The basic suspension design, which contributed much to the Mk 1's success, was carried over largely unchanged from its predecessor which, along with a 10% stiffer bodyshell, offers a better ride according to Ford.

The perceived build quality and finish of the interior was another important step up from the Mk 1 - an area where the original car was criticized in comparison to the Volkswagen Golf Mk4 which had defined a much higher standard for the class overall.

As a consequence, the Mk 2 featured a padded, soft feel dashboard, damped action for the glovebox, interior grab handles, chrome finish interior door handles, more positive action switchgear, and with better attention paid to material quality and overall finish compared to the Mk 1.

However shortly after launch, Ford New Zealand surrendered its supply to satisfy Australia's high demand, and now receives vehicles from the German factory in Saarlouis, whereas in the ASEAN markets was also built in Santa Rosa, Philippines.

In 2006 the Mk 2 made its debut in the Americas with its launch on the Mexican market as the 4-door saloon or the sporty 3-door in ST trim.

[citation needed] Petrol Diesel The main trim levels of the pre-facelift Focus Mk 2 in the United Kingdom are listed below.

Part of the update included a new front bumper that was shared with the Cabriolet/Coupe, integrated indicators into the side mirrors and new style alloys for Zetec and Ghia models.

Compared to the pre-facelift Focus, prices were at least £250 higher, due to stability control becoming standard (it was previously an option), but remained similar to those of the pre-facelift model, as Ford attempted to claim back the lead at the top of the British car sales, gained by the Vauxhall Astra in the previous years.

The Ford Focus Mk 2 ST is also known as the XR5 Turbo in the Australian and New Zealand market, but is sold as a five-door hatchback only.

The Focus Coupé-Cabriolet, a two-piece retractable hardtop, was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in February 2006 and went on sale in October 2006.

Aerodynamic features including low-resistance tyres contribute to 65 mpg‑imp (4.3 L/100 km; 54 mpg‑US) fuel consumption figure with average CO2 emissions of 115g/km.

In 2008, Ford revealed the new Focus RS in "concept" form at the British International Motor Show.

The RS uses a modified Volvo-engineered 2,522 cc (2.5 L; 153.9 cu in) straight-five engine found in the Focus ST. A larger BorgWarner K16 turbo now delivers up to 20.3 psi (1.40 bar) of boost.

A new air-to-air intercooler has been developed as a complement, while the forged crankshaft, silicon-aluminum pistons, graphite-coated cylinder bores, a compression ratio of 8.5:1 and variable valve timing also up the power output.

The car remains front wheel drive, but to reduce torque steer uses a Quaife Automatic Torque Biasing LSD, and a specially designed MacPherson strut suspension at the front called RevoKnuckle,[17] which provides a lower scrub radius and kingpin offset than traditional designs while avoiding the increased weight and complexity of double wishbone and multi-link suspension setups.

Focus RS available in three expressive exterior colours: Ultimate Green, Performance Blue and Frozen White.

[23] The new model was given the RS500 designation to highlight its strictly limited production run of 500 individually numbered vehicles, all of which were offered for customers to purchase.

Preliminary performance figures for the Focus RS500 indicate that it achieves 0–100 km/h in 5.6 seconds, with a top speed similar to the 263 km/h (163 mph) in the standard RS.

The concept car unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show was developed to participate in the UK Government's "Ultra-Low Carbon Vehicles" demonstration initiative in early 2010.

This new BEV demonstration fleet is being developed partly with public funding from the UK Government's Technology Strategy Board (TSB) which promotes innovative industry-led projects that reduce CO2.

From the last rally of the 2005 season, Ford campaigned a brand new model, the Focus RS WRC 06, following the launch of the new road-going version of the car.

The Focus RS WRC 07 is based on the 2006 model, and according to Ford's technical director Christian Loriaux "the changes on the new car are mainly to save weight and to improve efficiency, driveability and performance at the bottom end of the range.

"[27] The car debuted very successfully at the 2007 Rally Finland as Ford's Finns Grönholm and Mikko Hirvonen finished in first and second.

The 2008 version of the Focus RS WRC includes design style changes as well as engine improvements.

Style changes to the grill area reflect the looks of the recently previewed Focus RS Mk II road sport car.

Only models sold in Continental Europe and the British Isles are shown, overseas territories often have different offerings.