First drive: Ford Focus

The original Focus was the car that redefined the family class but rivals such as the Vauxhall Astra and Volkswagen Golf have caught up in recent years. Can Ford pull something special out of the bag with the launch of the third-generation car? Autoblog headed to Spain for the first media drive of what could be one of the most important cars of 2011.

So what's new about this Focus when compared to the last? For starters, it rolls on a new platform that is both longer and wider, features class-leading safety kit including traffic sign recognition and a Lane Keeping aid that actively steers the car back into lane. It's green too, with stop-start standard on key models and a clever active grille which can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 2 per cent. Five doors are now standard, refinement is improved by an optimised version of the 'Control Blade' multilink rear suspension and finally there's a new range of Ecoboost engines with the option of dual-clutch gearboxes.