Clean Ford Focus
Ford's display at the Frankfurt Show includes a new version of the Focus ECOnetic which will go on sale in 2010 and, in some cases, have CO2 emissions below the VED tax threshold.
There are in fact five versions, and they all use a 1.6-litre turbo diesel engine, higher ratios in third, fourth and fifth gears, regenerative charging (in which the alternator requires more work to turn during braking than under acceleration) and something called Low Tension Front End Accessory Drive.
That last bit isn't as scary as it looks. All it means is that Ford has devised an alternator system whose belt is less tense than normal, so it doesn't require as much engine power to turn, but without the usual slack-belt problems of increasing wear on the alternator bearings or the belt itself.
So, about those five models. Two of them - one five-door hatch and one estate - use an 89bhp version of the diesel engine, and have combined fuel economy and CO2 figures of 70.6mpg and 104g/km respectively. There's also a 108bhp diesel, again available in hatchback or estate body styles, which has the same official figures.
The most dramatic of the five, though, is another 108bhp hatchback which is the same as the other cars in most respects, except that it also uses a start/stop system to cut the engine when the car is stationary. This raises the fuel economy to 74.2mpg and lowers official CO2 emissions to 99g/km.
Clean Ford Focus | Road Tests, Auto Features
There are in fact five versions, and they all use a 1.6-litre turbo diesel engine, higher ratios in third, fourth and fifth gears, regenerative charging (in which the alternator requires more work to turn during braking than under acceleration) and something called Low Tension Front End Accessory Drive.
That last bit isn't as scary as it looks. All it means is that Ford has devised an alternator system whose belt is less tense than normal, so it doesn't require as much engine power to turn, but without the usual slack-belt problems of increasing wear on the alternator bearings or the belt itself.
So, about those five models. Two of them - one five-door hatch and one estate - use an 89bhp version of the diesel engine, and have combined fuel economy and CO2 figures of 70.6mpg and 104g/km respectively. There's also a 108bhp diesel, again available in hatchback or estate body styles, which has the same official figures.
The most dramatic of the five, though, is another 108bhp hatchback which is the same as the other cars in most respects, except that it also uses a start/stop system to cut the engine when the car is stationary. This raises the fuel economy to 74.2mpg and lowers official CO2 emissions to 99g/km.
Clean Ford Focus | Road Tests, Auto Features
