2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 15:44
The Ford Focus Econetic is a thoroughly sporty car to drive. But for that reason alone you don't buy it. Anyone who decides on such a model wants one thing above all: use less fuel.
By Frank Mertens
The percentage of sales of fuel-saving models is still extremely low. With the Ford Focus, for example, only around eight percent of all buyers opt for the Econetic variant. This is surprising: Because the Cologne-based economy model, with CO2 emissions of 115 grams per kilometer, is not only ideally equipped for a pollutant-based vehicle tax, but is also extremely sporty to move.
Saving doesn't have to be anti-pleasure
The Ford Focus Econetic is the best example of the fact that saving does not have to be negative. Its 109 hp diesel is not only pleasantly quiet, but also very lively. It only takes 10.9 seconds to reach 100 km / h. A value that you really don't have to blaspheme about. The way there or up to a top speed of 191 km / h is easy. The five-speed transmission is crisp and sporty, although the change from second to third gear in our test car turned out to be a bit tricky. The steering is extremely direct, almost sporty. The chassis also fits in with this: it's firm, but by no means uncomfortable. In this way, bumps are perceived, but hardly noticeable passed through to the passengers.
Incidentally, they sit extremely comfortably at the front as well as at the back. In the rear you can endure well beyond 1.80 meters, unless a giant seat has taken place in front of you. The seats in the Focus, which offer solid lateral support, also leave a good impression. You don't even make long journeys into a suffering tour. For tall drivers, however, the radio control unit on the left of the steering column is annoying. The knee occasionally comes into contact with it during coupling.
Expectations not met
But we come to the point why one even considers buying such a model - the consumption. Thanks to the various measures taken in an economy vehicle, it should be significantly lower: The aim was to achieve this in the Econetic with tires with low rolling resistance (15-inch smooth-running tires with steel wheels), sports suspension, special design of the bumpers, fine calibration of the engine management, modified gear ratios and a special gear oil that the friction and thus also the consumption should sustainably reduce.
And has the package of measures been successful? Unfortunately not as promised by the manufacturer. Because according to this, our five-door should only burn 5.6 liters in the city, 3.6 liters outside the city and 4.3 liters per 100 kilometers in combination consumption. But he didn't. It used 6.4 liters in city traffic and 5.9 liters in combination. Anyone who suspects a speedster at the wheel is wrong. I drove with the care required to save money, changed gears early, but didn't achieve any better results.
In order to rule out that the high consumption was due to our own driving style, we repeated the test with a female pilot. But it was also able to reduce consumption in city traffic to just 6.3 liters. It's a shame that the promised values weren't even rudimentarily achieved. Because the Focus Econetic drives really well.
