Success in sharp Focus; DAVID WHINYATES checks out how safe you and your family will be driving the blue oval trio

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), June 25, 2008

Byline: DAVID WHINYATES

IF FORD'S bosses had pounds 1 for every line of praise that has been written on the Focus, they would be very wealthy people indeed.

Few cars can have received as much critical acclaim as the car that replaced the ageing Escort - and it has come in all areas ranging from driveability via quality to safety.

The Focus represented a giant leap for the compact family hatchback and a root change in the attitude of mass production manufacturers towards everyday cars for the masses.

As we reached the second millennium, the ordinary man and woman in the street were asking why they shouldn't have the same kind of quality and fittings in their cars as their bosses enjoyed in their "executive" models. And why shouldn't they expect the same levels of protection in the event of an accident?

The question was answered by Ford with the Focus, which not only upped the ante in terms of its on-the-road performance, but also with its solid, quality build and immensely strong body structure.

When Euro NCAP testers crashed the Focus in 2004, it became the first family Ford to achieve a maximum five-star rating for adult crash protection and also proved itself more than capable of keeping youngsters safe, with a four-star rating for child protection.

The testers were so impressed that they declared: "The Focus's body proved to be extremely strong and its passenger cell was stable, protecting the occupants.

"The restraint systems include dual frontal airbags, front belt pre-tensioners and load limiters, side airbags and a head airbag curtain. Side-impact protection was impressive, while that for children was also good."

The fact that Ford takes crash safety increasingly seriously is ably demonstrated by the fact that all the Blue Oval brand's models launched in the last two years-including the new Mondeo - have also achieved five-star ratings for adult protection and four for child protection.

All of which bodes well for the soon-to-be-launched new Fiesta, although for those who can't wait, the current model is far from being a crash-test dummy with its four star Euro NCAP rating putting it among the safest superminis on the market.

FORD FOCUS

EURO NCAP VERDICT)

Adult occupant*****

Child occupant ****

HOW EURO NCAP RATES OTHER FORDS: FIESTA

Adult occupant ****

Child occupant N/A

The body withstood the front impact well, with minimal distortion of the footwell and screen pillar.

MONDEO

Adult occupant *****

Child occupant ****

The passenger compartment remained stable during the impact. The Mondeo's steering column moved forward to provide greater space to protect the driver. The driver's knees were protected by an airbag mounted beneath the steering column.

The passenger was sufficiently well-restrained that his knees did not contact the dashboard.

CAPTION(S):

SAFE - from top, the Focus, Fiesta and Mondeo