What is it?
It would be easy to cynically dismiss this latest Focus Econetic Stop-Start as a diesel family hatchback with an on-off button, but there are two reasons why you shouldn't.
First, the Ford Focus is Britain's biggest selling car and this Econetic version returns 74mpg, so it's the cheapest model to run. Secondly - and more importantly - it still drives, rides, feels and is equipped as well as an ordinary Focus Zetec. So you might actually want to own one.
Ford has brought in a heap of powertrain changes, chief among them a stop-start system which automatically kills the engine when its idling and switches it back on as the driver reengages the clutch. This technology is nothing new but it makes a big impact on a car whose 107bhp 1.6-litre Duratorq diesel engine is already one of the most fuel-efficient on the market.
The claimed fuel economy figure - 74.2 mpg to be precise - is impressive, but the Econetic's CO2 emissions are incredible, breaking below the 100g/km barrier for the first time in the Focus' history. This is an astonishing achievement for a car of this size, and one that makes this Focus Econetic exempt from vehicle tax and puts it in the lowest benefit-in-kind bracket possible for company car users.
It also means the Econetic is a genuinely green proposition, with emissions to rival hybrids like Toyota's latest Prius and engineering solutions that make the Focus more likely to achieve its claimed fuel consumption than higher-tech Japanese counterparts.
