Ford Focus was a true, love-it or hate-it car, due to its controversial look and the new-edge styling promoted by American brand with other vehicles such as Puma or Cougar.
Introduced at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show, the Focus was replacing the Escort on the European market or Laser in other parts of the world. It was a new concept that brought the car into attention with its revolutionary design and engineering solutions. Moreover, apart from a convertible version, it covered all other body versions.

The triangular-shaped, with curved lines, emerged into sharp angles at the front, were part of the new-edge-design philosophy. The smiley front fascia look was obtained due to the lower wide opening, which mimicked a mouth, while the narrow grille at the front resembled an oval shape. A particular feature of the car, which was hated by many, was that behind the front badge, it was the hood’s unlocking mechanism, which couldn’t be opened from inside the car like in any other vehicle. The car looked sportier due to the molds on the wheel-arches, despite its long roof as a station-wagon. At the back, the Focus featured vertically mounted taillights on the upper side of the D-pillars.

Inside, the new-edge-design language was continued on the dashboard. The upper lines of the instrument cluster emerged in sharp angles with the rest of the panel. There were some aesthetic contradictions with the stereo-CD system’s squared-shape and the round controls for the HVAC unit. The car featured flat seats and a split-folding seatback for the bench to expand the trunk area.

Ford installed a wide choice of diesel and gasoline engines, which was paired as standard with a 5-speed manual gearbox. A 4-speed automatic was on the options list for specific engines.