2020 (20) Ford Focus 1.0 EcoBoost 125 Active 5dr

By Jonathan Crouch

Introduction

The Focus Active is the car you buy if you like the idea of a mid-sized SUV but can't quite bring yourself to buy one. In this lifestyle-orientated Focus, you get a higher ride height and a bit of fashionable bling but you don't have to join the crossover crowd to get it. In fact, there are hardly any compromises to make in buying this trendy Focus derivative. And of course you get all the design improvements that Ford painstakingly built into the fourth generation version of this design.

History

Here's a Ford Focus with a bit of SUV attitude. In 2018, Ford introduced a version of the C519-era fourth generation model with 'Active' badging and a bit of visual SUV attitude. It could be had as both a hatch and an estate - and was also offered in plusher Active X form, two trim levels that persisted with this crossover derivative through the 2021 facelift and lasted until the end of MK4 model production in 2026. So does a Focus Active give you everything you really need from this kind of car and nothing you don't? Or was it merely an irrelevant piece of lifestyle marketing? The first question is why you would choose either version of this car over a proper mid-sized SUV - like, say, Ford's own Kuga. A fair question - to which the Blue Oval brand had lots of logical answers. A Focus Active is less expensive to buy, more fuel efficient, nicer to drive and easier to manoeuvre. Yet thanks to a 30mm increase in ride height over a standard Focus and some useful extra trail-rated driving modes, you still get most of the low-traction capability of a typical lifestyle SUV. Not that typical owners are ever likely to use this slippery surface prowess very much. No, this is a car that'll fit in just that little bit better in the country carpark where you walk the dogs. Or, for older buyers, it'll be a compact family hatch or estate that'll be just a touch easier to get out of in the doctor's surgery carpark, thanks to that fractionally increased ride height. In other words, a lot of it's really about customer perception - and anyway, the fact that differences over an ordinary Focus are relatively small is in many ways a very good thing. After all, there's lots about an ordinary Focus that's brilliant - including drive dynamics which weren't harmed by the 'Active' package.

What You Get

Let's start with the pre-facelift 2018-2021-era Active models. If, like us, you wish that Ford had been a touch more adventurous about the styling of this fourth generation Focus model, you'll probably be far more approving of the car in this slightly more extrovert 'Active' guise. In the car park, along the high street and on the school run, it'll stand out far more distinctly, particularly if you get yours with the brightest of the two unique body colours, 'Orange Glow'. There's the choice of an estate version or you might alternatively prefer the five-door Hatch body style. Either way, it's clear at a glance that this car has a more 'Active' role in life. The key change - a 30mm increase in ride height - is most obvious in profile, where you'll also notice the black painted finish for the roof and the black roof rails. A silver lower sill moulding flows between black plastic-clad wheel arches housing rims with black highlights, wheels that are either 17-inch or 18-inches in size. The Estate model has a much longer glass house than the Hatch but shares the way that the second part of this model's mid-level crease has been designed to accent the rear haunches. There's also an overt lower crease that flows from the front wheel arch to give the flanks some shape. There are plenty of bespoke styling features at the front too. The grille's unique - mesh-patterned with a dark surround. And the bumper's distinctively styled for this model, as are the silver LED fog lamp surrounds. Plus of course no self-respecting SUV-style car can do without a plastic-fashioned (and therefore practically useless) lower silver skid plate. Just above sit headlamps that can feature full-LED technology and adapt themselves to the road ahead and other motorists. They're placed as far into the corners of the car as possible, to maximise the vehicle's width and stance, flowing up into a long, flowing bonnet featuring twin creases on either side. At the rear, there's another unique bumper above another silvered lower skid plate which curves around the twin tail pipes that are standard on all 'Active' models, no matter how humbly-powered. And you get a neat roof spoiler, with a 'shark fin'-style radio antenna just beyond. As usual though, what's more important is the stuff you can't see, namely the light, stiff and strong 'C2' structure that lies beneath the curvy panel work and which has been designed to underpin a whole new generation of similarly-sized Ford models, including the MK3 model Kuga SUV. If you're able to stretch to a facelifted post-2021-era Focus Active model, you'll find all the same extra visual features incorporated into that upgraded design's smarter look. Most of the aesthetic 2021-era upgrades were concentrated at the pointy end. The nose was higher, the bonnet sleeker and the grille was larger, made the home of the brand badge. Flanking this appendage were redesigned LED headlights that included integrated fog lamp functionality and a more distinctive night time signature. As before, the front-end look differed significantly with trim choice, with vertical grille strakes for the 'Active' versions. At the rear, the main 2021 change was the adoption of revised two-piece tail lamps which got smoked lenses and which featured full-LED illumination and an internal design with a darker central section and an eye-catching loop light pattern. Take a seat up-front and in a 2018-2021-era Focus Active, you'll find relatively few changes over the standard Focus model - just branded scuff plates, that slightly higher ride height and pale blue seat stitching. On plusher 'Active X' variants, you get unique door and instrument panel inserts and that stitching is extended to the floor mats and to these soft console knee pads. Otherwise, it's all pretty much as it would be in an ordinary mid-to-high-spec Focus derivative. Ford has priced this variant identically to its 'ST-Line' models, but Active buyers get a higher level of standard infotainment, with an extra 4.2-inch instrument binnacle information screen between the analogue dials and the brand's larger 8.0-inch SYNC3 centre-dash touchscreen including navigation. The post-2021 version of this model benefitted from the revised MK4 Focus's big step up in cabin technology, which brought a class leadingly-large 14.2-inch SYNC 4 centre touchscreen. Everything you need is here, complete with crystal clear graphics, over-the-air updates and easy functionality, plus Connected Navigation and natural language 'Ford Assistant' speech recognition, which works with the built-in 'FordPass Connect' media system. Upper-spec Active X models pair this landscape monitor with the virtual dials of a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, which gives the front of the cabin a much-needed more sophisticated feel. The passenger space on offer in the rear certainly doesn't redefine what the family hatchback segment from this era could offer, but it did typify it. In a Focus, back seat folk are these days now treated much as they would be in a rival Golf, thanks to more room for knees, legs and shoulders. Plus there's decent foot space beneath the front seats. We've appreciated the improvement in rear sideward visibility too, achieved thanks to a re-positioning of the C-pillar. We also approve of this low centre transmission tunnel, though a centre-seated adult will still be as relatively uncomfortable on longer trips as he or she would normally be in such a position in a car of this class. We'll finish by considering the boot, which in the estate version offers up to 728-litres of space if you load to the roof. That's quite a big increase on the figure you'd get in a Focus Hatch - up to 443-litres. Fold down the 60:40-split rear bench and you're looking at up to 1,620-litres for the Estate and up to 1,320-litres for the Hatch. Bear in mind that these figures will reduce if you opt for a version fitted with either a full-sized spare wheel or the optional B&O audio system.

