The interior of the Focus looks the part and is both comfortable and sporty. The dashboard is well laid out and the available color and material options for the seats make it easy to have an individualistic look. There were, however, a couple of things which I didn't like. The hand-brake was a little awkward to reach with the centre arm rest down; in fact, it was just as awkward with the armrest up. Also, the little arrow on the dash which told you when to shift up seemed to bear no relation to the engine speed at all and was just annoying. There is, however, ample room for four adults, five at a squeeze, and it has a reasonable amount of luggage carrying space.

Ok, so I mentioned the "Cargo carrying capacity", so shoot me.

Performance and handling comes next. Well, I can't tell you that it performs like a VW GTI; I'd be lying if I did. What I will say, is it has that firm Euro feel to the suspension and corners extremely well. Part of this is due to the precise steering setup. No doubt the tuners would want to play around with the suspension anyway but there is no need to put it top of the list. The same can be said of the performance. It's no rocket ship, but in the five speed model which I had, it's no slouch either.

So why aren't we seeing loads of modified Focus's sitting outside every Tim Horton's? Well I see it like this. Ford has the right car for the tuner crowd, but they need to talk to them in their own language. It's a shame because Ford could move a lot of people away from the imports with this vehicle if they put their mind to it. Ford should perhaps focus on the old adage; get them whilst they're young.

Note: If you're into the tuner scene, take another look at the Ford Focus, then check out what goodies are available for them. Here are a couple of places to look, the Ford Focus Owners Club website in the UK www.ffoc.co.uk or the Ontario Focus Owners Club site www.ofoc.ca.