• Plenty of passenger space front and rear
• Enormous boot – it’s bigger than the old Mondeo!
• Clever wet storage area under the boot board

How much space is there?

The Ford Focus Estate’s interior is pretty much identical to the hatchback’s. That means there’s plenty of leg and shoulder room in the rear – and there’s enough space on the rear bench to seat three averaged-sized adults with only minimal arguments. We found the central tunnel to be quite wide, though, so whoever gets lumbered with the middle seat will be fighting their bench mates for foot space.

In addition to the extra boot space, you get a little more headroom in the back of the Focus Estate, thanks to its taller roofline. The wide windows also mean the view from the back seats is great, which should help to prevent car-sick children from jettisoning the contents of their stomachs onto your head during on long road trips.

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Boot space and storage

The Focus Estate has a huge boot. You get 575 litres with the rear seats in place and a cavernous 1,650 litres if you fold the bench flat. To put that into perspective, that maximum figure is 45 litres more than you got in the old Mondeo Estate. Granted, it’s also 65 litres less than you get in the Skoda Octavia Estate, but that Czech wonder wagon truly is exceptional in its class.

The Focus Estate’s boot is a good square shape, which makes it easy to load bulky items like white goods or suitcases. The bench folds in a 60:40 split, which means you don’t need to choose between lugging loads and people – and there’s a clever wet storage area under a flap in the boot board, which we found particularly useful for holding muddy boots and damp swimming gear. It stops the carpet in the boot from getting mucky.

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The facelift has brought a handy new adjustable storage tray for the centre console, which can be used to hold cups, keys, phones and wallets. Models fitted with Ford’s new Vignale option pack also get a wireless smartphone charging pad in the centre console.

Is it easy to park?

Very. It doesn’t feel that much bigger than the hatchback and there’s plenty of technology available to make your job easier. Front and rear parking sensors are fitted as standard on every version of the Focus, while a rear-view camera can be specified as an optional extra.

If you opt for the automatic gearbox, the Focus Estate can be specified with Ford’s Active Park Assist 2 system. With the system activated, the car’s array of sensors will scan for a space that’s big enough for the vehicle and park itself with minimal input from the driver.

Safety

• Five-star Euro NCAP safety rating
• Two standard Isofix points in the rear
• Lots of driver assistance technology

Like the Focus hatchback, the Focus Estate is available with a broad range of safety technology. Pre-collision assist with pedestrian and cyclist detection is standard, as is autonomous emergency braking, lane-keeping assist and intelligent speed assist.

The Ford has more than just sensors and bongers keeping its occupants safe, though. Euro NCAP says the car’s crash structure does a good job of protecting passengers. There are also nine airbags dotted around the cabin.

Higher-spec cars also come with adaptive LED headlights – and they’re quite swanky. They automatically cut out oncoming traffic from the beam pattern so you don’t dazzle other motorists. Then again, we don’t see any issue with just hitting the dip switch.

Just bear in mind that the Focus was last crash tested in 2018. Euro NCAP has tightened up its regulations since then, making it harder for cars to achieve full marks. We’re not suggesting the Focus is unsafe, but there’s a chance that it might not fare as well in an accident as a newer five-star family estate like the Skoda Octavia.

Watch the Ford Focus Euro NCAP crash test video