This isn't surprising at all, add some plastic cladding, 1" lift and some sort of pseudo active name to a hatchback and people will line up for weeks to buy it.
.... and what's wrong with it?
Provided interior/cargo space is not affected by trying to make them "stylish", they have an AWD option and decent powertrain, what's not to like about it as a DD? Bring them on.
My fear is that the engines/power on these hatches (assuming more will be available across the board including from the premium brands) will continue to shrink for the sake of marginal fuel economy gains. Most likely the 2.0L Turbo with 200hp+ will become more rare while 1.5T will become more common.
No, I don't want SUV-like ground clearance for a compact hatch because it will look silly (e.g. Crosstreck 8.7") but I would not mind the the Golf Alltrack (6.9"), Mazda CX-3 (6.2") or somewhere in between looks. On-the-road driveability will still be car like not SUV-like while having that extra 1" will help when you have to deal with snow.
In Europe they had this kind of hatches all along and they look just fine - VW Golf 4Motion, Volvo V40 Cross Country, etc. The Focus Active has good proportions too - still looks like a hatch not SUV.
As for cladding - I would pass on that but I think it will come with the package.
