One of six new Ford and Lincoln-Mercury cars that will launch in 2004, the Ford Focus will receive design and engineering improvements for the 2005 model year. While Europe receives a truly all-new Focus based on the global C1 platform shared with the Mazda 3 and Volvo S40/V50, North America will instead have an evolved current-generation car. The American-market Focus will be offered in four unique body styles carrying simpler model and trim designations, including a three-door hatchback (ZX3), a four-door sedan (ZX4), a five-door hatchback (ZX5), and a station wagon (ZXW). New for 2005 is a Focus ZX4 ST performance sedan (shown), that marries chassis components from Ford of Europe's Focus ST170 and the SVT Focus with a 2.3-liter/151-horsepower Duratec engine, which boasts 30 percent cleaner emissions than the 2004 models. Focus receives a front-end treatment with styling cues taken from the Ford's soon-to-be-unveiled flagship sedan, the Five Hundred. (It also reminds of the European Mondeo.) Other changes include an all-new interior, designed to be clean and modern looking, with four different color themes and plenty of functional storage.
