Category: Small Family 
Price Range: £16,700 to £22,845
Fuel economy, excellent handling, quality cabin.
Pricey, noisy engine, long gearing.
Worth paying the £250 extra over a TDCi Style? Maybe.
The Econetic uses the 1.6-litre TDCi diesel engine available in 89bhp without a diesel particulate filter and 108bhp with one. The DPF version will cost you £500 more but you get a more rewarding dollop of pulling power - 177lb-ft at 1750 revs - giving you plenty of flexibility and more than enough grunt for A-road overtaking manoeuvres.
Because the Econetic is more aerodynamic it creates less drag and that means the engine doesn't have to work so hard to get up to speed. This gives it a distinct advantage over the standard 1.6 TDCi. The suspension has been dropped too and with the stiffer-walled low rolling resistance tyres you do get a much firmer ride.
Like other Focus models, the Econetic is very capable around corners. Steering is sharp, there's plenty of grip available and there's little body roll.
It's hard to fault the Econetic: it may wear the 'green' badge but there have been few compromises and it's pretty close to a standard 1.6 diesel Focus in terms of dynamics and performance. The only thing that lets it down is the gearing: it's not quite as usable as the TDCi although you do get used to it. You do, however, find yourself adhering religiously to the optimum gearchange indicator when in some situations it's simply not practical to do so.
Its closest rival, the Golf Bluemotion feels much more compromised when compared to the standard versions, so in that respect the Econetic has done its job well. This is a still a Ford Focus, and a very good one at that.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Ford Focus
wrote on 05 10 2007
wrote on 19 09 2007
wrote on 12 09 2007
wrote on 26 07 2007