After 26 years, four generations and, at its peak, 114 sales every hour, the Ford Focus is to family hatchbacks what Warburtons orange loaf is to the UK’s diet.
Even in 2024, a year before Ford axes the Focus permanently from its line-up, just under 24,000 were sold between January and May compared with around 25,000 Volkswagen Golfs.
Quite rightly too, given that it remains the daily-drive darling of many enthusiasts for three key reasons: ample practicality, handsome looks and, crucially, class-leading driving dynamics.
The current Mk4 car, manufactured since 2018, has a suite of chassis enhancements over the previous one that allow the Focus to maintain a dynamic agenda, despite growing over time (it’s around 150mm longer and wider, and 219kg heavier, than the first-generation car). These include a…