This article is from page 23 of the 2009-10-27 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 23 JPG
THE Ford Focus continues to lead the way in new car sales in what is a declining Irish car market. Yet it’s the Managing Director of Ford Ire- land who is always first in to bat for a new scrappage scheme.
While other car bosses may com- plain in private, Ford’s Irish MD Eddie Murphy is regularly issuing press releases urging the Govern- ment to save the car industry from melt down.
Apart from helping the struggling car industry Eddie always points out that a new scrappage scheme would bring millions of euro in much need- ed VAT to the exchequer, provided you can get a loan from your bank.
Earlier this year to celebrate the tenth anniversary of their best-selling Focus, Ford introduced a special edi- tion Style 1.6 diesel. This new model emits only 118g¢/km of CO2 and that equates to only £104 per year road tax. Already Ford has sold over 400 diesel models and the feedback from Ford dealers is that the 1.6 diesel is definitely the car of choice for new ey Kelsay
Back in 1999 a Focus with what are now standard features such as ESP and ABS, would have cost you over €24,000. Now the price has now been reduced to €20,715 which is definitely good value in these reces- sionary times.
It was only when I sat behind the wheel of this sturdy, comfortable mo- tor that I realised just how good a car it is. I owned two different Focus but sadly traded in my last model prema- turely when my daughter wanted a smaller car so that she could pass her driving test.
Thankfully she passed first time, but I think by now we are all sorry to have switched from a Focus to a Nissan Micra. But then the things fa- thers do for their daughters knows no boundaries.
I love the smell of new cars and this one was no different when I picked it up the Focus from Rialto Motors on Herberton Road, Dublin.
The seats are so comfortable and
you will find your back fit snugly into the driver or passenger seat. There are white and grey lines on all the seats which brightens up the inte- rior décor. In the back there is ample room for three adults and the boot is a decent size.
Ford has excellent controls for radio and air conditioning. In most family cars you can store approximately six
radio stations, but in the Focus you can pre-select eight stations on each wavelength. And with two FM chan- nels you get to pre-select 16 different FM stations. You also get Am and Tete eer
I really liked the slave controls to the left of the steering wheel; they are so discreet. The front end got an upgrade in recent years and the new
headlamps are very attractive. The front end has been described as a ‘scaled down’ Mondeo look.
On the road the drive is very impres- sive and you really feel safe and in control. If you haven’t tried a Focus, it’s really worth having a test drive, especially in this diesel model.
I used to work with a man who wasn’t a big Ford fan; he preferred
Japanese cars instead. It’s hard to convince the non-believers, but in my case Ford are preaching to the converted.
Ford has sold over 90,000 units of their Focus in Ireland over the past ten years. They would have been heading for the magic 100k mark long before now but for the current slow down.