Ford Focus Estate Review & Prices

It’s been a staple of British roads and driveways since way back in 1998, but the Ford Focus Estate won’t be on sale for much longer, as Ford is culling the Focus lineup to, er, focus more heavily on SUVs and crossovers. 

Think of the Focus Estate, then, as being like Max Whitlock — a former multiple gold medal winner having one last go at taking on the best of the competition. When that competition includes the likes of the Skoda Octavia Estate, Kia Proceed and Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer, it’s without question that the Focus Estate has an Olympian task.

The latest Ford Focus Estate has a bigger radiator grille and new lights and bumpers to give it a stylish appearance, but the downside of the Focus, as it has long since been, is that the cabin looks and feels too cheap in places, even if it’s actually well-bolted together.

The biggest difference between this Focus Estate and older versions is the addition of a massive 13.2-inch touchscreen sitting up on top of the dashboard. It uses Ford’s latest software, so it’s pretty slick to use, but a lack of proper buttons in the cabin makes things more awkward than they ought to be.

One thing the Focus Estate definitely has on its side is space — the 575-litre boot represents a massive upgrade on the Focus hatchback’s luggage space, and that capacity expands to 1,653 litres with the back seats folded down. While all that’s impressive, it is quite a bit less than the amount of space found in the back of a Volkswagen Golf Estate, and a lot smaller than the massive boot of the Skoda Octavia Estate, while the likes of the Kia Proceed and Vauxhall Astra estates are a close match for the Focus. Still, that’s a bit of hair-splitting as the Focus Estate’s boot is more than roomy and versatile enough for most family needs, and is notably broadly similar to the boot space offered by the larger Ford Kuga SUV.

Ford has trimmed back the Focus Estate’s engine lineup quite a bit. Whereas once there was a broad choice of petrol and diesel engines, now there are only two options for the Focus Estate — a 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol with mild-hybrid assistance, or the 280bhp 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine of the sporty Focus ST Estate model. 

There is at least a choice of power outputs, with a basic 125hp version of the 1.0-litre EcoBoost, or a beefier 155hp version of the same engine. Both should be capable of 45mpg when driven gently, and maybe even 50mpg if driven very, very carefully but there are concerns about the long-term reliability of the EcoBoost engine. There’s a choice of six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic gearboxes, and the automatic version of the Focus Estate gets a neat rotary gear selector, just like a Jaguar. 

The Focus Estate’s real trump card over the opposition, though, is just how brilliant it is to drive. While some competitors have broadly caught up, none can truly match the light but accurate steering of the Focus Estate, nor the smooth and slick way it responds in a corner. It helps that the Focus Estate gets a more complex, expensive, and sophisticated rear suspension setup than the simpler and cheaper suspension of the hatchback. Active X versions of the Focus Estate come with jacked-up rear suspension which in theory allows it to tackle rougher roads, but without the option of four-wheel drive, a Focus Active X Estate is a long way from being a junior Land Rover.

It is a safe car, though — scoring a full five stars the last time it was tested by Euro NCAP, and with speed limiter, lane-keeping steering, and active emergency braking — and it’s well-equipped as standard, with even the cheapest model getting the big touchscreen and nice alloy wheels. 

There are other, newer, competitors such as the Skoda Octavia Estate, VW Golf Estate, Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer, and the Peugeot 308 SW, but the Ford Focus Estate remains both the driver’s choice, and a hugely practical and useful family car. 

See how much you could save by checking out our Ford Focus Estate deals or get a great price on a used Focus Estate from our network of trusted dealers. You can also check out other used Ford cars for sale and sell your current car through Carwow, too.

Not surprisingly, the Ford Focus Estate has prices that are closely matched to the likes of the Volkswagen Golf Estate and Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer, but it’s worth noting that two competitors — the Skoda Octavia Estate and the Kia Proceed (a very underrated car) — both undercut the price of the Focus Estate in its most basic form, and yet both have more boot space, considerably more in the case of the Octavia.

The Focus Estate’s limited engine lineup also hurts here, as the Golf and Octavia offer more choice, including diesel-engined and plug-in hybrid options, while the Astra and the Peugeot 308 SW can be had with diesel, plug-in hybrid, or even fully electric power. 

In the Focus Estate’s defence, it’s well-equipped as standard, but with production ending in 2025, it’s clear that Ford isn’t going to add any new versions or choices to the lineup at this late stage. Powerful ST versions are very rapid, and actually better-priced against the sporty Octavia vRS Estate than the basic version. 

