The Focus was one of the success stories for the blue-oval brand.
Its compact-segment lineup was introduced in 1996 and refreshed it in 2001.

While the Escort was a highly appreciated car, the Focus exceeded the customers’ expectations. It was named a “love-it or hate-it” vehicle due to its controversial design. But that worked well, and the Focus broke the records and jumped to the top of the sales charts in Europe. The carmaker tried to keep the momentum and introduced a mid-life cycle refresh in 2001 for its compact-segment vehicle.

The Focus was designed within the Edge-design trend, which combined long, arched lines into sharp angles. A set of new headlights was installed, with lenses for the headlights that improved the night-driving visibility. The designers moved the turn-signals from bumpers inside the headlights. On the lower apron, a wider grille was installed to increase the cooling capacity. In the back, the taillights received an improved design, and despite all the expectations, they were mounted above the rear bumper, not on the C-pillars.

The interior kept the same unusual design that combined curved lines with sharp angles for the dashboard. Other than that, there was an improvement in the material’s quality, an area where some customers had some complaints. Unfortunately, the hood kept the same key-only opening mechanism, which required the driver to stop the engine, move the blue oval from the grille aside, insert the key, turn left and right and then pop the hood.