“Well, there goes my wife.” The Focus RS is demented, vital, raw, boisterous, and extremely fast. Stuck behind a line of slow-moving traffic in a modestly powered BRZ, all I can do is chuckle as a Nitrous Blue Ford honks past, riding a wave of forced induction thrust. I like the BRZ just fine, but it's a momentum car – getting up to s

Vehicle Type Owners say they appreciate Focus’s styling, upscale interior, and attention to thoughtful details Compact Sedan / 5-Door History/Description The latest-generation Ford Focus hit the road in 2011 as a 2012 model, with new styling, features, and a globally leveraged platform and powertrain family. Competing with the Hon

“BUCK BUCK BUCK!!!” The [Ford Focus] ST might just be the more realistic choice for the casual hot-hatch shopper. I’d accidentally run up on the rev limiter in the Ford Focus RS, on the Driver Development Track at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (CTMP). The top of second gear comes hard and fast, even at full throttle around a lightly sw

Ford will be pleased to learn my wife despised every minute she spent behind the wheel of their new super-duper Focus. “That car has no redeeming qualities,” she blurted on entering the house. “The ride is horrible, it’s noisy, the clutch feels like it’s out of a tractor, the steering is stiff and I can’t move in those seats. And that colour!”

Ford's Focus may not be first compact car in the minds of Canadian buyers – it ranked seventh in sales behind the Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra, Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Chevrolet Cruze and Volkswagen Jetta in 2015, and the Nissan Sentra is also ahead so far in 2016. Elsewhere around the globe, however, the Focus is a huge deal: it's the world's top-

Along with some styling changes, a revised interior, a standard rear-view camera, and some new safety features, the 2015 Ford Focus is now available with a new turbocharged 123 hp 1.0L three-cylinder EcoBoost engine. This engine, which first appeared in the smaller Fiesta hatchback last year, joins the Focus’ standard 160 hp 2.0L four-cylinder en

The latest-generation Ford Focus was one of the first cars to address the griping Canadian masses fed up with North American grade compacts. The rest of the world got top-notch, global-grade machinery that, for numerous reasons, was more desirable. Us Canucks were instead provided a North American–spec sheet metal and grey crispy plastic gruel for

This is the new Focus. It adds more tech, more space, and new powertrains. And it will arrive sometime next year, after going on sale in Europe and China. The Focus still resembles its predecessor, but it introduces some new styling cues to the car. Like a longer hood and a cabin that has been moved more rearward and is more upright. It's the sa

It turns out that you don’t have to buy the racy 350 hp Focus RS or even the 252 hp Focus ST to have a bit of driving fun in a 2017 Ford Focus . A week’s seat-time in the 160 hp Ford Focus Titanium sedan equipped with the standard 2.0L four-cylinder engine and optional “Powershift” six-speed automatic dual-clutch transmission reminded us tha

Batten down the hatches! Ease the sheet! Increase your tire budget! The yells continued long and loud into night; the revelry gaining in momentum as more and more folks across the land got the news: there was a new Ford coming, and with it, the return of one of the preeminent nameplates in every motorhead’s lexicon. It’s like when you en

Vehicle Type Focus ST owners tend to rave about performance, great ride quality that’s expertly set between sporty and comfortable Sports hatchback History/Description Ford entered the Canadian hot-hatch scene in 2012 with the launch of the 2013 Ford Focus ST . With higher power output, lowered suspension, bigger wheels and exh

The Ford Focus RS was withheld from Canada – and indeed all of North America – for many, many years. Sure we got the ST, but that was seen by many as a mild consolation. We lusted after the rorty, 300+ hp Focus available to Australia and Europe and opined "what about us?" - forgetting that those markets were at the same time robbed of the Mustang

Blue Oval announces availability of top-line hot hatch along with new Ford Performance division It's official: the next Ford Focus RS will be coming to Canada! Ford announced today the top-line compact hot hatchback will be one of "more than 12" new performance models to come from the company between now and 2020. That's a lot of horsepower

We’d driven it on a highway whose bends made it much more suitable for a sports car than a hopped-up muscle truck. We’d driven it on sand so deep you’d risk sinking in if you stopped. We’d driven it up rocky embankments so slick with red dust they would probably work on the set as a substitute for Mars. Considering their proximity to Hollywood, the

These are happy times we’re living in. To the pedants out there: yes, of course I realize that the Subaru WRX STI is clearly not a hatchback. While North America was often overlooked for hot hatches not so long ago, today we’re swimming amongst an embarrassment of riches. For Canadians, who as a general rule love us a good hatchback, th