The Ford Focus Estate is both comfortable and sporty to drive, but its lack of engine choice means alternatives are better in specific circumstances

In town

The Ford Focus Estate is significantly longer than the standard hatchback, to the tune of 300mm — about a foot — and that does change the game in town, somewhat. It’s not an unmanageable difference, but you do need to be more aware of the fact that there’s more bodywork behind the back wheels, and the slightly sloping roofline and rather small rear screen means that rearward visibility isn’t as good as it is in the more upright Skoda Octavia Estate. That said, even the basic Titanium model comes with front and rear parking sensors, and the turning circle is a not-too-massive 11.7 metres, so there ought not to be any major issues. 

Forward visibility is good, and the sharp and responsive steering gives you confidence when guiding the Focus Estate through narrow gaps. The way the Focus Estate rides over bumps is also truly exemplary, even in the ST-Line versions with their lower suspension.

On the motorway

It really does help to have the 155hp version of the 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine if the plan is to take the Ford Focus Estate on lots of long motorway journeys. In theory, the basic 125hp engine is just fine, but there is a noticeable drop-off in power at higher speeds, and lengthy motorway inclines will show up the lesser engine’s lack of low-down grunt in higher gears. 

The automatic gearbox, with its eight speeds, is a good choice for motorway work, not least because according to the on-paper figures, the Focus Estate is actually a little more economical with the automatic, and when driving on the motorway, that gearbox’s hesitant nature is a little less obvious. 

The Focus Estate’s excellent suspension comfort once again comes into its own on motorway runs, as does the fact that the front seats are very comfortable and supportive, even in basic spec. However, there is more road and tyre noise than is ideal, especially on a coarse surface. 

On a twisty road

A twisty road is where the Ford Focus Estate really comes to life. The Focus Estate is at its best when presented with a narrow corner that tightens as it goes around. In most other, similar cars this could be a bit of a heart-in-mouth situation, but in the Focus Estate the fabulous steering and well-balanced chassis make such manoeuvres not only a doddle, but an absolute pleasure. 

ST-Line models have slightly lower, stiffer suspension for a dash more sportiness, but there’s not much of a difference in how they handle or ride over bumps. That’s ditto for the taller Active X wannabe-SUV model, which has suspension raised by 30mm for tackling bumpy dirt tracks, but it drives basically the same as the other Focus Estate models, aside from slightly more body roll. 

The limitation is, again, in the engine lineup as the 125hp EcoBoost engine just runs out of puff too quickly when you’re having fun. Obviously, the ultra-sporty 280hp Focus ST is the one to go for if serious driving is high on the list of priorities, but that does come with significantly higher prices and running costs. 

The Focus Estate is roomy and useful, but several rival models have much more boot space

The Focus has a fairly roomy and practical cabin in the front, but the age of the overall design shows in that it’s not as good at finding space for wallets, phones and so on as some newer competitors. There’s a pair of cup holders under a sliding cover, and another small storage area beside that, which is only about big enough to hold a car key and not much else. In front of the gear lever, there’s an open space under the centre console, which is roomy enough but in higher-spec models gives over most of its space to the wireless phone charger. 

You will find USB sockets (both types) and a 12-volt connection down here too. Door bins are fine, but a bit on the small side and the glovebox is quite slim. There’s storage under the front seat armrest but that’s actually quite small, and not deep enough to hold a small bottle of water. 

Space in the back seats

The back seat of the Ford Focus Estate is pretty roomy — not as expansive as that of the Skoda Octavia Estate, but still with enough space for six-foot rear passengers to get comfy behind similarly sized occupants up front. There is a transmission tunnel sticking up from the centre of the floor, and the centre rear seat isn’t especially wide, so getting a third person in the rear seats is going to be something of a squash. 

There are lower ISOFIX anchors in the outer two rear seats, and top-tether hooks in all three. The backs of the front seats have useful nets for holding any odds and ends, and while the rear door pockets aren’t especially big, they have been sized to take a 1.5-litre bottle of water. Most versions of the Focus Estate also have a folding rear armrest with cupholders, behind which is a load-through hatch for long, narrow items. 

Boot space

It seems almost silly to say that a car with a boot as big and useful as that of the Ford Focus Estate is on the small side, but the standard for this class in terms of space up to the luggage cover has now moved beyond the 600 litre barrier, so with 575 litres, the Focus Estate is currently behind the class best, that best being the Skoda Octavia Estate with its echoing 640-litre boot. 

Fold the Focus Estate’s rear seats flat — they split-fold 60:40, and while they don’t quite fold 100% flat they do get almost all the way there — and you have 1,650 litres of space to stuff. There’s no loading lip, although be careful of the expanse of bumper paint that sticks out behind the boot floor, as it’s easy to scratch if you’re loading up any bulky items such as furniture or bicycles. 

There are useful storage areas to each side of the boot, and the boot floor is split in two, with a section that can be clipped up vertically to divide the boot up, so that muddy sports gear can be safely segregated from clean shopping, for instance. 

