Ford Focus Estate (05-11) - Review

The cabin of the Focus feels spacious and comfortable and there is easily room enough for five adults with good head and legroom - even in the rear. It's a refined environment in which to travel, especially on long journeys with limited engine and road noise. However, both estate version of the Vauxhall Astra and Renault Megane have a longer wheelbase, offering generous legroom for rear occupants. The Focus can't quite match them for rear passenger space.

The boxy rear end of the Focus estate won't win many style awards, but what it does mean is plenty of boot space and a large, square load area. With the rear seats in place there's 482 litres of space - that's almost 100 litres more than the hatchback. Folding the rear seats down could be easier though - there are no clever fold flat mechanisms here - instead you have to flip up the seat base and fold down the backs if you want something resembling a flat floor. Even then it isn't totally flat and the flipped up bases eat into the overall boot length. However the boot floor is wide and the large tailgate opening means you can easily transport bulky or boxy items. Up front there are numerous little storage areas including a front armrest with a storage compartment underneath.

Ford has worked hard to raise quality in an attempt to take the fight to the Volkswagen Golf and the interior is well finished with soft touch materials. The appearance of the interior is much improved on facelifted cars and shows more attention to detail - particularly around the instruments. The driving position offers plenty of adjustment, especially if the car has electrically adjustable seats while the variable assistance power steering makes for easy parking and plenty of feedback on the move