At first glance, this looks like just any other facelifted Ford Focus done up in white sitting in Sime Darby Auto Connexion’s car park by the Federal Highway. But it’s actually something new – find out more on what it is after the jump.

It’s a Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi! I know alot of us more educated motorists have been asking for a new era where we can enjoy the really nice low rev kick of torque and the better mileage that the turbodiesel engines that Europeans seem to love in our daily rides.
When the government upgraded our diesel to Euro 2 last year, it opened some doors for some better diesels to be brought in. Diesel engines that are lighter, smaller and more refined – a newer generation of diesel engines compared to the truck engines that we get in our sub-100K pickups. I know of a friend who bought a Nissan Frontier purely for its diesel engine as he had to travel alot, he wasn’t really interested in a truck.

And then BMW introduced their 320d. It had loads of shove over the 320i and could go over 1,000km per tank if driven frugally. Finally, a diesel compact executive to be enjoyed. You needed deep pockets but not as deep as pockets as 530d or X5 3.0d owners. But it was still priced over RM250k, though during promotions you could get pre-registered units for lower than that.

The leather-wrapped steering wheel with its’ four spokes stands out. The instrumentation is mounted on the wheel. It is easy to use without making any frequent trips to the owners’ manual. Seating space at the back is very comfortable with plenty of legroom that seems larger than most of its’ competitors.

The 2009-2010 Ford Focus TDCi Hatch with its competitive price also scores highly on the safety front and comes with front, side and side curtain airbags. Additionally it has ABS anti-lock brakes, electronic stability control and traction control.

Even when you consider the usually thoughtful Ford Focus prices, this model will still face strong competition in the market. The most direct rival to this impressive little car will no doubt be Holden’s Astra where the 1.9-litre turbo-diesel goes almost head to head with the 2009 Ford Focus TDCi Hatch. The Hyundai i30 will be yet another competitor in this rough small car segment.