Ford Focus review

There’s more than enough room in the front of the Focus, to the extent that you’d have to be really lanky to struggle. Leg room definitely won’t be the trouble, though; there’s as much as there is in the class-leading Skoda Octavia. There’s a little less head room than the Octavia, but even so there’s more than enough for most people, and the interior is wide enough for you and your passenger to enjoy plenty of personal space.

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There are lots of storage spaces dotted around, including a couple of cupholders and trays for your phone in the centre console. The glovebox and front door bins aren’t that big, though.

Once, a shortage of rear space was the Focus’s Achilles heel; that's no longer the case. The current model is on a par with the voluminous Octavia, meaning that if you’re lanky, you’ll still be able to sit happily with decent leg room behind your equivalent in the front. Head room isn’t quite as good as in the Octavia, but you’d only struggle if you’re well past the 6ft mark.

A tall middle passenger will struggle a little more in that department due to the slightly raised middle seat, but otherwise, the width of the rear bench, the relatively small central floor tunnel and very good foot space under the front seats make the Focus one of the best in the class for three in the back. The panoramic sunroof eats into head room, so make sure you try before you buy if you regularly transport tall passengers.

It’s all fairly basic in this respect on the cheaper versions, because you get passenger seat lumbar and height adjustment only once you get to ST-Line X trim. So we’d suggest paying the relatively small charge for the optional Comfort seats, which grant your passengers 18-way manual seat adjustment, including a tilting and extendable seat squab that delivers better under-thigh support.

The rear seats split-fold in a 60/40 arrangement as standard, but there are no handy release levers by the tailgate, as you’ll find in some its rivals; instead, you have to open the rear doors and press the release levers on top of the seatbacks.

While it won’t amaze like Wookey Hole (or the Octavia, for that matter) with its cavernousness, the Focus’s boot is as usable and voluminous as the Volkswagen Golf’s. There’s a little lip at its edge to lift items over, but its square shape and decent proportions will still hold a large pram or up to five carry-on suitcases. We’d suggest adding the optional height-adjustable boot floor for its extra storage flexibility and because it smooths out the step left when you fold down the rear seatbacks.

Be aware of one little idiosyncrasy, though. If you order the B&O Play sound system (or go for the Vignale model, which comes with it as standard), this adds a subwoofer that lives under the boot floor. It makes the boot slightly shallower and means you cannot add the variable-height boot floor.