2000 Ford Focus - Raising the Standard for Small Cars

The all-new 2000 Ford Focus is designed to raise the standard of what a small car should be with new levels of roominess, comfort, driving dynamics and safety. Combined with a bold new exterior design and an all-new chassis, the Focus is designed to give customers much more car while still providing affordability and value.

On sale in fall 1999, Focus is available in three bodystyles - a sporty three-door, four-door sedan and versatile wagon - and a choice of four series (ZX3, LX, SE and ZTS) matched to varying lifestyles.

One of the key objectives set for the new Focus was a superior package with intelligent use of space. The car's design started on the inside - around a new generation of customers, who are taller than ever before - to provide more cabin space, interior comfort and roominess. Focus' high roofline, raised seating positions, tall, wide doors, and long wheelbase work together to provide more overall interior passenger room than any major competitor.*

Ford Focus also was developed with the help of a full-time ergonomics expert. As a result, due to a raised H-point (hip point center, seating positions are more upright, which results in more than 43 inches of front leg room and more than 37 inches in the rear leg room -- more than three inches additional front leg room and almost one-half inch more rear leg room than the competition.* The raised H-point and widely spaced seat runners also add greater foot-space for the comfort of rear seat occupants.

"Ford Focus is a fresh example of a car designed around people - with a spacious interior that reflects the increasing average height of the population," said Richard Parry-Jones, Ford's group vice president of worldwide Product Development. "In the year 2000, we expect the average male to be nearly a half-inch taller and women a quarter-inch taller than they were 10 years ago. Focus responds to these trends by providing extra roominess and comfort that our customers require - together with a level of driving dynamics and safety technology uncommon in this price class."

Focus is powered by a choice of two 2.0-liter engines and a choice of manual or an all-new electronically controlled automatic transmission. The lightweight, high-efficiency 2.0-liter 16-valve DOHC Zetec I-4 engine delivers 130 horsepower at 5,300 rpm. Peak torque is 135 foot-pounds at 4,500 rpm.

The 2.0-liter SOHC I-4 split-port induction (SPI) engine delivers 110 hp at 5,000 rpm. Peak torque is 122 lb.-ft. at 3,750 rpm. The SPI engine has been upgraded significantly to improve NVH and reduce weight. The engine uses a siamesed bore cast iron cylinder block to increase displacement and improve NVH, with a split port cast aluminum cylinder head. Mechanical parts also have been optimized for NVH and weight, including die-cast aluminum pistons, powder metallurgy forged conrods and weight reduced valve train components. Many other structural parts also are cast from aluminum such as the structural oil pan. Powertrain noise and vibration in both engines has been reduced by as much as 50 percent compared with earlier versions.

"Our aim was to achieve a dramatic improvement in powertrain refinement," said Andrew Shackleton, Ford Focus Powertrain Systems manager. "With the Zetec SE low-friction engine, we used high-compression ratios, knock sensing and low idle speeds to deliver a good fuel economy while still maintaining our fun-to-drive criteria and ensuring that all engines meet the most stringent emission standards."

Leading the Way
Focus is based on an all-new platform. Thanks to a streamlined development process and a customer-centered way of operating, the platform provides attributes that combine to make Focus stand out from the competition. Among them:

• The most spacious interior in the class* - with room to seat five adults comfortably
• More legroom in both the front and rear than the competition*
• Stiff body structure and one of the lightest vehicles in its class - for class-leading driving dynamics*
• Independent multi-link rear suspension - for improved ride, handling, stability and NVH
• Low-friction steering and suspension - for improved steering feel and ride
• Driver and passenger air bags as well as available head-and-chest side air bags
• ISOFIX child-safety seat attachments in the rear - one of the first cars to offer them
• Components from Ford's Personal Safety System, an advanced safety belt system which includes pre-tensioners and load-limiting retractors
• Battery saver - which automatically switches off lights left on after 10 minutes
• Extensive comfort and convenience features - usually found only in more expensive cars - including theater dimming, flip-up rear seat cushions that "flat fold" for easy storage and large side-view mirrors
• Focus wagon provides the largest cargo area in the class at 37.5 cubic feet

Ford Focus will be assembled at Ford plants in Wayne, Mich., and Hermisillo, Mexico.

