Ford focuses on their latest model

OVER 12 million units of the Ford Focus have been sold since it was launched in 1998.

The car came to Ireland the following year and over the past 15 years it has sold 113,000 units here, that works out at one-fifth of all new cars sold in Ireland since then.

Ford has just given their Focus a facelift and last week they brought journalists from all over Europe to Granada in Spain to drive the new version and see what changes and improvements their designers have made.

This new car is made in Cologne, Germany and the main external change is in the grille, which is now more like the Fiesta. This new frontal look will be extended to all Ford cars over the coming years. Inside there is a sporty-looking steering wheel that gives improved feedback to the driver. There are also improvements to the dash, suspension and engines.

In the top of the range models you get an eight-inch screen on the instrument panel, where you can select a whole range of services. There are lots of extras available which you will have to pay more for like

‘Sync II’ which, through voice recognition, will take you to the nearest hotel, restaurant, petrol station or simply ring the number for you via your mobile phone. But there is no extra charge for the door edge protectors, which will be very handy in tight parking spots.

At every car launch I attend the presenters say that their new version is better in every way to the previous model. This time the technical group from Ford Cologne didn’t just talk about the improvements to the Focus they also showed us the new parts that have been fitted to the face-lifted model.

The new version of the Focus will be in Irish forecourts next month and it will be followed a few weeks later by the long-awaited new Mondeo. It looks like next year is going to be a busy time for Ford with their sporty Mustang also going on sale in Ireland for the first time.

Ciaran McMahon, Ford’s Irish Sales Director is looking forward to a busy 2015.

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‘It’s going to be a hectic year for us and we expect to sell around 4,500 units of the Focus next year with the five-door 1.6 diesel likely to be the best seller,” said Ciaran last week.

In Spain we drove a few wagon versions of the Focus. While station wagons are very popular in mainland Europe, we Irish tend to be slow to opt for a wagon, but I think for an extra

?¬1,100 maybe you should consider the wagon version if you need extra space.

Pope Francis has been winning lots of plaudits for his simple tastes since getting the top job at the Vatican last year. No fancy Pop mobiles or designer shoes for this modest man from Argentina.

Recently I read that the Pope’s car of choice is a 2008 Ford Focus. Now I think that even a modest Pope should be entitled to an upgrade to what is really a smooth, comfortable, fresh-looking motor. Prices in Ireland will start at

?¬20,295