Overview

What do you do when you manufacture one of the most popular cars on sale that isn’t a fashionable SUV? Well, on top of making them in their own right, you can at least make your popular hatchback look a bit like one. Enter the Ford Focus Active, a mildly jacked-up version of Ford’s bestselling Focus hatchback.

It follows in the footsteps of the smaller Fiesta Active. On the outside, you get plenty of black plastic cladding around the bottom of the car and around the wheelarches, with some chunkier tyres and different alloy wheel designs, silver scuff plates front and rear and a set of roof rails.

It also sits ever so slightly higher than a regular Focus, although it’s very hard to tell. The ride height is 30mm higher at the front and 34mm higher at the rear, while the suspension springs and dampers are unique to this version, with a focus on comfort and balance over the sportier feel of the others.

Two levels are available in 2022 – Active and Active X. The luxurious Active X Vignale was taken off sale by 2021. The entry-level Active uses the regular Focus Zetec as a base, adding alternative wheel design, body cladding and skid plates, roof rails and black painted roof and mirror caps to the exterior. Inside there’s sat-nav included in the Sync3 media system and keyless start.

You’ll need the Active X for a more comprehensive kit list including panoramic roof, parking sensors, part-leather upholstery, electric driver’s seat, climate control and heated seats. This model also includes automatic lights and wipers. This is the model we’d aim for in terms of equipment, as the regular car can feel a little sparse.

The Vignale model added a full leather interior, LED lights, an upgraded sound system and head-up display to solidify its place at the top of the range. While it’s luxurious, it doesn’t come cheap.

This line-up is mimicked in the Focus Active Estate, but it has few direct rivals that are jacked-up hatchbacks. The Kia XCeed is similar in size and shape, while cars designed to be crossovers or SUVs like the Volkswagen T-Roc and Nissan Qashqai also compete.

Click through the next few pages to read everything you need to know in our in-depth Ford Focus Active review, including its practicality, how much it costs to run, what it’s like to drive – and whether we recommend buying one. During 2022 we also run one as a long-term test in order to see what life’s really like with it.