The standard Focus hatchback is barely part of Ford’s household car success story. Alongside the newest hatch, Ford can be launching an all-new Focus Estate. It prices £1,080 more than the equal five-door, is 290mm longer and a touch taller, too. Its wheelbase is identical, nevertheless, and front cabin passengers won’t notice any improve in interior volume - aside from the rear window being slightly further from the rear-view mirror. Rear-seat passengers will discover the difference, although, with a bit of further headroom. The true profit is in luggage quantity: the focus Estate presents 608 litres with the rear seats in place, compared to 375 litres for the hatchback. With the seats folded there’s an identical enchancment, with 1,653 litres of storage. Those figures are significantly larger than the outdated Focus wagon, and they’re bigger than these of the Volkswagen Golf Estate, too. You’ll nonetheless have the ability to pack extra equipment right into a Skoda Octavia Estate, nonetheless.
Ford has managed to squeeze that volume into the car with out resorting to boxy styling. The latest Focus isn’t quite good, however it’s extra engaging than the automobile it replaces. The Estate is probably the choose of the current range in styling terms, too, significantly with the neat alloy wheels, rear spoiler and bodykit of ST-Line models. It’s a similar story inside, the place the brand new car takes an enormous step over its predecessor. The dashboard layout is intuitive and the brand new central touchscreen a big improvement over the gradual, unresponsive display screen within the old car. There’s good adjustment in the seats and steering wheel too, and while you’ll nonetheless find some scratchy plastics decrease down, the main focus has positively moved a number of paces nearer to automobiles just like the Volkswagen Golf or Audi A3. And dynamically, it’s proper at the highest of its class, too. You’d be exhausting-pressed to know you had been driving an property once you first thread the main focus down a twisty stretch of highway - even driven back-to-back with the hatch you lose very little when it comes to agility, grip or enjoyable.
Estate fashions use a slightly revised suspension setup to their hatchback counterparts, however the top result's successfully the identical. You’ll discover the identically exact, properly-weighted steering, as effectively as the balanced and adjustable behaviour. In actual fact, no rival can match the focus Estate for driver enjoyable. It rides well, too. The ST-Line is 10mm decrease than other Focus models and is barely firmer, as nicely - but it brilliantly toes the road between compliance and tautness. It hardly ever feels troubled by rougher surfaces, and manages to resist roll in corners. Ford’s 1.5-litre three-cylinder EcoBoost engine is nearly as good right here as it's in the lighter Fiesta ST, regardless of having less power. Responses are dulled beneath 2,000rpm, however past this point it pulls quickly and easily to its 6,000rpm energy peak. At town speeds and on the motorway it’s as quiet as you’d need - and there’s relatively little wind or tyre noise both. There’s load of various trims to choose from; the main target Estate is also available as a luxurious Vignale variant, and will finally be offered in rufty-tufty Active kind. Throw in a wealth of tools and safety expertise, and it seems to be like the present class-main Skoda Octavia Estate has a real fight on its palms.
There is just one sizeable caveat in this in any other case impressive overall package: the engine is a little bit bit underdone. It’s a new twin-turbo 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel, and falls simply in need of the place it must be. Despite having more energy and torque than the Ranger’s 3.2-litre 5-cylinder diesel - and the additional gear ratios for brisker acceleration - the Raptor hasn’t made the positive factors you would possibly expect given its bold appearance. While vehicles like this aren’t meant to accelerate like supercars, the newest V6-powered Volkswagen Amarok and Mercedes X 350 d present there’s appetite for highly effective (and in the end expensive) pick-ups. But Ford says the Raptor isn't about straight-line velocity and extra about its subsequent-degree off-road capability. And that’s a shame. There’s no denying it’s an awesome-looking truck, however we can’t assist thinking it could have been better. Here’s hoping the upcoming joint venture between Ford and Volkswagen’s commercial car divisions may sooner or later see the Amarok’s V6 under the bonnet of the Raptor. Only then would we really have the hot Focus RS-inspired choose-up we’ve long been ready for.
While the Volkswagen Beetle won’t be returning for 2020, the 2019 Beetle is an excellent model of the iconic hatchback. For 2019, two new trim ranges made specifically to have a good time this hatchback’s lengthy legacy have been introduced: Final Edition SE and Final Edition SEL. Drivers attempting to resolve between the 2019 Volkswagen Beetle Final Edition SE vs the ultimate Edition SEL ought to proceed reading, as we’ve put together plenty of information about each models. Read More: What’s new within the 2019 Volkswagen Passat? The final Edition SE and the ultimate Edition SEL be part of the returning S and SE trims for a total of 4 2019 Volkswagen Beetle trim levels. No matter which mannequin drivers choose, every 2019 Beetle is powered by a turbocharged, 4-cylinder, 2.0-liter engine which outputs 174 horsepower and 184 pound-ft of torque. When travelling in mixed metropolis/freeway situations, this engine receives 29 miles per gallon. Final Edition SEL fashions come geared up with all the features present in the ultimate Edition SE trim. In addition, luxury options reminiscent of a Fender Premium Audio system, park distance controls, a Discover Media infotainment system with integration navigation and Volkswagen Car-Net Security & Service are additionally included. In the marketplace for a 2019 Volkswagen Beetle Final Edition SE or a Final Edition SEL in Santa Rosa, CA? View our on-line stock of recent and pre-owned Volkswagen models and find your next vehicle right this moment.
