I remember renders of a 'new Escort' - along the line of mk6 and than that bombshell... Focus apears...new name...I remember thinking, who the hell is going to buy this weirdo? And yet I was so wrong, the car aged so well, design is brilliant...and I actually always liked it over a Golf.
Also, when it comes to Escort, as I kid I remember there was a (mk5 i think) version 2000 16v (at least in Europe) with some 147 PS with no styling differenced whatsoever. A true sleeper...I daydreamt of owning one
The RS2000? You could also get that in 4x4 guise too 👀
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t ever a mad fan of the MK1 Focus until I bought one, always preferred the Escort but my god, I don’t want to get rid 😂
I'm biased as we have a 1.8 Zetec, but the MK1 Focus is a timeless design in my opinion. It's my favourite of the New Edge Fords, and the Puma is still a sharp looker too. It's such a nice car to travel in, with the huge expanse of glass and low window line. I'll be very sad if we ever get rid of it. Nothing against the Golf though, it's a great car too.
I’ve been looking into a lot of alternatives to replace my MK1 Focus with but I can’t seem to find a decent blend of what I want and the handling which is on par with the Focus 😅
I like both of them, the Golf is solid and reliable, focus light and fun. Indeed, I would say the Golf Mk4 and Mk1 Focus are the first real modern cars, of the generation that has brought us to the Golf Mk8. Every car made today has to meet the quality standards of usability and build that these cars set. They can cruise at 80 no worries, and will do anything you need. Not saying other cars didn't do this before, but these ones caused a paradigm shift in what was required. RIP Richard, you helped bring about the modern car!
Totally agree! I still happily drive my MK1 Focus around, only thing it really needed was an Apple car play unit but apart from that I don’t really feel like I’m missing much!
I have realised this is probably the best time to buy a MK1 Ford Focus either in base or performance trim as they are becoming the next Ford to buy as a modern classic car as the numbers are getting less and less due to scrappage schemes and overall lack of maintenance and cleaning of bodywork which can cause them to rust in the UK. Ones to look out for are obviously the performance ST and RS models (RS is already on classic status), bog standard spec version as these will be rare to find and the estate car versions. I wonder if the MK1 Ka will start to become a classic soon as that to was designed by the same designer and they to are getting less and less.
Comments (20)
I remember renders of a 'new Escort' - along the line of mk6 and than that bombshell... Focus apears...new name...I remember thinking, who the hell is going to buy this weirdo? And yet I was so wrong, the car aged so well, design is brilliant...and I actually always liked it over a Golf.
Also, when it comes to Escort, as I kid I remember there was a (mk5 i think) version 2000 16v (at least in Europe) with some 147 PS with no styling differenced whatsoever. A true sleeper...I daydreamt of owning one
The RS2000? You could also get that in 4x4 guise too 👀
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t ever a mad fan of the MK1 Focus until I bought one, always preferred the Escort but my god, I don’t want to get rid 😂
Yes, the RS2000, but this one was so bland and ordinary and I liked that. It's been 25 years, were there 5door RS2000s?
Please write something about the Ford Racing Puma...... Please......
Cheers for the idea, I’ll look into it!
I'm biased as we have a 1.8 Zetec, but the MK1 Focus is a timeless design in my opinion. It's my favourite of the New Edge Fords, and the Puma is still a sharp looker too. It's such a nice car to travel in, with the huge expanse of glass and low window line. I'll be very sad if we ever get rid of it. Nothing against the Golf though, it's a great car too.
I’ve been looking into a lot of alternatives to replace my MK1 Focus with but I can’t seem to find a decent blend of what I want and the handling which is on par with the Focus 😅
Yeah it's a great blend of fun and usability. Are you looking for something newer or something from around the same time as the Focus?
I like both of them, the Golf is solid and reliable, focus light and fun. Indeed, I would say the Golf Mk4 and Mk1 Focus are the first real modern cars, of the generation that has brought us to the Golf Mk8. Every car made today has to meet the quality standards of usability and build that these cars set. They can cruise at 80 no worries, and will do anything you need. Not saying other cars didn't do this before, but these ones caused a paradigm shift in what was required. RIP Richard, you helped bring about the modern car!
Totally agree! I still happily drive my MK1 Focus around, only thing it really needed was an Apple car play unit but apart from that I don’t really feel like I’m missing much!
You don't need an apple car play unit, FM stereo and CDs are fine... xD
I have realised this is probably the best time to buy a MK1 Ford Focus either in base or performance trim as they are becoming the next Ford to buy as a modern classic car as the numbers are getting less and less due to scrappage schemes and overall lack of maintenance and cleaning of bodywork which can cause them to rust in the UK. Ones to look out for are obviously the performance ST and RS models (RS is already on classic status), bog standard spec version as these will be rare to find and the estate car versions. I wonder if the MK1 Ka will start to become a classic soon as that to was designed by the same designer and they to are getting less and less.