Ford Focus Active Hatchback engines, drive and performance
- Two petrols and two diesels available
- A choice of gearboxes for all of them
- Performance is adequate but not eye-opening
It’s fairly easy to make sense of the Focus Active’s engine line-up, with two petrols and two diesels available, with similar power outputs for each. Plus, there’s a choice of manual or automatic transmissions for each of them as well.
Petrol engines
There’s a choice of two outputs with the 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrols – with 125hp and 170Nm of torque, or 155hp and 210Nm. It’s an engine we like in the smaller Fiesta, and is a good fit in the Focus as long as you’re not regularly carrying large loads.
The lower-powered unit takes 11.7 seconds to get from 0-60mph in the manual, with a top speed of 119mph. Go for the higher-powered motor and there’s a sprightlier 0-60mph time of 10.3 seconds with a 122mph top speed, although it feels faster on the road and certainly isn’t sluggish.
Earlier versions of the EcoBoost suffered a little lag before picking up, but thankfully there’s less of that with the more modern iterations.
The good news continues, as the manual transmission is so sweet and slick to use that it’s a pleasure rather than a pain. We think the automatic transmission would suit the car a little better, however – this Focus is of a comfortable, more luxurious bent and as such would benefit from a self-shifting ‘box.
Ford has seen fit to apply a little false engine noise here too, which makes the car feel sportier and keener to rev.
Diesel engines
Kicking off the diesel range is a 1.5-litre EcoBlue diesel with 120hp, making it the least powerful of the lot, but it offers a healthy 300Nm of torque making it ideal for longer journeys on the motorway. It’s the slowest in terms of 0-62mph with times of 10.8 seconds and 10.7 seconds for the manual and auto, but it’s quicker than the petrols to respond in-gear thanks to that torque.
Offering a combination of good economy and performance is the most expensive 2.0-litre EcoBlue, offering up 150hp and 370Nm of torque. The 0-62mph sprint is taken care of in 9.1 seconds (manual) or 9.3 seconds (automatic), putting in a par with the 1.5 EcoBoost petrol.
What’s it like to drive?
- Still drives like any other Focus
- Sharp and responsive steering
- But composed and comfy ride
In gaining a slight rise in ride height and some fatter tyres, the Focus Active hasn’t become a wallowy SUV when it comes to handling. In fact, it’s one of the best-handling Focuses thanks to its more compliant ride. Granted, there’s a little more body roll than the regular car, but it’s still favourable over most other hatchbacks on sale, let alone taller SUVs.
That means it retains the sharp feel of the regular hatchback, thanks to its direct steering and taut, agile nature, but it has less of a crashy ride on some versions which means it handles rougher surfaces even better. It makes driving on twistier country roads much more pleasant and enjoyable, and less like you’re fighting with the car.
Thanks to fatter tyres and a tweaked suspension setup, the Focus Active is a more comfortable version of the Focus – at least compared with ST-Line models with larger wheels and sportier suspension. It uses the sophisticated chassis setup from the more powerful Focus models, so it manages to strike a nice balance between being comfortable and composed while remaining surprisingly engaging to drive.
It still has a tendency to fidget over rougher surfaces – a trait also found in the regular Focus – but it’s not as noticeable in the Active. Aiding comfort are the seats – they’re pleasantly comfortable and supportive, but could do with having a slightly longer base to support your legs on longer journeys. The good news is the Focus’s heating system gets going very quickly, warming the car up very rapidly on cold mornings, while the heated seats are some of the hottest we’ve tested, and get up to temperature very quickly, which we think really helps in the comfort stakes.
Refinement is pretty good, keeping things quiet on the move. There’s a bit of wind noise around the windscreen at motorway speeds but road noise is also mostly well suppressed too.
