Performance? For the average driver, the 1.0L turbo should prove just enough in the output department, and not an ounce more. Those concerned with full-throttle performance and giggle-inducing acceleration may wish to explore a punchier Focus model (there are several), but those drivers primarily seeking great mileage and refinement will find it hits the mark. Nice and springy, sporty clutch-and-shifter combo on this one, too.

So: updates throughout, though Ford ensured that key Focus driving character remains. The standout attribute is an expert balance of ride quality and agile handling manifested in a firm, solid and dense feel, with a little softness around the edges. Steering is quick and on the heavy side at speed, and feels matched expertly against the calibration of the suspension. All to say, there’s an above-average feel that someone sweated the details dialing in the Focus’s driving character. It should connect well with driving enthusiasts and the average driver alike.

There’s a similar level of attention to detail in the way the Focus’s little brother, the Fiesta, is set up, too.

Your writer recently spent some more quality time behind the wheel of this machine, which is another globally sold personal favourite. Why? I’d argue it’s the most pleasing-to-drive machine in its segment (with a manual transmission), and that’s after no less than 3,200 km split between two Fiesta SE models and a Fiesta ST over the course of several months. In standard or turbocharged ST grade, the overlying, standout attribute to the Fiesta’s drive is the same sort of attention to dynamics you’ll find in the Focus. It’s just that little bit extra frisky, fun, quick to react and agile – with a hard-working 1.6L four-cylinder, or a turbocharged version thereof. The 1.0L is available under Fiesta’s hood, too.

This go-around with the Fiesta was my first in the snow – at the Team O’Neil Rally School, no less. Located in Dalton, New Hampshire, the school is run by rally-car champ Tim O’Neil and his team, who use a fleet of Fiestas to introduce students to the world of rally driving.

While learning various flicks, the intricacies of weight-transfer, and making a front-wheel-drive Fiesta skid around in a circle using its brake pedal as the instructor holds the steering wheel steady and makes you keep your hands on your lap, the instantaneousness to the Fiesta’s controls make it easier to process this new type of driving. You see and feel the results of your inputs strongly, and right away. That’s useful when re-learning some habits in the rally-driving world, driving on your favourite back-road, taking your new Fiesta ST to a lapping session, or otherwise.

O’Neil’s teaching staff layer new skill upon new skill, starting with left-foot braking, which proved a total brain-twister for your writer, who learned advanced driving on pavement racetracks where your left foot is to stay firmly planted to the dead pedal. Your left foot is a clumsy, cumbersome piece of hardware, and learning to use it to delicately activate a precise amount of brake-pedal pressure to engage a certain steering input is a frustrating proposition. It’s like trying to operate a typewriter with your toes, while wearing a pair of mukluks. In other words don’t try this at home, or on public roads.

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