• Diesels the best for fuel economy
• Petrols are lower, and need working harder
• CO2 emissions are competitive

What are the running costs?

Diesels are the most economical Focus Actives, but you’ll more than likely need to cover higher mileage to warrant the higher purchase price. The 1.5-litre EcoBlue is the most efficient in manual form, returning between 57.6 and 62.8mpg. The auto claims 51.4-54.3mpg. these figures vary based on the spec and size of the wheels fitted.

The 2.0-litre EcoBlue diesel offers similar figures of 54.3-57.6mpg for a manual, and 46.3-51.4mpg for an eight-speed automatic. If you don’t need the torque of a diesel, the 1.0-litre 125 EcoBoost could be of interest for those looking for good economy figures, claiming to return 46.3-49.6mpg for a manual, or 39.8-42.8mpg for the auto.

The 1.0-litre 155hp EcoBoost comes with mild hybrid tech to improve fuel economy and reduce CO2 output, with a claimed 50.4-54.3mpg and 118-126g/km CO2 output. We averaged 43.2mpg during our time of testing, mainly from covering motorway miles.

CO2 emissions range between 118g-147g/km for the petrols, and 111-128g/km for the diesels. It’s worth noting that while the fuel economy figures are under WLTP conditions, the CO2 emissions are not, and are likely to be higher than this when tested under WLTP.

Servicing and warranty

There should be no unpleasant surprises when it comes to servicing and maintaining a Focus Active, as Ford parts and labour costs are typically lower. A number of service packages are also available from main dealers, which further help keep costs in check.

Warranty is three years and unlimited mileage, which you can extend to four or five years at an additional cost. Compared with up-to 10 years offered by rivals, Ford’s warranty is beginning to look a little bit mean.

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Reliability

• Previous Focus has a glowing record
• But this one is all-new with more tech
• Three-year warranty as standard

While this version of the Focus sits on new mechanical parts compared with the old one, there’s little reason to suggest it’ll be a problematic car to live with. The old car, despite selling in huge numbers, suffered only one recall in its life, which we’d say is good going.

The Sync3 system has been around a while, although we have experience the system disconnect phone connections before, so that could just be a software issue. Other than that, the engines used have been around a little while now, but if you need greater peace of mind then there’s a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty from new.

In our long-term test of the Active, we’ve had a couple of minor issues. The first was that it ran out of air-con gas, meaning it blew hot air. Ford sorted this under warranty, and fixed a recall for the Blindspot Monitor at the same time.