The daily commute is something all of us dread.  The endless engine drone of cars around you, the heckling of street vendors—if you think stress at the office is bad, then life on the road is hazardous to your health.  On the average, a typical worker commutes around an hour and a half going to and from the office; that equates to 3 hours a day or about 2 days for every month.  With those kinds of figures, you’d see the logic as to why every inch of visible Manila skyline is filled with billboards and why car makers load everything into their vehicles to make commuting as comfortable as possible.  Now, it’s common to see passenger cars loaded with powered this and electronic that.  But, how can you be so sure that these audio-visual gizmos really contribute to a more relaxed driving experience?

Perhaps the most important, and usually the most neglected objective is the designing of a vehicle that’s easy to drive and comfortable from the ground up.  A good car feels like a transparent extension of the human body—like a good tennis racket is to Andre Agassi.  It’s this feeling that’s often lost in brochure mumbo-jumbo, but has become the center of attention in the new Ford Focus.

Currently, there are two variants available: a 1.8-liter sedan and a 2.0-liter hatchback—both of which are simply in a class of their own when it comes to driving dynamics.  Both have similar suspension set-ups, down to the Goodyear NCT 5 205/55 R16V tires.  As a result, they have satisfyingly quick and precise steering.  The front MacPherson Strut and rear Control Blade Strut allows either Focus to obediently tread the path the driver intended.  The new 2.0-liter hatchback is particularly rewarding on the twisty roads to Tagaytay; the speedometer read 120 km/h as the car tackles the the sharp curves—it’s something you’d dare not do in a lesser car.

Given the tightly-glued chassis and responsive steering, you’d think that comfort and smoothness would have taken a step for the worse.  Not in the case of the Focus.  The ride is extremely smooth and comfortable, with bump absorption better than some mid-sized luxury sedans.  It filters all sorts of ruts well without the suspension bottoming out, as with the Honda Civic or even the Ford Lynx.  The Euro-tuned suspension reduces the newly installed cat’s eyes along J. Vargas Avenue to a mere thump.  Moreover, the steering doesn’t wriggle or kick back as with the case on the Mazda3 2.0, so it’s the better long-distance driving companion.

Comparisons to its chassis-mates, the Mazda3 and Volvo S40 are inevitable, so it’s just about right that the Focus takes on a unique behavior.  Whereas the Mazda3 is like a quick, but nervous go-kart; and the Volvo S40 a comfy, but stodgy grand tourer, the Focus is somewhere in-between.  The Focus excels in just about anything from blasting the STAR Tollway at illegally fast speeds or puttering to the supermarket or office building on a daily basis.

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