What to Look For

The main reported issues with this model relate to things like wet-belt wear (caused by neglected oil changes), loud rear brakes (caused by missing pad shims) and electrical or infotainment issues (the SYNC 4 centre screen can be prone to freezing). MHEV EcoBoost models can throw deep-sleep warnings on the Fordpass app or drain the car's 48V/12V battery if the car sits unused for long periods. As usual with a family hatch, check the interior for child damage. And with top-spec versions, check the alloy wheels for scratches. Look for any dents, dings and scratches to the panelwork. And ensure that the clutch engages smoothly and that the car goes into gear easily. The 1.5-litre diesel engine is fitted with a diesel particulate filter, but this may be clogged up if the previous owner hasn't completed too many highway journeys.

Replacement Parts

(approx based on a 2022 Focus Active 1.0 EcoBoost - Ex Vat) An oil filter is in the £7-£15 bracket. An air filter costs in the £12-£25 bracket. A pollen filter costs around £15-£30. A front brake pad set is in the £30-£60 bracket; rears in the £25-£50 bracket. A front brake disc is in the £30-£60 bracket; a rear disc around £50-£90. Front shock absorbers are in the £55-£95 bracket. Wiper blades are £22-£40 for a front pair. An alternator / Integrated Starter Generator for the MHEV is in the £250-£450 bracket.

On the Road

It's easy to dismiss cars like this as purely marketing packaging exercises - and some of them are. At least with the Focus Active though, Ford made some sort of effort to provide drive dynamics that, to some extent anyway, deliver on the promises of the 'hatchback with a backpack' styling approach. With both the Hatch and the Estate body styles, the Focus Active chassis features unique springs, dampers, stabiliser bars, and front and rear knuckle geometries, alongside a ride height raised 30mm front and 34mm rear over the standard model. Buyers also get more durable higher profile tyres. And a selectable drive mode system, with two settings; a 'Slippery' mode which adjusts ESC and traction control settings for increased confidence on surfaces with reduced grip such as mud, snow and ice. And a 'Trail' mode, which helps maintain momentum on soft surfaces such as sand. Perhaps the most important news though, is that all 'Active' derivatives get the 'SLA' (or ''Short Long Arm') independent rear suspension set-up that normally wasn't offered to Focus Hatch buyers opting for the volume 1.0-litre petrol and 1.5-litre diesel variants - the ones the vast majority of customers choose. Which means that over the poorly surfaced tarmac you might find in town or on the school run, a version of this car fitted with one of those powerplants will feel significantly nicer to ride in. On the subject of engines, well those 1.0-litre petrol or 1.5-litre EcoBlue diesel units we just referenced are offered only in their highest output forms to 'Active' model buyers. The 1.0-litre EcoBoost variant gets 125PS and will be the most popular choice, but of course the 1.5-litre EcoBlue version will be cheaper to run. It comes with 120PS and in manual Hatch form with 17-inch wheels is capable of up to 49.6mpg on the WLTP combined cycle and up to 108g/km of NEDC-rated CO2. Your alternative engines include two 150PS options, a 1.5-litre EcoBoost petrol powerplant and the 2.0-litre EcoBlue diesel. From new, Ford's slick-shifting 8-speed auto gearbox was an option right across the range.

Overall

We started this guide assuming that a Focus Active would only really appeal to someone who liked the idea of an SUV but didn't want all the compromise involved in owning one. We've ended it though, thinking that this variant might equally well appeal to a buyer simply wanting a better, more complete Focus. After all, with this lifestyle-orientated model, you get most of the main equipment items you'll want already included. And if, as is likely, you're looking at the volume 1.0-litre petrol and 1.5-litre diesel engines, you'll find that an 'Active' Hatch variant will ride much better than the standard model, thanks to the way its rear suspension has been upgraded to sophisticated multi-link status. Overall, it depends what you want. And if what you really want is a MK4 Focus, this is one that'll make more of a statement on the school run and give you a bit of extra peace of mind the next time a snowy or icy snap strikes, thanks to the extra traction afforded by its 'Slippery' and 'Trail' driving modes. It's a more fashionable take on what in its era was Britain's best selling family hatch. And quite a significant group of buyers will think that to be a very good thing indeed.