Ford Focus Active Review 2024

The Ford Focus Active is a bit of a head-scratcher at first. It’s not immediately obvious what sort of car this actually is. In simple terms, though, it’s a Focus hatchback (or estate) with raised suspension and some tough-looking body cladding to give it a crossover-style vibe. It’s similar in spirit to a Kia XCeed.

Now, you may be wondering exactly what the point of such a car is? The core of the Ford Focus Active’s appeal is greater ride height, which offers a notably smoother ride on Britain’s ruined roads. The seats are also positioned further off the ground than they are in a regular Focus, but lower than in the taller Ford Kuga SUV. This could be really helpful if you have mobility issues.

Otherwise, the Ford Focus Active is pretty much exactly the same as any other Ford Focus, which means it’s one of the best do-everything cars you can buy.

Inside, there is room for four six-foot-tall adults to sit together comfortably, so the average family is very well accommodated. The hatchback’s boot is a bit small for a car this size, though. Indeed, the Ford Focus Active hatchback’s boot is a couple of shopping bags smaller than that of the regular Focus model.      

If you need a bigger boot, there is always the Ford Focus Active estate, however. Its 575-litre luggage space will swallow an enormous amount of stuff.

Travelling in the Ford Focus Active is a great experience. The ride is supple and smooth, the seats are brilliantly comfortable, and it’s nice and quiet. The interior is a pleasant place to be as well. It feels quite upmarket – like it’s built to stand up to family life. There’s plenty of in-car tech, too.

From behind the wheel, you can sense a bit more body-roll in corners than you’ll find in a regular Ford Focus, but the Active remains a very nimble car with light, accurate steering. It’s really engaging, too: you get all the information you need about what the road is like and what the car is doing through the steering wheel and seat.

You can choose from several versions of Ford’s fantastic 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine, either with a manual or dual-clutch automatic gearbox. The more powerful options are a better bet; not only are they faster, they’re actually a little more fuel-efficient.

If you do a lot of miles, though, it’s worth checking out the 1.5-litre EcoBlue diesel. With a standard-fit automatic gearbox, performance is a bit leisurely, but it can return plenty of miles per gallon, particularly on the motorway.

There are two trim levels to choose from: Ford Focus Active and Ford Focus Active X. Both come with Ford’s latest SYNC 4 infotainment system, which has sat-nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto phone connectivity, and is brilliantly user-friendly. The top-grade Active X gets some extra gadgets and luxurious Sensico leather-style upholstery.

The Ford Focus Active may appear like an odd prospect – not quite a regular car and not quite an SUV. But it combines many of the best bits of both, for a vehicle with quite a compelling appeal of its own.  

Drive a Ford Focus Active back-to-back with a regular Ford Focus model and you’ll notice a bit more body-roll in corners because of its extra ride height. Apart from that, though, it feels exactly the same.

That’s very much a good thing, because the Ford Focus is fantastic to drive. It feels light, nimble and involving in a way that no other midsize car can really match. Whether you’re popping to the shops, blatting along a country road or tackling many hundreds of motorway miles, driving a Focus is a very enjoyable experience.

Your passengers will also enjoy travelling in it, as the Ford Focus Active offers a slightly better ride than the regular models. That’s because the extra travel of the raised suspension makes it better equipped to soak up really big bumps and holes.

Both hatchback and estate versions of the Ford Focus Active are easy to park, the interior is quiet, the seats are really comfy, and the car feels completely safe and stable.

The Ford Focus Active is available with the same selection of engines as regular Focus models. You can choose from Ford’s multi-award-winning 1.0-litre three-cylinder EcoBoost turbo petrol engine, or the 1.5-litre EcoBlue diesel.

There are four flavours of EcoBoost petrol engine available. First up is a 125PS version with a manual gearbox. Next is a mild-hybrid (MHEV), still with 125PS but fitted with a seven-speed dual-clutch PowerShift gearbox. Then there’s the 155PS MHEV, offered with either the manual or dual-clutch gearbox.

For such a small unit, the EcoBoost feels incredibly strong, regardless of how much power it has. And that’s really useful when, for instance, you need to overtake a slow-moving tractor. Floor the throttle in third or fourth gear and the Ford Focus Active will pile on speed surprisingly quickly, which can’t be said about many cars with 1.0-litre engines. It also makes a rather amusing, growly sound in the process.

The lone 1.5-litre EcoBlue diesel engine serves up 115PS and comes with an eight-speed automatic gearbox. Acceleration isn’t exactly sprightly, but it’s a pleasant enough engine that is smooth and quiet once you’re up to speed. It’ll serve you well if you spend long hours on motorways.

The regular Ford Focus was awarded a full five-star rating by the safety experts at Euro NCAP. This can also be applied to the Ford Focus Active in both hatchback and estate forms.

The Ford Focus impressed in the Euro NCAP assessment, scoring high marks for protecting both adult and child occupants in a crash. It also performed well for protecting vulnerable road users like cyclists.

Plenty of standard safety features are fitted to the Ford Focus Active. These include automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist and cruise control with a speed limiter. You can also pay extra for the Driver Assistance Pack, which includes extra safety features such as adaptive cruise control, automatic headlights and traffic sign recognition.

