic pretensioners, fired by the same sensors that trigger airbag deployment. However, the deployment thresholds are optimised for each actuator individually.

Both front seat belts also incorporate new load-limiting retractors that release a small amount of chest webbing progressively above pre-determined loads. This is to reduce the incidence of chest injuries, particularly in older occupants.

The pedal intrusion system is designed to limit the inboard movement of the brake and clutch pedal to minimise lower leg injuries.

All seats have anti-submarining ramps under the front edges to help prevent occupants from sliding under the seat belt.

Reinforced anchorage points in the rear of the seat backs provide child seat mounting points, eliminating the need for retaining straps crossing the luggage compartment.

The front-end structure of Focus is packaged to avoid any stiff structural members directly underneath the outer skin surface to help protect pedestrians and cyclists.

Pedestrian safety has also been increased with the introduction of collapsible fender brackets, hood hinges and hood striker.