The fourth generation of Ford Focus comes to us 20 years after the release of the original Focus. And if first impressions are positive — confirmed by our test — then the design isn't as consensual.
Furthermore, the new Focus dispensed with the last visual element that (still) united the three previous generations: the three side windows, with the third on the C-pillar, now changing to two (one per door, discounting the division on the rear door).
According to Jordan Demkiw, design manager at Ford Europe, this option is due to the Chinese market. Why? It's all about the rear seats, which are of crucial importance in China — even giving rise to long versions of various models. The space behind and the ease of access are, therefore, determinants in the potential success of a model there. Result: the new Focus needed larger rear doors.
It brought advantages, not only of a practical nature, but also of costs — the rear doors, for the first time, are identical in the three bodies of the Ford Focus. It also brought greater uniformity in the design of the range, but on the other hand, this compromise may have affected, not in the best way, the aesthetic component.
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