Summary of Focus Highlights
All-New Car, All-New Platform

• All-new car designed to change expectations of small car buyers
• All-new platform leads Ford into the future and builds on Ford's emphasis on dynamics
• Created to appeal to a wide range of buyers and their needs
• Three distinct models: sedan, wagon and 3-door (four series ZX3, LX, SE and ZTS)
• Represents a new way of operating at Ford and shows a passion for quality and attention to detail

Smart Design: Package Created Around the Customer

John Doughty, Ford Focus Chief Designer
"We wanted to create an all-new look for the class, a dynamic design that unmistakably signaled the step forward the Ford Focus makes as we enter the new millennium. The car had to say Ford at a glance, while communicating the dynamic craftsmanship under the skin and have Ford personality in its veins."

Michael Bradley, Ford Focus Ergonomist
"Even with the finest, leading-edge computer programs, there is no escaping the need for real-life testing. We carried out research into many areas of human expectation, ability and preference. We videotaped over the shoulders of members of the public driving and operating the controls to ensure that potential issues were caught early on. We even videotaped a family at the weekly supermarket visit - a mother, a 3-year-old, 5-month-old baby and a puppy. That exercise, in particular, proved we were on the right track."  

• Designed as a small car for the new millennium with striking New Edge design that brings a fresh look to the segment and communicates the car's dynamics
• Interior package created around customers for class-leading* roominess, comfort and refinement
• The most spacious interior in its class* - with room to seat five adults comfortably
• More legroom in both the front and rear than the competition
• Long wheelbase, raised roofline and smart space utilization provides roominess and enables Focus to offer a level of passenger comfort not normally associated with cars this size
• High roofline results in more headroom
• Seating positions are more upright - due to a raised H-point - which boosts legroom in the front and rear and adds greater foot-space for the comfort of rear seat occupants
• Advanced RAMSIS 3-D software and full-time ergonomist utilized to provide greater comfort for all shapes and sizes of passengers and intuitive, easy-to-use controls

A Major Step Forward In Driving Dynamics

Dr. Ulrich Eichhorn, Ford Vehicle Dynamics Manager
"Our objectives were clear. Ford Focus had to be fun-to-drive with responsive powertrains, perfectly weighted and progressive controls, and precise steering, brakes, clutch and gearshift. We have taken the greatest care to refine every detail."

Peter Livingstone Ford Focus Chassis Engineering Manager
"Our primary objective was to extend the ride and handling characteristics to a new standard for C-class cars. We did that by removing as many of the unwanted forces as possible, such as friction, from the suspension and steering systems so that all the signals reaching the driver are more direct. We also devoted a lot of effort to fine-tuning the relationship between steering input and yaw response - something we call agility - to optimize the balance between quick reflexes and inherent stability."  

• Clear aim to be class-leader* for ride, handling, steering, stability and comfort
• Stiff body structure and one of the lightest vehicles in its class - for class-leading driving dynamics*
• New fully independent multi-link rear suspension system - for improved handling, stability, ride, NVH and package
• Zero offset front suspension with fully compensated struts
• Low-friction steering and suspension - for improved steering feel and ride refinement
• Latest generation ABS brakes

Safety and Security Features Offer Peace of Mind

Helmut Pohler, Ford Focus Safety Performance Team Leader
"Ford Focus has been developed to provide a rigid survival space in combination with energy-absorbing crash zones. Using our enormous computing power, we have been able to perform and analyze many more different types of crashes to find the optimum body shell construction for occupant protection. We can do such crash simulations in a matter of hours, compared to the weeks of man-hours it takes to crash a real car, record the results and analyze the data. Of course, we still carry out confirmation testing, but we reach the optimum design much earlier, which leaves more time for fine-tuning and perfecting the details."

• One of the most complete safety and security packages available in its class*
• Ultra-rigid safety cell and crumple zones provide optimum passenger protection
• Tested in 100 different "real world" crash tests
• Driver, passenger front air bags and new available head-and-chest side air bags (one of the few cars in its class* to offer them) provide all-around occupant protection
• Advanced safety belt system, including pre-tensioners and load-limiting retractors
• Child protection enhanced by ISOFIX child safety seat attachments - one of the first small cars to offer them
• SecuriLock™ theft-deterrent system greatly reduces the risk of theft and is a standard feature

* Competitive set used for comparison is: Chevrolet Cavalier, Saturn SL, Saturn wagon, Dodge/Plymouth Neon, Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic.