It is probably the single most important new car to be launched this year and for Ford the arrival in Ireland next month of the new Focus range is a welcome opportunity to reclaim what the company would see as lost ground to rivals such as VW, Toyota and Hyundai.

Twenty years after its launch, Ford’s hugely popular car for small families has been thoroughly refreshed, says Declan Colley.

It was with considerable amusement last week that I noted the British car industry trade association’s plea to motorists not to ditch diesel engines in favour of new, small, efficient, clean petrol engines, writes Declan Colley