A ribbon of road snakes out before me as if some glistening metallic shark has been laid upon the countryside, the early morning light glinting off its crystalline surface like a celestial laser. This is the kind of terrain the really sorts the men from the mice and today it seems to be all mine.
By the end of its five mile length I will know as much about the car as if I had literally eaten its suspension for breakfast. I will also be slightly closer to Corby. My weapon for this full scale assault on the north face of driving nirvana packs so much on paper promise they might as well have printed the press release on a rucksack full of dynamite. Ford Focus TDCi Powershift. Yes, you read that right. That last word really does mean the installation of a double clutch gearbox in the Blue Oval’s C-seg mid ranger. So double the clutches, but is it double the pleasure? Let’s do this thing.
First impressions count, and on this basis the Focus has just met me in the bar of a mid-priced hotel on the outskirts of Kettering and is already squeezing my balls. Chassis tuning feels tight as a countertenor’s undercrackers after a lengthy session in the boil wash, the whole car reacting like an amphetamine crazed leopard to my expert inputs. The ride is nuggety yet tasty like Mr McDonald’s finest. Just go easy on the mustard dip. You can almost telepathically guide it through corners, lifting off to adjust the line, letting the back step out just the breadth of gnat’s vagina. I caught it with a dab of oppo and I was away.
But, like booking tickets for U2 and then finding that The Beatles are the support band, there is another surprising talent in this car and it’s the double-clutch gearbox. Double-bubble, double-mint, double-dip. Changes are quick, they’re smooth, they’re perfect, as each gear goes in, crisp like Quavers.
After my spiriting sprint across the badlands of the East Midlands I know that this car is truly the medium C1 family owner business user chooser hatch of choice for the committed helmsmith. This focussed Focus is a bitch. And I spanked it.
TROY QUEEF IS EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE EDITOR-AT-LARGE FOR DAB OF OPPO MAGAZINE
