Ford Focus ECOnetic: details revealed ahead of launch

Ford have revealed details of their New Focus ECOnetic ahead of its appearance at the Amsterdam Motor Show this month. The car will debut in Ireland in early 2012.

It’s being billed as Europe’s most fuel-efficient compact car and is expected to achieve 80mpg – that’s less than 3.5 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres.

The plan is to couple this with ultra-low CO₂ emissions of less than 95g/km when final certification is completed later this year.

Under the bonnet, a 1.6-litre Ford Duratorq TDCi diesel engine will come with a new fuel injection system and turbocharger plus enhanced charge air cooling technologies.

These days the manufacturers are keen to do all they can to make a host of sometimes tiny changes in order to get the efficiency of a car up while at the same time trying to avoid messing up such vital things as the performance and ride quality. In this case, all the working parts have been gone over with a fine toothcomb to reduce energy-wasting friction.

Developments

Further energy-saving developments can be found underneath the car, with much of the aerodynamic development concentrated on smoothing the airflow here by adding undershields and deflectors.

Aerodynamic performance is also improved by the use of special low-drag ECOnetic wheel covers, which are more streamlined than a conventional alloy wheel design.

As standard, the Focus ECOnetic features an active grille shutter – if air is required to cool the engine the vents are opened; but if no airflow is needed, the vents are shut, thereby significantly reducing aerodynamic drag.  When fully closed, the reduction in drag means that the shutter can reduce CO2 emissions by two per cent.

The fitting of ultra-low rolling resistance tyres further helps the car eat up the miles as efficiently as possible.

When it hits the car showrooms, the Focus ECOnetic will be available as a five-door hatchback or as an estate.

“The Focus ECOnetic is a testament to our company's relentless drive for technological innovation and commitment to environmental leadership," says Gunnar Herrmann, Ford's global medium car line director (yes, that’s his job title – dull, isn’t it?).

"It's also going to be a great car to drive."

Nick Bradshaw