The Passion of the Focus

Ford has just showcased the electric version of the new Focus at the Detroit Auto Show and the company is determined to keep the compact, regardless of its powertrain, under the spotlights. The company’s UK arm is now offering us a inside view of the Focus’ testing process, which also included extreme climate sessions at the Environmental Test Laboratory located at Ford’s Dunton Technical Centre in Essex.

Dunton’s Environmental Laboratory offers four test chambers (two with thermodynamic wind tunnels), six rooms that can create temperatures between -40 and +55 degrees Centigrade, as well as a vehicle preparation workshop. In addition to that, the facility has two altitude chambers that can simulate between 100 metres below sea level and 4,000 meters above.

Ford’s new Focus has been tested for thousands of hours inside the laboratory to make sure that the vehicle can perform well in any kind of weather conditions.

“The cold start test is one example in the lab's repertoire.  Once the vehicle has been soaked at -30 degrees for 16 hours, it is transferred to a test chamber at the same temperature and placed on a rolling road.  The engine is fired up and driven a short distance to ensure it fully functions. Another test is called air con pull down, when a vehicle is heated to +50 degrees before the engine is turned on and the air conditioning is timed to see how long it takes to cool the cabin to a comfortable temperature,” stated the press release.