Ford Focus Estate (2014-2018) - Interior & comfort

With the Ford Focus already acknowledged as a great driver’s car, Ford concentrated on making the facelifted 2014 version more comfortable, and it’s largely succeeded. The seats are supportive and offer plenty of adjustment, while the car is also quieter at speed. Fit and finish still aren’t quite in the same league as the Volkswagen Golf, but the Focus is still well built and attractive inside.

Ford Focus Estate dashboard

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The previous Ford Focus Estate had a messy dashboard design with a confusingly large amount of buttons to operate the various functions. The 2014 facelift has replaced that with a large colour touchscreen, which is much less cluttered and easier to use. Build quality is reasonably good, but it still can’t quite compete with the upmarket finish of a Volkswagen Golf.

Equipment

The Focus Estate range skips the very basic Studio trim level of the hatchback and instead begins with the Style model. As standard, this features 16-inch steel wheels, air-conditioning, a DAB radio, Ford’s SYNC voice-control system, electronic stability control, hill-start assistance, a tyre-pressure monitoring system, silver roof rails and a cover to keep the boot hidden from prying eyes.

That’s impressive for an entry-level car, but we still think it’s worth moving up to Zetec Edition to get alloy wheels, a Quickclear fast-demisting windscreen, heated door mirrors, front foglights, a leather steering wheel and a central armrest. It also comes with SYNC3, Ford’s eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system with sat nav.

Sporty ST-Line adds 17-inch alloy wheels (which will hurt ride quality a bit) as well as a stylish body kit, sports suspension and LED daytime running lights. The ST-Line Red and Black Edition models add a contrasting paint finish, roof and door mirrors, along with black alloy wheels. Titanium adds advanced safety equipment such as active city braking and automatic headlights, along with cruise control and rear parking sensors.

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The top-of-the-range Titanium X boasts classy luxury-car kit such as a power-operated driver’s seat, heated front seats, a reversing camera and an enhanced parking assistance system. Its high price means it depreciates quite severely, however, so we’d advise sticking to the Zetec Edition.

Options

You can add the top-of-the-range SYNC 3 DAB digital radio and sat-nav system to Style-spec cars for £600. You can add a rear-view camera for £250.

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City braking is standard on Titanium models but a £200 option on others. It’s definitely worth going for, as it can reduce the cost of your insurance premium and prevent costly low-speed crashes.

Rear parking sensors for £225 are worth a look for anyone nervous about parking, while Ford also bundles options together in several different packs that are generally better value than adding options individually.