Lack of a test car this week meant yesterday I had to drive my wife’s 55-plate Ford Focus estate to an event. It was a fortuitous decision, as I was heading to the launch of the Vauxhall Astra Sports Wagon – a direct rival for the Ford – which allowed comparisons between the two. The interesting thing is there aren’t really any; the world has moved on so much in the last five years that the Astra wins hands down in every aspect. That’s particularly true from a practicality point of view. The ageing Focus’s cargo area comes with a rollerblind-style tonneau cover and that’s it. The new Astra has one too, but it works on guide runners so it’s much easier to use, and you can give it a sharp tap so it slides up the C-pillars out of the way but not right back. There are eyelets for cargo nets, side pockets for small items, and foldaway hooks engineered into the plastic for keeping shopping bags upright. There are quick-release levers at the boot entrance which push the seat backs flat in a flash (all pictured). If all that’s not enough there’s even more space hidden under the floor. You can even get an optional foldout boot lip protector so you don’t scuff the paintwork when you’re sliding heavy loads in. All pretty impressive stuff, and none of it is in my Focus. Yesterday I drove home with ‘practicality envy’.
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