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The other major advancement here is the common-rail system. Most traditional diesel engines feed fuel through separate lines to each cylinder’s injection nozzle. In this diesel, all the cylinders get their fuel from a common line—the common rail. A high-pressure pump supplies the fuel to the common rail, which also acts as a high-pressure reservoir. The fuel is delivered to the cylinders via electronically-controlled engine valves. Fuel quantity and injection timing can be adjusted more quickly and thus give better engine response and fuel economy, as well as lower emissions. That’s the textbook definition of the TDCi system, anyway. The proof was under the gas—er, diesel pedal, and this was one of the few instances where the textbook comes to life. On the road, the TDCi ran smoothly and silently up to redline, and low-rpm torque was immense. Where diesel engines usually match the gasoline engine of one displacement lower, say a typical 1.8 liter diesel being as responsive as 1.6 liter gasoline, this 1.8 diesel can easily match the grunt of a 2.0 liter gasoline. It may have only 114 bhp, but no non-turbo 2-liter gasoline can deliver the low-end thrust that this engine can. In fact, it offers up 250 Nm at just 1850 rpm, with the ability to go up to 280 Nm for short bursts when needed. This translated to TGV-like in-gear acceleration. Putter around at 1500 rpm in fifth gear, press on the accelerator, and without any rattle and hum, you’ll cause the speedometer to spin rapidly into triple-digit speeds. On a clear highway, it was indeed an effort to stay below the 120 km/h speed limit. The Dutch interactive traffic signs were so kind as to inform us that we were speeding a few hundred meters before the next police camera. (Ahh, Holland.) Good thing, then, that our navigator was familiar with Dutch; otherwise I would have I thought that a flashing “Snell” (fast) meant we were going like a snail and we would have sped up even more. A sustained 160 km/h is no trouble at all for the TDCi, and its terminal velocity is 196 km/h. The factory quotes 0-100 km/h time of 10.7 seconds and a mere 9.5 seconds from 50-100 km/h. If more acceleration is needed, the notchy but positive gearchange is cooperative. A one-gear downshift suffices for most situations, and changing two gears down results in a satisfying surge forward. To help things along, the clutch is well-weighted and quite easy to engage. It’s something of a pity that we were in the Netherlands and not in the south of France. Netherlands’ highways and even secondary roads are as flat as pancakes, with only high-tech windmills to mark our progress along the geologically featureless landscape. We derived our entertainment mainly from the highway entry and exit turns. There we discovered that another of the Focus’ reputed traits, laser-scalpel handling, was indeed well-deserved. This car has one of the most excellent, reactive chassis that we ever danced with around a corner. At first we found the steering very quick to respond, almost to the point of jumpiness. After a turn or two we realized that it was not nervousness at all but a deliberate sharpening of the mechanicals. The car would track true to twists of the steering wheel, with hardly any understeer. Soon we were wondering why aren’t all cars this responsive? The feisty handling can’t be attributed to stiffened springs or shocks. The suspension and the Michelin Pilot Primacy 205/50R 16 tires provided a smooth ride, filtering out the worst that cobblestones and tram tracks could dish out. The well-designed combination consists of McPherson struts up front and the secret weapon here, Ford’s so-called control-blade rear suspension. The independent control blades are compliant enough for a smooth ride, and they contribute to the smooth, linear response when one turns the wheel. Body roll was not obtrusive, and the car’s direction could be adjusted with the throttle as well as steering wheel. |
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