Top Of Its Class: 2012 Ford Focus Offers Class-Leading Cornering Control

Yesterday Ford announced another feature on the 2012 Ford Focus that is not only exclusive to the Focus in its class, but also positions Ford as a leader in safety. Borrowing from the Ford press release, Ford says the 2012 Focus ‘can carve through turns like a downhill skier” with the assistance of the all-new torque vectoring control feature. The basic premise of the feature is that it transfers weight to the outside tires just as a skier would transfer their weight to the outside edge of their skis in transition from “schuss to edge.” The effect, in both situations, is the added stability through corners.

“The new Focus is the first North American Ford vehicle to offer torque vectoring control,” said Rick Bolt, program manager for the Ford Focus. “This is a technology that has been offered on high-end sports cars, yet Ford is making it standard on their new small car.” You might be asking yourself why Ford is trying to bring upper class features to the small car segment. Part of the answer can be found in the increasing government safety requirements, but the other part can be found in the history of Ford. Ford from the beginning with the Model T strived to offer what wasn’t available from any other company to the common consumer. That goal hasn’t changed which can be seen from the integration of the Ford and Microsoft Sync technology, capless fuel fillers, smartphone app integration and now torque vectoring control—and that is the only tip of the iceberg.

For those interested on how the torque vectoring control works we have those details too. The system uses the Focus braking system to simulate the effect of a limited-slip differential by constantly balancing the distribution of engine output between the front drive wheels. So for example, if you are accelerating through a corner, the system will apply a slight degree of pressure to the front inside wheel in order to transfer torque to the outside wheel. This transference provides better traction and grip.

Stay tuned for more on the all-new 2012 Ford Focus right here at AllSmallCars.com