Comparing The Ford Fiesta and Ford Focus Two Of The World’s Bestselling Cars
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Ford is one of the world’s biggest brands, renowned for affordable, good-quality vehicles for all purposes.
If you were asked to name a Ford model, chances are you’d say one of two. Fiesta or Focus. Statistics show that in 2016, the Ford Fiesta is Britain’s bestselling car by far. International statistics tell a slightly different story. Focus2Move names the Ford Focus as the world’s best-selling car of 2016, with the Fiesta outside of the top ten.
It’s clear to see that both of these cars are amongst the most popular worldwide. But what separates one from the other? Is there a reason the Fiesta is selling more in the UK but the Focus is selling more outside of it? Pitting the two models head-to-head should give us a clearer picture.
Affordability
A price comparison on UK dealership TC Harrison Ford reveals that the Ford Fiesta can be had for as little as £10,345. Focus models start a bit higher at £16,245.
Price brochures from the Ford website reveal a similar picture. Across many different sizes and model types, Focus models will usually cost a fair few grand more than their Fiesta counterparts.
This isn’t a big surprise. Focus cars are generally designed a little bigger, giving them room for more features and luxury options. Fiestas are more of a compact supermini with good features at an affordable price. But is the extra cost worth it?
Exterior
As far as exterior goes, there really isn’t much of a different between the two cars. Both the Fiesta and Focus are easily distinguishable on the road for their polished design. The Ford Fiesta did, after all, win an award for its design.
Both feature a stylish front grille with an understated logo plate and look good in various colours. The similar designs make it hard to put one of these cars ahead of the other. Putting the exterior design of both head-to-head comes out at a dead heat between the two.
Interior
Once you get inside these cars, you begin to see some differences.
The Ford Fiesta in its newest form, the 2016 Fiesta Titanium, offers a light-stone interior with leather seats and a small LCD screen. The speedometer is positioned fairly far back, with a small amount of lighting and some digitally displayed information.
The 2016 Titanium Focus’ interior looks a little more stylish. Black-leather trimmed heated front seats complement the large dashboard. The speedometer is very well-lit, with a good sized digital interface to make information easy to read. It also features a colourful, 8-inch LCD touchscreen with their new SYNC® 3 technology.
The Fiesta’s interior isn’t bad, per se, but the Focus has a clear edge here. The extra space allows for large, easily visible screens and controls and the darker tone looks classy and stylish. Both can be customized, but overall Focus models will look and feel better inside.
Features
Back in 2011, the Ford Focus scooped up an award for its assistive features, allowing for a safer drive. Today, the Fiesta offers many of the same innovative features the Focus does. This includes parking distance sensors, rear-view cameras and electric power assisted steering.
The Focus generally goes a bit further than the Fiesta, with extra connectivity and digital features. Focus models are equipped with MyFord Touch, offering useful information on a well-lit touch screen.
The Focus wins in this regard, although many high-level Fiesta models also offer a lot of great features.
Drivability
The most important thing is how the two handle on the road.
Many of the models share the same or similar engines. The Fiesta S Sedan has a 1.6L 16-valve Ti-VCT I-4 engine, while the Focus S Sedan offers a 2.0L equivalent. While the Fiesta model offers 120 horsepower, the Focus goes a little higher at 160. Both offer powerful gear-shifting technology.
On the road, the difference in engines doesn’t make a big difference. Both offer a smooth drive and Fiesta’s even feels a little better due to the smaller model being easy to handle.
Fiesta gets a slight edge here, although it can depend on the kind of engine you choose.
The Verdict
The Focus has a clear edge in many categories, offering more space and better features. However, for the bags of money you can save with the Fiesta, you can customize it to get all the features you need. If you need a big family car and don’t mind the price, go with the Focus. If you need something cheaper that is just as smooth to drive, the Fiesta is for you.
