2022 Ford Focus Ecoboost Hybrid – 8 things you should know

The 2022 Ford Focus was introduced in October 2021 with improvements to its design and its electrified powertrain. While it continues to have the same 1-litre Ecoboost engine as before with mild hybrid assistance, there’s a new automatic gearbox on offer, and the powertrain as a whole has also been optimised for efficiency. Also, there’s a range of new features on offer as well. Here are the eight most important things that you must know:

1. Design is sharper than before

The design isn’t outright new but more of a facelift. While the nose of the outgoing model was more pointed towards the road, the 2022 Ford Focus features a raised bonnet and grille for a confident stance. The blue oval badge, which was earlier on the tip of the bonnet, now resides on the centre of the upper grille. That said, there are as many as five new alloy wheel designs to choose from across the range.

The headlamp housing is also sleeker, and houses LED DRLs and primary LED lights that are now standard across the range. There’s another change to the badges, with the Focus lettering now positioned at the centre of the hatch, under the rear windshield and between the tail lamps. The front and rear bumpers have been softly redesigned, with the former also housing lower air intakes.

2. Variants get unique design details

The upper grille and fascia of the 2022 Ford Focus reflect distinct characteristics. For instance, the Connected and Titanium variants feature a wider upper grille with a gloss chrome border and are unique with horizontal bars. The Titanium variant, on the other hand, features a more premium looking hot-stamped chrome finish.

3. New 7-speed DCT option & optimised mild-hybrid powertrain

The 2022 Ford Focus Hybrid is available with a single turbocharged engine with two states of tune — 125 hp and 155 hp, just like before. However, alongside the 6-speed manual transmission, the electrified variants can now be had with a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. The gearbox aids fuel efficiency by keeping the hybrid engine running at optimum rpm for efficiency and enabling rolling auto start-stop below 12 kmph.

Moreover, the DCT can downshift by as many as 3 gears during overtaking or when you floor the throttle, and in Sport mode, it’s tuned to hold revs longer to make the most of the power and torque band of the hybrid powertrain.

The hybridised engine features a belt-driven integrated starter generator that recuperates energy lost during braking and stores it in a lithium-ion battery. It provides torque-fill during hard acceleration and takes the burden off the internal combustion engine during relaxed driving for improved fuel efficiency. The system was in place before as well, but it has now been optimised.

4. Improved fuel efficiency

The outgoing model returned a fuel efficiency of 19.6 kmpl (46.1 mpg) with the six-speed manual transmission. The 2022 model has an improved figure of 21.8 kmpl (51.4 mpg) with the same six-cog transmission. The 7-speed automatic delivers a fuel efficiency of 20.3 kmpl (47.9 mpg).

5. Infotainment supports machine learning

The new Focus sports the brand’s latest SYNC 4 infotainment system, which uses a modern machine learning algorithm to learn from the driver’s behaviour and provide more accurate suggestions. An all-new 13.2-inch central touchscreen takes the centre stage that features a more intuitive user interface.

The touchscreen incorporates climate control functions that were previously accessed with physical buttons. The system also comes with wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto. There’s also speech recognition for up to 15 European languages for responses to commands for everything from entertainment, calls, messages and even climate control.

6. Connected car technology

Many features can be remotely accessed using the FordPass app. Owners can toggle between various functions — checking fuel levels, oil life, remote start, pre-heating/ventilation of the cabin, security status and more. The app, as well as the touchscreen, can provide real-time traffic data, weather and parking information as well.

7. Features galore

The 2022 Ford Focus Hybrid comes packed to the brim with modern features and technology. It now gets standard full-LED headlamps with automatic high beam control, starting with the exterior. Higher variants also get Dynamic Pixel LEDs that provide a glare-free high beam using a camera to detect oncoming traffic and create a glare-free spot. The camera also detects road angles and illuminates corners.

That said, you have blind-spot assist, radar, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, collision assist and active park assist as well.

8. Price in the UK

Both the pre-facelift and the facelifted Focus models are listed on Ford’s UK website. This could mean that there are some unsold stocks of the old model that the brand hopes to clear alongside the sales of the new model. While the old Focus Hybrid starts at GBP 22,935 for the base hybrid variant (Zetech), the facelifted version starts at GBP 24,865. All prices are OTR.

2022 Ford Focus FAQs

Featured image: Ford