Having just hopped out of a V8 Ford Mustang GT, I was expecting to be pretty disappointed with a Ford Focus Active, but actually I was not! The Focus is really everything you need in a small, practical and quite fun to drive family car.
I only found two little negatives with the Ford Focus. The first is the rotary dial gear selector, which I found caused me to keep checking I was in the right gear, rather than the muscle memory of using traditional gear levers.
The second is that when you open the driver's door with the engine running the Focus beeps, which I found really irritating and would wake or disturb little passengers and frazzled parents!
Now I can start telling you all the positives, which is basically the rest of the car!
Firstly the Ford Focus fitted three child seats across. I tried combinations of rear-facing and two forward-facing seats, as well as three forward-facing seats and they all, fitted well.
This is fantastic as a lot of much larger SUVs won't fit three child seats across! Legroom is quite good still in the Focus and we could fit a 180cm driver in front of a rear-facing child seat too.
There is a lovely big sunroof in this more SUV-like Active version which keeps the interior light and bright and gives rear passengers a nice view while driving along.
Storage is minimal in the back of the car, with just net map pockets and large refillable water bottle sized door bins, while in the front there is more with good-sized cup holders, a glasses case, glove box etc all practically sized.
The boot of the Ford Focus is generously sized too, fitting eleven shopping bags when empty. That's one more than the Mazda3 and VW Golf and two more than the Toyota Corolla.
A twin side-by-side stroller fills the boot but you could put your shopping on top! All other sizes of stroller and pram fitted with a few shopping bags too.
The interior of the Focus is quite modern, minimal and practical.
It has a great media system that is simple to use and has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The reversing camera image is lovely and clear and you can mute the sensors using the buttons on your steering wheel, which is really convenient. The Ford Focus Active is a fun car to drive and it hugs the corners well too.
The Ford Focus went through ANCAP safety testing in 2019 and did very well for both adult and child occupancy and got a 5-star ANCAP safety rating.
Six airbags come as standard in the Focus, including dual frontal, side chest-protecting for the front passengers and side head-protecting (curtain) airbags for the front and rear side passengers. The Ford Focus has a very good seatbelt removal visual and warning.
BabyDrive Indepth
BabyDrive Indepth - Storage
How big is the boot of the Ford Focus Active?
The boot of the Ford Focus is big and practical compared with a lot of other similar-sized hatches, fitting eleven shopping bags from empty. This is one more than the Mazda3 and VW Golf and two more than the Toyota Corolla.
The Duet twin stroller fills the boot space but you could put your bags on top of it.
The tandem stroller fits in the boot with two shopping bags.
The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as Tulsi’s lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.
Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.
I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.
The single stroller fits with two shopping bags beside it.
The compact stroller fits with seven shopping bags beside it.
Or you can fit a medium-sized dog in the boot.
The boot floor is a nice flat surface and would work for an emergency nappy change! The shape of the boot opening made lifting things in and out easy too.
How good is storage inside the Ford Focus Active?
In the front, storage is good; there are two cup holders in the central console that will hold my re-usable Luxey Cup or disposable coffee cup and a large refillable water bottle fits in them too.
There is a storage tray behind them and the central console storage box is a fair size too.
The glove box would hold my wallet in a little shelf tucked away at the top of it but not the iPad.
There is a phone tray in front of the cup holders and there are USB and 12V sockets there too.
The door bins in the front will hold a large refillable water bottle and not much else.
There is a glasses case in the ceiling and the front visors both have lit vanity mirrors.
In the back storage is more minimal, there is just a net map pocket on the back of both of the front seats, they will hold but not conceal an iPad
The rear door bins are small as well, they will hold a large refillable water bottle.
BabyDrive Indepth - Noise
How noisy is the Ford Focus Active?
The Ford Focus Active is not a particularly noisy car, although it does have a really annoying beep warning if you open the driver's door with the engine running even if you are in ‘Park' which is rather frustrating and baby waking!
Since becoming a mum I spend A LOT of time parked up somewhere with a nice view while my daughter is asleep in the back! If it's hot I need to leave the engine running and the aircon on but I do like to get out and drink my cuppa tea in the fresh air while enjoying the fact my limbs are free from said dangling child!!
So this is a very important test as I have found that sometimes I have been held hostage by a cars BEEEEPING alarms when I have taken off my seatbelt or opened the door while the engine is still running!! (I only stand outside the car, I am not a bad mother!!)
The media system in the Ford Focus Active is great. It is simple to use and from the home screen, you can see your map as well as the other functions which makes it easy to navigate.
It also has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which was fantastic.
