They say, the engine is the heart of the automobile; and to a great degree, it’s often the deciding factor that separates a merely good car from a great one.  In the history of the automobile thus far, we’ve seen great leaps in technology, making cars more reliable, faster and comfortable than ever before.  In recent times though, there’s a paradigm shift towards the environment and ways to preserve and protect it. With so much more cars running on our roads than ever before, engine development is now being focused on minimizing the impact on our planet, without reducing our dependency on the automobile.  One such solution is diesel technology.

Diesel engines offer much better fuel economy and 15 percent lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to petrol, primarily because of the efficiency in the engine’s design.  Despite the advantages, the higher cost of production combined with the sulfur content in the diesel fuel itself (more expensive to refine) meant they merely served as an alternative to the mainstream petrol engine.  However, the spiraling cost of fuel in the 1970’s meant that diesel engines once again became the economical solution, especially for the European makes, which by this time, brought sulfur levels in diesel fuels down.

Currently, more than 65 percent of cars in Europe are diesel-fed and one excellent example that crossed the ocean to our shores is the Ford Focus TDCi.  Like a sophisticated aristocrat, it arrives understated—with just subtle reminders of a different heart beating under the hood.  It shares its taut lines and sporty styling with the 2.0 Sport, with the exception of the uniquely shaped front bumper, undoubtedly designed to feed and cool the turbo-diesel more efficiently. Aside from that, the only sure way to tell the TDCi apart from the petrol is the available dark blue color dubbed “Ocean Blue”, which is available only on the TDCi.

Editor's note: is seems that all 2007 Ford Focus models will get this revised front grille as well as side mirror mounted indicators also.

Inside, there’s little differentiation too—a good move given that there’s nothing wrong with the Focus’s interior in the first place.   This means the TDCi is impressively featured for the price: black sport leather seats, a thick-rimmed three-spoke steering wheel and aluminized touches dot the cabin.  That said though, interior space is much more of a premium here compared to others in its class.

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