The Ford Focus Estate’s infotainment upgrade is a good one, but the cabin looks old and cheap

There’s a problem that generally afflicts Ford cabins, and that’s that they look too cheap, with lots of dull grey plastics and little in the way of styling flair. Compare the dashboard of the Focus Estate with the slick, expensive surfaces of the latest Volkswagen Golf, or the soft-touch fabric-upholstered dash of the Skoda Octavia Combi, or even the complex and slightly OTT dash design of the Peugeot 308 SW, and the Ford comes up short. 

That said, the actual way the Focus Estate’s cabin is put together is good, and the new infotainment system on its 13.2-inch screen, is great. Ford’s latest SYNC4 software is at least as good, if not slightly better than, Volkswagen’s latest touchscreen system. It’s a shame that the simple, physical heating and air conditioning controls have been moved to the screen (the panel on which they used to sit is still there, but is now just home to the engine stop-start switch, the stereo volume control, and some shortcut buttons for de-misting the windscreen and rear screen) but at least those controls are ‘always on’ at the bottom of the touchscreen, unlike Peugeot’s layout which forces you to select a separate screen every time you want to turn the temperature up or down. The rest of the layout is pretty good, and about as easy to use as any of these big screens — which is to say, never as easy as they should be. 

Every model beneath ST-Line X in the range — which means Titanium, Titanium X, Active X, and ST-Line — comes with analogue instruments with a small 4.2-inch digital screen between them. It’s a simple, but easily legible and easy-on-the-eye layout. As an option, or standard for ST-Line X and ST models, there’s a 12.3-inch fully digital instrument panel, which alters colour and layout depending on whether you’ve selected Sport, Eco, or Normal driving modes. There’s also a Slippery Road setting, which brings in a lower threshold for the traction control. 

The front seats, even in the most basic Focus Estate, are very comfortable and supportive, and the upgrade to ST-Line gets you bucket-style sports seats which are even better again.  

Although Ford claims that the Focus Estate is a hybrid, it’s actually only a mild-hybrid, which means that it has a beefed-up stop-start system, which can help save a bit of fuel, but which doesn’t allow any electric-only running in the manner of a Toyota Corolla Touring Sports Hybrid. The system is quite effective, though, and allows the Focus Estate to average as much as 52.3mpg, officially, when it’s fitted with the 125hp EcoBoost engine, but that pales next to the Corolla estate’s claim of 61.5mpg. The 155hp version of the EcoBoost has claimed economy of up to 54.3mpg, but in real-world conditions it will most likely be a bit thirstier overall than the lower-powered option. 

CO2 emissions for the Ford Focus Estate are pretty reasonable, starting from as little as 118g/km, rising to a maximum of 127g/km for the 155hp engine in ST-Line X trim, which comes with bigger 18-inch alloy wheels (which always punish fuel economy and emissions a little). This means that whichever you choose, the first year of VED road tax for a Focus Estate won’t be too expensive. There’s no Focus Estate model, not even the ST, that trips over the £40,000 price tag barrier, which means an extra levy road tax payment. 

For business user-choosers, Benefit in Kind (BIK) costs for a Focus Estate start as low as £132 per month.

The Ford Focus Estate was last tested by Euro NCAP back in 2019, but the safety and crash-testing organisation says that the result is still valid, even though the test’s parameters have been made tougher in the years since. In terms of adult occupant protection, the Focus Estate scored 95% — a very impressive score — while for child occupant protection the score was 87%. The Focus scored 72% for vulnerable road user protection, and 75% for its safety assistance systems.

As standard, all Focus Estate models come with at lane-keeping steering, a speed limiter, automated emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, and front and rear parking sensors. For security there’s a Thatcham-approved alarm and immobiliser. The Focus Estate also gets, as standard, Ford’s useful ‘QuickClear’ electrically heated windscreen, which in cold winter months can be a safety system all by itself, as it clears ice and frost from the windscreen so much faster, and more completely, than heating by air or scraping by hand.

The Focus’ EcoBoost 1.0-litre engine doesn’t have an especially good reliability record. One of the key issues is a nylon coolant hose, which can easily overheat and fail, leading to a loss of cooling water, and eventually engine failure. There are also common issues with the turbocharger, and the timing belt. 

If you’re buying new, you should be fine as all Ford models come with a basic three-year 60,000-mile warranty, but for an extra cost you can extend that out to as much as five years and 100,000 miles. There’s also an inclusive service plan and roadside assistance but used Focus buyers would be wise to insist on a full service history, and preferably some receipts for a coolant pipe replacement. 

The Focus finished a very disappointing 47th out of 50 cars in the most recent Auto Express Driver Power survey.