Kaizen describes the Japanese philosophy that governs their daily lives.  Of course, the term, translated as ‘continuous improvement’ is now commonly associated with Japanese business or product practices.  Toyota is probably best known to everyone to implement kaizen as seen in their products which have steadily improved in both quality and reliability with each passing model cycle.  Like anything Japanese though, the West has certainly caught on and it seems even Ford Philippines has caught the kaizen bug.

Each of Ford’s local models has gone through incremental changes either to enhance it cosmetically or mechanically.  In the past two years alone, the Escape, Everest, Expedition, Explorer and Focus have gone through changes.  The Focus, in particular, has already seen a slight design update once since its 2005 launch, coinciding with the introduction of a turbo-diesel variant.  And in as much as the front bumpers have been revised and the turn signal indicators have migrated onto the side mirrors, the changes were minimal at best.  The Focus’s sales have indeed climbed compared to the pre-face lifted model, but it’s down more to the availability of the 1.8-liter hatchback, which was bargain priced.  For the last quarter of 2008 though, the Focus will morph once again.  This time though, the changes are considerable.  Will the market finally bite?

Though marketing pundits will quickly declare this Focus a ‘new’ one, in reality, it’s more of a ‘Version 2.5’, where there are substantial modifications done, but short of delivering an all-new model.  From ‘New Edge’ styling, the Focus now goes ‘Kinetic’, a look first pioneered by the Mondeo sedan from the James Bond movie, Casino Royale.  According to Ford, the Kinetic look is supposed to evoke a fast-forward motion even when the car is standing still.  With the Focus, specifically in the hatchback model tested, Ford got it mostly right.  The front end is certainly much more expressive and to a degree, angrier than before with the nicely sculpted headlights and large, blacked-out front bumper.  Even the plain-looking hood now features a power bulge crease, all to give much more macho appeal to the once forgettable Focus.  However, despite Ford’s claims that most of the body panels have been changed in the 2008 Focus, the Kinetic theme looks a bit too tacked on when viewed with the rest of the car.  The alloys look small too—and at 16-inches they surely are.  In a time where 17’s are the new 15’s, Ford’s 205/55 R 16 tires seem like cookie-cutter 14’s.

Fortunately, that’s the only major criticism you can level at the new Focus.  Once you step inside, the revised interior features much better materials and better fit and finish than before.  The most noticeable change though goes to the gauges, where the bare-bones dials have been thrown out in favor for tasty metal-rimmed ones.  Red indicators and a large LCD screen lodged between the speedo and tach complete the transformation.  

The revised interior features markedly better materials. From the cloth headliner to soft-touch plastics to leather seats, the Focus interior exudes quality. The most visible change is to the gauges. The bare-bones dials have been ditched, in favor of metal-rimmed indicators with red pointers, and an LCD screen lodged in between.  The once silvery center stack trim has been replaced with a faux carbon-fiber finish for that racy look, while the revised climate control buttons are much easier to understand and feel much more solid than before.  Like before, all the window switches are one-touch up and out, and there’s even a remote opening and closing of all windows, which is unique in its class.

The new Ford Focus features the 'Kinetic' design philosophy. Despite having most body panels changed, the front end looks too tacked on the more traditionally designed rear.

The interior features much better materials with more pizzazz than before. The shifter may look ordinary, but hides the best technological innovation ever done in a compact car: a dual-clutch sequential gearbox.