Despite looking more heavy-duty than regular Focus models, the Ford Focus Active can’t actually tow any more weight. Get a petrol engine with a manual gearbox and its towing capacity is limited to just 1000kg. However, an automatic gearbox ups the limit to 1500kg, which is much more useful.

The diesel’s towing capacity is a little lower, at 1400kg (these numbers apply to both hatchback and estate body styles). So it’s not as capable as rivals like the Volkswagen Golf, or more conventional midsize SUVs. Then again, there are similar cars, such as the hybrid Toyota Corolla, which have much lower towing limits.

The Ford Focus generally is one of the most practical midsize cars, although there are few caveats with the Ford Focus Active.

Let’s start in the front, where there is generous room for anyone up to about six feet tall. However, the seats are mounted a couple of inches higher than in other Ford Focus models, to give a more SUV-like driving experience. As a result, headroom is reduced to an extent that tall people may find their heads brushing against the ceiling.

There are no such complaints in the back, where you’ll find enough space for anyone from an infant in an Isofix child car seat to a tall adult. You can even get three adults in the back reasonably comfortably, which can’t be said of many cars in this class. There’s a great view out of the side windows – useful if your passengers are prone to car sickness – but the raised front seats make the view forwards a bit restricted.

Overall, the Ford Focus Active is certainly more accommodating for passengers than most midsize hatchbacks/estates, such as the Kia Ceed, and many smaller SUVs, such as the SEAT Arona.

Open the boot of the Ford Focus Active hatchback and you’ll find a fairly modest 341 litres of space, significantly less than the aforementioned Kia and SEAT. The boot is very easy to load, though, with a flat, square floor and a large opening. Fold the back seats down and there is 1320 litres of space.

The Ford Focus Active Estate is the more practical proposition by far, with its 575-litre boot. It’s not the biggest boot you’ll find in a midsize wagon, but it’s bigger than the majority of equivalent SUVs. It’ll easily swallow a family’s clobber for a week-long holiday. Flipping the back seats down frees up 1650 litres of space. There’s also an extra storage area beneath the boot floor for keeping valuables out of sight.

Interior quality improved in leaps and bounds in this generation of Focus, which you can really feel inside the Active. It’s not quite up there with more premium rivals like the Volkswagen Golf, but it’s a level beyond, say, the SEAT Leon.

Pretty much everything you use most often feels tactile in your hands, and the switchgear feels reassuringly solid. As does the whole interior, in fact; you can tell the car is built with precision.

Look hard enough and you will find some harder, scratchier plastics, but they don’t detract from the rather plush and comfy feel of the Focus Active’s interior. The fantastic seats are a large part of this, too.  

The facelift applied to the Ford Focus Active in 2022 brought a brand-new infotainment system that lives in a huge 13.2-inch touchscreen display perched atop the dashboard.

The system runs Ford’s latest SYNC 4 software, which is among the very best. It loads virtually instantly when you turn the car on, and it’s now much easier to find the main features and most important information. The graphics look great, and there’s no lag when you press the screen.

Features in the system include sat-nav, DAB radio and Bluetooth, or you can connect your phone via Apple CarPlay or Android Auto if you’d rather use your favourite navigation and entertainment apps. The system also responds to voice commands and even reads out your text messages. You’ll find the air-con controls in a row along the bottom edge of the screen.

Top-of-the-range models have an additional 12.3-inch display for the driver that can show all sorts of information, including large-format sat-nav maps.

Ford Focus Active hatchback models are priced from £27,910 to £32,670 at the time of writing, while estates cost from £29,115 to £33,830. We reckon that’s pretty reasonable for this type of car, and the Focus Active does come with plenty of standard features for the money. There are lots of options to choose from, but be aware the extra cost can add up quickly.

We have seen some decent discounts available on pre-registered Ford Focus Active models. Shop around and you could save yourself well over £1000.

According to the official figures, the Ford Focus Active returns exactly the same fuel economy as other Focus models. Get one with a petrol engine and you should see an average of 52.3-54.3mpg, depending on which engine and gearbox combination you go for. The diesel is more efficient, although only a little 2013 – averaging 57.6mpg.

Those numbers compare pretty well with those of similarly-sized cars such as the Volkswagen Golf.

CO2 emissions are rated at 116-135g/km for petrol engines and 129-136g/km for diesels. Private owners are liable for an annual vehicle excise duty (VED, or road tax) charge of £190, and benefit-in-kind tax rates for company car drivers aren’t too punishing.

Servicing costs should be reasonable at an official Ford dealership, and the Ford Focus Active comes with a warranty lasting three years or 60,000 miles.

The Ford Focus Active is easily distinguished from other Focus models by its unique package of styling details. These include front and rear bumpers with integrated silver brush guards, black roof rails and black wheelarch surrounds and side sills, along with raised suspension.

There are two variations to choose from: Ford Focus Active and Ford Focus Active X. Standard features fitted to Focus Active include 17-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone air conditioning, cruise control and front and rear parking sensors.

The brilliant SYNC 4 infotainment system is controlled via a 13.2-inch touchscreen display (or voice commands) and features sat-nav, DAB radio, Bluetooth and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto phone connectivity. It can even read out your text messages.

Go for the top-of-the-range Ford Focus Active X and you get a 12.3-inch digital driver’s display, plush Sensico leatherette upholstery, heated and electrically adjustable front seats, a heated steering wheel, a wireless phone charging pad and LED interior lighting.