The reversing camera image is really clear fills the whole screen which made it easy to see, you can also press on the + in the top left corner to get a zoomed-in view, which is a useful feature when parking.
The indicator sound would not disturb a sleeping baby.
Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!
That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.
If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?
It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?
A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.
Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!
I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.
There is a great child lock button for the doors and windows on the driver's door control panel. I found the doors aren't too disturbing when my daughter was asleep in the back!
There is also a great seatbelt removal visual too.
BabyDrive Indepth - Car Seats
How many child seats fit in the Ford Focus Active?
There are three clearly labelled top tether anchorages on the back of the seatbacks of the Ford Focus Active. They are within plastic guides and nice and easy to access and connect through the boot.
There are ISOFix points in both the outer rear seats. They are within plastic guides and are nice and easy to connect to.
I could fit three child seats across, which is fantastic! I tested two forward-facing and a rear-facing.
As well as three forward-facing child seats. All combinations fitted nicely. I could also sit in the middle seat between two child seats and I'm 162cm.
Legroom is quite good in the Ford Focus and we found that a 180cm driver could sit in front of a rear-facing child seat.
Reaching in to do up bub's harness was okay, you do have to bend more than in an SUV but it wasn't a problem.
From inside there is good ceiling height to post bub into their seat too.
Australia being a country of weather extremes; blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!
There is plenty of room to feed bub in the back if you only have one child seat installed.
BabyDrive Indepth - Drive & Comfort
How comfortable is the Ford Focus Active? And How good is the Ford Focus Active to drive?
The front seats of the Ford Focus Active are comfortable, they are upholstered with fabric which would be harder to keep clean than leather and I found I couldn't wear a ponytail with the headrests.
I had spent hours styling my hair this morning to get this ponytail just right too… said no new mum ever!!!
For a mum travelling in the back with bub, the seats are comfortable too. Legroom is good in the back and I had enough legroom behind a 182cm driver.
For the first year of mt daughter's life when we would go out as a family, if I wasn’t driving, I would travel in the back with my daughter so it’s important to check the back seat comfort as you may be spending a lot of time in them! They were never something I gave any thought to before but I definitely notice a good or bad back seat now!
The steering wheel was fully adjustable in/out and up/down.
Cruise control is quite accurate in the Ford Focus Active on both motorway driving as well as slower undulating roads. Â The controls are on the left on the steering wheel and are nice and simple to use.
There are four air-conditioning vents across the front dashboard; two centrally located in the dashboard and one at either end of the dash. We found this was enough to keep our rear passengers cool too as there are no vents in the back although it wasn't summer.
There are controls for the aircon on the central dash which I found easy to use while driving.
When you alter the fan speed it shows on the media screen as well.
The fuel consumption and distance to empty show on the screen in front of the steering wheel.
Visibility in the Ford Focus Active is pretty good out of the side windows, with three child seats installed visibility out of the rear window is minimal. However, I found the reversing camera really helped with parking and maneuvering.
One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and Tulsi has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread parking new cars as they take longer in our tight apartment block carpark, but the Focus, was pretty easy to park.
Aesthetically the Ford Focus is a sporty looking hatch and has a very neat and pleasant interior, it is good fun to drive than and very practicality and family-friendly for a hatch.
Scoring a total of 96% or 36.7Â out of 38 for adult occupancy. Broken down into 7.51Â out of 8Â for the full-width frontal crash test, 7.66Â out of 8Â for the frontal offset test. Full marks for the side impact test and 7.91 out of 8 for the pole test.
For Child Occupancy protection the Ford Focus scored 43 out of 49 which is 87%. Broken down into full marks for the dynamic front, dynamic side and for child restraint installation and scored 7 out of 13 for onboard features.
ANCAP said of the testing:
Protection was GOOD for all critical body regions for the 6 year and 10 year dummies in both the frontal offset and side impact tests.
The Ford Focus is fitted with lower ISOFix anchorages on the rear outboard seats and top tether anchorages for all rear seating positions.
Installation of typical child restraints available in Australia and New Zealand showed that all the selected child restraints could be safely installed in the rear seating positions.
Six airbags come as standard; there are dual frontal airbags and side chest-protecting for the front passengers and side head-protecting (curtain) airbags are standard for the front and rear side passengers.
Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound. I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when my daughter's asleep!
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About Tace Clifford
Tace Clifford founded BabyDrive in 2017 after discovering a huge information gap in mainstream car reviews that left new parents and expanding families in the dark when it came to one of the biggest purchasing decisions of their lives.
The Mazda3 is a very popular car so I was very keen to give it a test for BabyDrive! I drove the hatch, a compact little car which for its price is actually very good. Read More
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