It is seldom that one gets a diesel engine car that rides like a sports car, but for a whole week, I got to experience this without having to burn holes in my wallet.

Introducing the new Ford Focus Sport, powered by a TCDi diesel engine. Don’t let the "diesel engine" part turn you off, because this car's got many surprises under its hood.

For starters let us look at the face of the new Ford Focus. Surprisingly, the Focus is a handsome car from the front (excuse me, ladies) projecting male beauty and machismo all at the same time. The enlarged lower grille, elongated, dynamic headlamps and strong bonnet contours give it that athletic look men really look for in a car that's surely a keeper.

Even the body's side design looks more muscular and exudes more confidence in its stance than any of its present competitors.

From the rear, one is reminded of a beautifully sculpted body builder, with back muscles rippling out its contours. The new rear roof spoiler, in fact, resembles the traps (the muscles above the shoulders below the neck) of a perfectly muscled back.

And then there are the car's legs that usually define its "power pose." The Focus features a 16-inch alloy wheel that complements the body lines and design of the whole car.

Smooth ride

Step into the cockpit and we see more of the superb design that Ford has invested into the Focus Sport. The quality of material used on the interior is high-class and geared towards driver and passenger comfort. The seats are ergonomically designed for an almost perfect seating position.

The instrument cluster is also impressive with larger tachometer and speed dials, as well as LCD displays for temperature, trip meters, odometers and the like. This console lights up to a soft red color at night for a soothing illumination, very important for those long and tiring drives.

As for the ride, the Ford Focus is planted on top of a newly developed Control Blade multi-link rear suspension and front McPherson spring struts. These are all combined on a semi-isolated front sub frame that works to give the Focus the optimum balance between ride, handling, steering precision and comfort.

For safety, the Focus is now equipped with an Electronic Stability Program (ESP) that gives even the beginner driver assured and predictable chassis control, precise steering and confident benchmark handling with great braking ability. The ESP also has Traction Control as a standard on the Focus Sport TCDi with Powershift. ESP is designed to monitor the stability of the car in all situations and adjust as necessary.

Race-track performance

And for the clincher, the Focus diesel is powered by Duratorq Turbodiesel engine, the state of the art common rail injection technology that delivers high efficiency, high pulling torque and low fuel consumption. The Duratorq engine produces 100kW at 4,000 rpm of power and delivers high torque levels at low engine speeds, up to a maximum of 320 Nm at 2,000 rpm.

In fact, under full acceleration, the engine calibration will allow a maximum nominal torque to exceed by 20Nm for 8 seconds so it can deliver peak torque of 340Nm exactly when the driver needs it most.

These figures, numbers and descriptions are quite impressive in a car that has not gotten raves from the market so far. But with the Focus's ability to deliver a race-track performance for the weekend warrior in the urban setting, the new Ford Focus may just get the street-credit it deserves.