First Drive 2008 Ford Focus Coupe-Cabriolet

Nothing turns heads like a sexy convertible wearing Pininfarina badges on its flanks. The Italian design firm is world famous for creating pulse-quickening exotic cars such as the Ferrari 599GTB Fiorano and Maserati GranTurismo. However, the Pininfarina-badged droptop we recently took for a spin proudly wears a blue oval in the center of its grille. The Ford Focus coupe-cabriolet is designed and built by Pininfarina at its factory in Turin, Italy, at a rate of roughly 20,000 per year.

It might not have a prancing horse or trident on its hood, but the Focus is hardly a shrinking violet when it comes to drawing attention. As we drove through posh Parisian neighborhoods—where any other Ford would be considered so déclassé—the coupe-cabriolet got plenty of admiring glances.

Interesting Design
The front end is filled with four large grilles, a pair of fog lights, and just the right amount of chrome to be tasteful but not tarty. A bold crease flows up from the headlights and hood before working its way to the C-pillar and over the trunk. Aggressive wheel-arch blisters add visual muscle without making the car look steroidal.

Driven at six-tenths and keeping wheels firmly on the pavement, the coupe-cabriolet is a relaxed, refined ride. One reason for this composure came about purely by chance, when Ford France was unable to provide us a coupe-cabriolet with the 143-hp, 2.0-liter Duratec inline-four. The company suggested we try the turbocharged 2.0-liter Duratorq diesel. A diesel-powered convertible? We had images of the Italian-chic Ford rattling and wheezing down the road like an asthmatic Fiat Panda. As it turned out, our worries were unfounded. With 134 horsepower at 4000 rpm and 236 pound-feet of torque at only 2000 rpm, the diesel makes easy work of stop-and-start city traffic and revs lazily at highway speeds. A short dip into the throttle at 50 mph, and suddenly the Ford lunges ahead as though a small V-6 were under the hood. Other than some valve clatter at idle, the torque-rich turbo-diesel proved a perfect match for the car.

© Source: caranddriver