2006 Ford Focus ZX5 SES Road Test

An American Hatch with a European Heart and Soul

Sometimes, you can tell a lot about an object by its wrapping,

The very European Focus is still a strong contender after all these years. (Photo: Justin Couture, Canadian Auto Press)

other times, you can't. Case in point is the badge on the back of this Ford, which reads, "FOCUS" in a rather authoritarian font style, instead of the old and somewhat funky non-capitalized logo. By the looks of things, Ford seems to have matured the new car into something less cheerful, exchanging screen-printed tee and acid-washed jeans for suit and tie. This message of change was double, no, triple-underlined with a reworked facelift received early last year, that stressed sensibility and quality, inspired by the big, and somewhat somber looking Five Hundred sedan.

But

Tail lights have an unusual home on the rear C-Pillar. (Photo: Justin Couture, Canadian Auto Press)

even with a facelift, Focus is lost amidst a growing market of compact cars. Against the very UFO-like Civic, the genre-dividing Caliber and other cars that use the height-and-a-half styling theory, the Focus' simple hatchback profile seems almost too conventional. Nevertheless, the Focus is an amicable vehicle from any vantage point and to this day its styling has yet to be imitated by any other automaker. I am particularly fond of its rear end, where the sloping rear windows meet the cheeky pillar-mounted tail lamps, though the rest of the car carries the geometrical theme quite well, with some of the most curious bulging shapes this side of a BMW with Bangle angles.

Let your fingers take a walk through the reworked cabin; most

Plastics are neither soft-touch, nor fabricated from matte materials resulting in some particularly nasty dash-top glare. (Photo: Justin Couture, Canadian Auto Press)

noticeably there's a new, symmetrical dashboard, which, much like the nose, is somber and mature. While it's better looking than the mad, sweeping triangular dash and console that it replaces, it's neither soft-touch, nor fabricated from matte materials resulting in some particularly nasty dash-top glare. From a functionality standpoint, everything is logically laid out, with plenty of big, clear switches and knobs. Around the gearbox gate, you've got the switches to the standard heated seats and traction control, while overhead are the controls to the optional one-touch glass moonroof ($1,000). The cabin also plays host to a couple of oddities that resulted in two raised eyebrows, ranging from the rotating crank handle for seat height adjustment, to the drop-down CD storage compartment, to the excellent ergonomically remote stereo controls.

Oh,

Ford's five-speed manual is one of the sweetest gearboxes in the compact segment. (Photo: Justin Couture, Canadian Auto Press)

but to drive, is a completely different story. You see, on face value, it's not difficult to dismiss the Focus as just another average compact; there's nothing that overtly hints at how much of a driver's car this is, except perhaps the formed, chunky steering wheel and the cloth bucket seats whose bolsters look like they've had an anaphylactic allergic reaction. But behind it all, there's a big dynamical surprise party just waiting to happen every time you hit the road - fun time is where the ball is in the Focus' court.