Company car choice: Titanium ECOnetic 1.6 TDCi

For the typical company car driver, we believe the best Ford Focus derivative is the Titanium ECOnetic 1.6 TDCi 105ps.

The primary reason for this choice is the low running costs. CO2 emissions are rated at 99g/km, which means you get all manner of tax breaks and other advantages. Company car tax is nice and low, road tax is free and you also currently get a 100% discount on the London Congestion Charge – which could save you up to £2,500 per year.

Another aspect company car drivers worry about is range. This version, with its 1.6-litre turbocharged diesel engine, returns a claimed 74.2mpg on the combined cycle. With its 55-litre fuel tank that means a theoretical range of 898 miles between trips to the filling station. We’d expect during normal driving you’d struggle to achieve quite that good fuel economy, though. If you can hit 60mpg you’ll be looking at a range of 725 miles, which is still a very long way for a car the size of the Focus to travel without filling up.

Standard kit on the Titanium trim level is fairly comprehensive, which is yet another reason it’ll appeal to business drivers. Features such as cruise control, automatic wipers and headlights, an engine start button and of course Ford’s excellent multimedia system are all included as standard.

Comfort levels are an aspect that a company car driver becomes rather au fait with. Those spending many hours each day in their Focus will be happy to note that not only are the seats very comfortable, but the Titanium trim’s suspension is very compliant and forgiving. It makes for a supple ride which has few peers in this sector.

The P11d value of the Titanium is the same as the Zetec S model, but since it does without the harder sports suspension it’s a much better bet for those covering serious motorway miles. It handles well, too – the Focus feels assured and planted through corners and has a nice weighting to the steering without being tiring to drive. It’s fairly manoeuvrable thanks to a small turning circle and can be a lot of fun on your favourite B-road too.