Writer: RICHARD DAVIES

The point, said Ralph, sounding stern, is to tell people how we use our business cars. Don’t drone on about the cars too much – it’s not a road test.

That’s all very well, but this Focus breaks many rules and preconceptions. It’s also being kept in an unusual sort of place for a business car – a small farm in the Brecon Beacons – so a certain amount of background is necessary if we’re to make any sense of it.

To start with there’s the mileage, much of it motorway. A scattered business life and a house full of busy teenagers means upwards of 2000 miles a month for my business cars.

• The whole point of this car is to beat diesels at their own game – low emissions, rock bottom (13%) company car tax, and economical.

Already there’s been Edinburgh for hockey and work, Greenwich (twice) for the horsey Olympics and more work, Cheltenham and Bristol, plus miles of country lanes and the glorious roads that make our part of the world a favourite with car testers.

Quite heavy business mileage then, and not a bad approximation of the life of a busy company car, but with better views.

So after the first couple of thousand miles, what do we all think of it?

Take the teenage boy first, because teenage boys are acutely attuned to the brownie points attaching to particular cars. Ours was non-committal when he heard about the new Focus. “Model? Engine? Gadgets?” he demanded.

I give him the sell. It’s the very car that won BCM’s Company Car of the Year – a Focus 1.0T EcoBoost 125PS 5-door Titanium.

And no, 1.0 is not a mistake. The other shocker is that it has 3 cylinders (for technophobes, 4 is more usual). But I’m tense, because in teenager land would the Focus appear technologically triumphant, or faintly ridiculous?

I’m on safer ground with the gadgets because the Focus has the ‘driver assist’ pack. Not quite the full monte because it won’t park itself, but enough gadgets to require the teenage boy to explain them all. And only 750 quid. Respect.

• The teenage boy in the family thinks the Focus is cool – an accolade Ford shouldn’t ignore.

Well Ford can breath a sigh of relief because the teenage verdict is that the Focus is cool, an accolade Ford should not ignore since it covers a host of image and feel good factors that would take pages to define and countless millions to buy.

Ford should also be pleased that the Focus is often missing when I want it. My wife, an early riser, is shameless in taking it. It’s comfortable she says. Easy to drive. Sounds nice. Love the radio (all that sophistication reduced to ‘the radio’). And although she doesn’t say so, she thinks it’s quite quick, and she likes that.

Me? I like it too, but I’ll keep that for later. And of course it ticks all those boxes in a business car comparison. Downsides? There are a few. But let’s not spoil the first impression which is that it’s terrific.

• Want to know more (and you should)? Read our car review on the Focus.

• And remember that this is our Company Car of the Year. Read why here.