[oldE]

With the new generation Focus in Europe, (based upon the Mazda 3 & Volvo V40 pan), I believe Ford dropped the hot AWD version, for now. That spot will be taken over by a version with the 5 cylinder turbo motor from Volvo. The euro Focus is a nice piece of work. Solid, stable above 80mph and a very good handling car. The rental I drove had the 1600cc engine, but there was no problem keeping up with most traffic on the M roads in the UK. The euro version is also a bit bigger than the origional and the warmed-over North American version, which wasn't replaced for two reasons, one it was only part-way through its cycle, second, the upsize would leave a large space at the bottom of Ford's product line up in NA. I look for Ford of NA to bring in the Fiesta as a replacement for the Focus in another two to three years. That would give them the 500, the Fusion, (based upon a stretched Mazda 6 platform) and a car just a little smaller than the current (NA)Focus. In a parking lot, I found it takes a second glance to differentiate between the Fiesta and the new (euro), Focus 4 door hatch.
Les